one day more

a few weeks ago was my birthday, and robert had bought me tickets to see les miserables under one condition, i had to take someone other than him.  so, i got to see les miserables live with one of my closest friends, martha, and several other good friends as well.  martha and i have long since bonded over our mutual love of all things musical and theatrical.  we texted lyrics back and forth in the days preceding the performance.  the anticipation had been building for months and finally tuesday arrived.  we ate at a delectable dinner spot prior to the show, which always seems appropriate, and we talked excitedly about going to the "theater" (pronounced in a snobby british accent of course) as we marched toward the Landmark.

upon arrival, our first surprise was to realize that our seats were about 10 rows back from the orchestra pit!  we were thrilled.  from the moment the curtain came up to the last time it fell, we were absolutely enthralled.  we kept reaching over and grabbing each other's arms to make sure we were still in our seats and had not been transported to the streets of paris.  we were undone by the way in which the performers were transporting us to another world in another time.  tears came as we (both pregnant with girls) listened to fantine sing about her tragic life, and we applauded ferociously as the entire cast sang one day more just before intermission.  we left feeling like we should join a revolution and sing everything we think for the rest of our lives.

if you have never seen les miserables, or read the book, you might have no idea what i am talking about here.  but if you, like me, have a love for the incredibly well written, biblically nuanced, best musical of all time...you can hear the people sing, even now.