This weekend my partner and I went and saw Les Miserables while visiting some of my family down in San Diego. Like most people, her and I left with tear stained cheeks and red eyes. There really wasn’t a dry eye in the house and I really, really enjoyed it.
I highly recommend it but it is always a unique experience as a man to cry in public. There are certain things that I think provoke the waterworks for individuals but for me it is almost always military/war related. I think the combination of losing friends in combat and my strong pro-peace stance makes these issues particularly moving. It was just impossible for me not to reflect on my friends when Marius reflects on the death of all his friends I just lost it. Especially after the XFF where Anastasia talked about the social stigma against men showing emotions.
The whole performance was incredible to me. I didn’t really know anything about Les Miserables before arriving and certainly didn’t know any of the songs but really enjoyed it. Samantha Barks as Eponine particularly stood out to me as a non-musical expert. Anyway… Les Mis is highly recommended and I’m hoping to read the novel some time this year.
Wandering Oak 