There was a man named Jean Valjean...

We just finished watching the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary concert on PBS. It. was. AMAZING. My dad had told us there was going to be a special about Les Mis on tonight and I was expecting the usual hour-long documentary. But when we turned it on and I saw the stage and heard the first notes of "Look Down", I started literally dancing with excitement...it was going to be the entire show! I've been wanting to see it again since we saw it when I was 11. So yes, it was amazing!!! The concert format was a bit odd (for the most part, they were all singing to the audience in front of microphones instead of to one another), but even though it was different it actually worked quite well, and everyone was wonderful. I was actually quite impressed by Nick Jonas's performance...I cannot stand the Jonas Brothers' music, but I thought he did a fantastic job as Marius (I really think he should just stick with Broadway!). Perhaps he sounded a bit young and undeveloped, but I actually thought it was nice that Cosette and Marius both seemed about the age they were supposed to be.

One of the best parts came at the very, very end, after you'd suffered through about 20 minutes of the lady who, in my dad's words, had certainly had her coffee that morning, excitedly exclaiming, "Did you know that it took Victor Hugo 16 years to write Les Mis? Well, it doesn't need to take you 16 years to call and pledge your money! Call now!" and "One more day...well, it doesn't have to take you one more day! Call now!" until you want to throw something at the TV screen. *cough* Anyways. The original cast was there! The four original Jean Valjeans sang "Bring Him Home" as a quartet, joined at the end by tonight's Valjean, and then everyone sang "One More Day". That was amazing. I can only imagine the emotions that were flooding everyone, to be back on stage singing this incredible music from this incredible musical 25 years later. One of the best parts was when Michael Ball (the original Marius) sang, "My place is here...I stand with you!", and this huge smile lit up his face as he gestured expansively to the stage and the cast. That was just completely awesome!

So...I'm on a Les Mis high right now. :) That is my favorite musical! Someday, somewhere, I will perform in it.

On a slightly different note, I've been reading some of my favorite books lately! My mom bought four Agatha Christie novels from the library booksale last week, and I hadn't read any of them. I love her books! They're almost pure suspense, her descriptions of people are brilliant, some parts are absolutely hilarious, and in the end, even if it seemed that the crime was going to have some mediocre resolution, there is always some fascinating, often heart-rending story behind it. That's one thing that sets Dame Christie's books apart from other mystery novels...she always deeply explores the underlying reasons that murders are committed, and they are many and interesting.

And then my other favorites...I have discovered that I LOVE the Percy Jackson books! I saw the movie a few months ago and greatly enjoyed it, and then I read the first book and enjoyed it even more! I just finished book two last night, and I'm so glad there are four more! I really love the way Greek mythology is adapted to modern times, it's so much fun to figure out what mythological people or creatures they're running into (especially since I love Greek mythology), and the books are well-written, very well paced, and often completely hilarious! I must admit it...if something or someone makes me laugh, I'm bound to love it. haha

"Rats are delicious." The Sea of Monsters