One of the musicals he auditioned for in Bakersfield was a youth version of Les Miserables (sometimes referred to as Les Mis). Until he was cast in the show, I knew virtually nothing about the musical, let alone the book upon which it was based. I'll never forget the first night I saw the show. I was mesmerized by the songs and I particularly appreciated the story arc. I am a sucker for redemption stories and I loved how Jean Valjean, despite his mistreatment at the hands of Javert, would one day be able to show mercy because he had been shown mercy. In fact, the two characters are illustrative of the blessings of mercy and the dangers of legalism.
If you are unfamiliar with the great story by Victor Hugo I would recommend you familiarize yourself with it via this movie which will help you to understand the flow of the musical and the characters much better.
I will be posting videos and making comments about the story over the next few weeks. I hope you will watch each of the video clips and follow along.
In the scene above we are introduced to Jean Valjean and given his back story. We also are shown the act of mercy that would forever change his life.
