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| INTRODUCTION THE STORY THEIR SYNOPSIS MY SYNOPSIS THE CHARACTERS VICTOR HUGO FACT v. FICTION FACTS THE SHOW DISEASES RUE DE LA PERLE A PALAVER MEDIA WRITTEN FANFIC/FANART L'HOPITAL OTHER SITE BRING ME HOME |
| NAVIGATION ~ |
| MY SYNOPSIS A slightly more detailed break-down of events. |
| ACT ONE PROLOGUE: TOULON, 1815 In a prison camp in Toulon, convicts slave under the hot sun, planning escape, revenge, or praying to die (Work Song). One convict, Jean Valjean, number 24601, is given his yellow ticket of parole and set free. But he soon realizes that the yellow ticket makes him an outcast. When he arrives in the little village of Digne, only the kindly Bishop will give him food and lodgings for the night (On Parole/The Bishop). In return for the Bishop's kindness, Valjean steals all the Bishop's silver cutlery, but is caught and brought back to two constables. However, Valjean is astonished when the Bishop lies to the police to save him, saying that he gave Valjean the silver. He also gives Valjean two silver candlesticks, and send shim on his way (Valjean Arrested/Valjean Forgiven). Valjean is deeply moved by the Bishop's trust and mercy, and swears to use the silver to become a better man (Valjean's Soliloquy). MONTREUIL-SUR-MER, 1823 Factory workers trudge to collect their wages. One of the workers catches another, a girl named Fantine, reading a letter revealing that Fantine has an illegitimate child. The Foreman, angry with Fantine because she continually scorns his advances, uses this as an opportunity to fire her (At the End of the Day). Fantine regrets making the decisions she did, and losing the man she loved (I Dreamed a Dream), and that she no longer has a way of supporting her daughter. Despereate for money to pay the treacherous Thenardiers, who are looking after the child, she sells her hair and then her locket, finally becoming a prostitute (Lovely Ladies). But when she gets in a fight with a potential customer, she is arrested by the fanatical Inspector Javert. The kindly Mayor shows up and insists that Fantine be taken to hospital instead of jail, and overrides Javert's objections (Fantine's Arrest). Meanwhile, an old carter named Fauchelevant has been trapped beneath his cart, and it is slowly crushing him. The Mayor rushes to Fauchelevant's aid, and single-handedly lifts the cart, saving the carter. Javert is reminded of another man with incredible strength: the convict, Jean Valjean (The Runaway Cart). Javert tells the Mayor that Valjean has been recaptured, hoping to ensare the Mayor into admitting that he himself is Valjean. The Mayor, who is in fact Valjean, debates whether to let the innocent man accused of being Valjean suffer, to to confess and give up everything he has earned. He decides to tell the truth (Who Am I? - the Trial). Before he can be arrested, Valjean goes to Fantine, who is dying in the hospital, and swears to her that he will look after her daughter, Cosette (Come With Me). Javert arrives to arrest Valjean, but Valjean escapes (The Confrontation), and goes to Montfermeil where Cosette is being kept by the Thenardiers. MONTFERMEIL, 1823 Cosette is being treated like a slave by the Thenardiers while they use Fantine's money to pamper their own daughter, Eponine. Cosette dreams of escaping the dreadful family (Castle on a Cloud), but Mme. Thenardier would never let go of someone so useful. She sends the little girl out for water form the well, a good fifteen minteu's walk in the pitch dark. Meanwhile, M. Thenardier swindles his customers (Master of the House). Cosette is found in the dark by Valjean, who carries her pail of water and leads her back to the inn. The Thenardiers insist that they love the chlid and could not think of parting with her. Finally, they allow Valjean to take her in exchange for 1500francs (The Bargain/Waltz of Treachery). Valjean takes Cosette to Paris, where they live happily as father and daughter for nine years. PARIS, 1832 Unrest rules the streets of Paris as the popular General Lamarque lies on his deathbed. A group of idealistic students, Les Amis de l'ABC, attempt to stir up the poorer segments of the population, who are really only interested in where their next meal is coming from. The beggar boy Gavroche is in his element, mingling amongst the people and insighting them to revolt (Look Down). Meanwhile, one of Les Amis, a young man Marius, is talking with Eponine, now one of the poorest of the poor, and a good friend of his. She distracts him from the robbery her father is about to commit. When Thenardier and his gang jump their target, a wealthy old man, Theanrdier accidentally rips the man's shirt open, exposing the 24601 tattoo and revealing that the wealthy gentleman is none other than the convict, Jean Valjean. Valjean and the girl with him, Cosette, run away, but not before Cosette and Marius have experienced love at first sight (The Robbery). Eponine warns that Javert is coming, and the gang scatters, but Thenardier is caught. He buys his freedom with the information that Valjean is in Paris, and Javert lets him go (Javert's Intervention). Javert vows to catch Valjean, no matter the price (Stars). Marius convinces Eponine to discover Cosette's address, but Eponine is conflicted because she herself is in love with Marius (Eponine's Errand). Meanwhlie, Les Amis are meeting in their cafe, and their leader Enjolras is running an inventory. Marius arrives, dazed by his new-found love, but Enjolras and Grantaire distract him with mockery and speeches about patriotism (ABC Cafe/Red and Black). Gavroch arrives, announcing that General Lamarque has died. Sure that this is a sign that will bring the people to their aid, the students rush into the streets to stir up support (Do You Hear the People Sing?). Eponine has found Cosette's address for Marius, and brings him to her house, where Cosette is dreaming of Marius as much as he dreams of her (In My Life). Marius climbs into the garden, and he and Cosette swear to love each other forever while Eponine looks on sadly (A Heart Full of Love). But Thenardier and his gang, having decided that Valjean must be extraordinarily wealthy, show up. Eponine, knowing Marius can't be caught with Cosette, tries to reason with her father, and finally screams to frighten the gang away (Attack on Rue Plumet). Valjean runs to Cosette, thinking it was her that screamed. She says it was, since she doesn't want him to know about Marius. Valjean assumes it was Javert prowling that frightened her, and is determined to move to England. On the eve of the revolution, Valjean dreams of exile, Marius and Cosette bemoan their situation, Eponine regrets losing Marius, Enjolras and Les Amis try to whip up support for their cause, Javert plans to join the revolutionaries as a spy, and the Thenardiers dream of rich pickings after the battle (One Day More). ACT TWO Enjolras and the students build a barricade and vow to hold it against all comers, even if it means their deaths. Javert joins the students to spy on them, and Enjolras sends him out to spy on the National Guard (Upon These Stones). Only marius is distracted, knowing that Cosette is leaving for England and he will probably never see her again. Eponine shows up, disguised as a boy, and Marius sends her to Cosette with a letter. She takes the letter to Cosette's house, but it is intercepted by Valjean, who makes plans to go to the barricade and rescue Marius (The Letter). Eponine returns to the barricade, thinking about Marius and the life she could have had (On My Own). At the barricade, the students encourage each other and sing patriotic songs. They are warned to surrender, but refuse (Back at the Barricade). Javert returns, and gives Enjolras false information about the National Guard's plan. But Gavroche exposes him as a spy, and he is bound and taken into the cafe (Javert's Arrival/Little People). Eponine comes back, but is shot and killed (A Little Fall of Rain). Enjolras consoles Marius about the loss of his friend, and promises that Eponine won't have died in vain (Night of Anguish). Valjean arrives, and is accepted by Enjolras. The barricade is attack, and Valjean saves Enjolras' life, and in return is allowed to kill Javert. But Valjean shows mercy, and sets Javert free, firing a shot into the air to convince the students that he killed the spy (First Attack). Les Amis are confident of victory after they win the first skirmish, but Graintaire is convinced that he will die. He lifts a glass to the life he knew and the life he'll never know (Drink With Me). As Grantaire reminices, Valjean prays for Marius' life (Bring Him Home). The next day, the students are once more given the opportunity to surrender, and once again they refuse. Knowing the students are out of bullets, Gavroche ventures into the street to pillage some from the dead soldiers, but he is killed (Second Attack/Little People (reprise)). The barricade is attacked in full force, and Enjolras, knowing that the barricade will fall, orders the women and fathers to leave. All of Les Amis are killed (Final Battle). Valjean, however, escapes, carrying the badly wounded Marius into the sewers. He comes across Thenardier, who is robbing the corpses of students and Guardsmen. Thinking Marius is dead, he steals the boy's gold ring (Dog Eats Dog). Valjean emerges from the sewers, but meets Javert. He pleads for time to bring Marius to a doctor, and Javert, moved by Valjean's earlier mercy, allows him to go. Unable to come to terms with the convict's goodness, Javert throws himself into the Seine (Javert's Soliloquy). The women of Paris lament the loss of their husbands, brothers, and sons (Turning). Marius, too, regrets losing his friends, and is haunted by their memories (Empty Chairs at Empty Tables). Cosette consoles him, and reminds him of the vow of love they made (Every Day/A Heart Full of Love (reprise)). Valjean takes Marius aside and tells him that he is leaving. he does not want to put Marius and Cosette's future in danger because of his sordid past, and makes Marius promise never to tell Cosette that her father is a convict (Who Am I? - the Confession). PARIS, 1833 Marius and Cosette are happily married, but the Thenardiers show up the wedding. They show Marius a ring stolen from a corpse in the sewers, saying that it is proof that Marius' new father-in-law is a murderer. But Marius recognizes his own ring, and realizes that it was Valjean who saved him. As he rushes out to find Valjean, the Thenardiers congratulate themselves on their newly found affluence (Wedding Chorale/Beggars ta the Feast). The newlyweds arrive at Valjean's house, only to discover that he is dying. Marius praises Valjean as a saint, but Cosette is distraught by her father's inpending death. Valjean tells Cosette the truth - that he is not her father, but a convict, and tells her the story of her past before the spirits of Fantine and Eponine come to bring him home (Finale). |