Yes I have been ignoring this little blog of mine, I have been very neglectful these past few months, and I tell you why: I have been miserable. No, not quite...but I have been busy, happy, crazed, tired and caught an illness which has been dubbed the 'theatre bug'. I have spent the last four months of my life steeped in a community production of Les Miserables. I have been living, breathing, and sleeping the music and the story; I put blood, sweat and tears into this show, and last night we took our final bows as a cast. Theatre can be so bittersweet. Throughout the course of the show, I play a factory worker, a serving wench in a seedy tavern, a beggar, and a revolutionary student's wife/girlfriend/whatever...but the part that I will be most remembered for is my portrayal of a 'Lovely Lady'.
When Fantine is fired from her position at the factory, she no longer has a way of supporting herself, or her daughter. So she sells her necklace, her hair, (in the book she goes so far as to sell her teeth), until finally she has nothing else to sell but herself. That's where I come in. We, as lovely ladies, try to convince Fantine to become as base as we are. Perhaps we'll feel better about ourselves if we can convince this beautiful woman to join us, after all, we used to be beautiful too. My advice to Fantine: "Make money in your sleep, that's right dearie, show 'em what you've got" (By the way, by first time singing into a microphone on stage...yikes!)
As fun as it was to be back on a stage, in a show I absolutely love, I have gotten a lot of flack for this role. People from my church telling me I was enjoying myself "a bit too much up there", people teasing "now we see the real you". A co-worker telling me flat-out that she wasn't going to support the show because of that scene. My sister saying that it is inappropriate for us to be up there like that.
I went from being excited about this opportunity to be a part of such an incredible cast, to being ashamed and not wanting to perform.
The story of Les Mis is a story of sacrifice, grace, and redemption, and I believe that our show delivered the message of the Gospel. I feel that Fantine's sacrifice to sell herself for her own daughter's sake, for the chance that Cosette might lead a better life, is parallel to Christ making the sacrifice on the Cross. He took our sin upon himself, so that we might be free from sin, he essentially sold himself so we could have eternal life. I think that as gritty and uncomfortable as our "lovely" little scene was, it was crucial in telling this story. I also stretched my acting (ACTING!!) abilities much further than I ever thought I could, and I feel honored and blessed to have gotten to share the stage (and that scene) with some of the most Godly, faithful women I have had the pleasure to meet.
Our poor little show received many attacks from a strong enemy, but our story was stronger, and people who may not have heard this message any other way, heard it from a SOLD-OUT theatre.
Aren't we just the loveliest?
