~THE FINAL CURTAIN

The musical Les Miserables, which is based on the book by Victor Hugo, contains elements of grace, forgiveness, mercy, honor, compassion, and courage.  The story it tells is beautiful, and the music is equally so.  Since this play has always been a favorite in my family, I was very touched when I read an anecdote in a magazine concerning it, which was adapted from a book by Nancy Ortberg entitled, Looking for God: An Unexpected Journey Through Tattoos, Tofu, and Pronouns.

One evening, Nancy and her husband went to see Les Mis.  In the play's finale, a song is sung by its protagonist, Jean Valjean, which contains the following lyric: "To love another person is to see the face of God."  With tears streaming down her face, Nancy turned to her husband and said, "That's one of the truest and most beautiful phrases I've ever heard.  Why didn't God make that a verse in the Bible?"

Several weeks later, Nancy's husband told her he wanted to show her something, and he opened his Bible to Genesis 33:10:

"For to see your face is like seeing the face of God."

For me, this is a lovely anecdote because it reminds me that God really has thought of everything, and that even though there are a plethora of very talented writers in this world who tell very affecting stories, they will never be able to compare to the Author of it all.

The lyrics referred to above can be found at
minute 6:50 of this video:

*Another very affecting part of the play occurs when Jean Valjean (who is an ex-convict who has broken his parole and created a new identity for himself) reaches a crux of faith: he can allow an innocent man who has been mistaken for himself to go to prison in his place, or he can do the honest thing and turn himself in...

*Javert is the police inspector who has made it his life's work to find and capture Jean Valjean.  In this song, he declares that it's his duty to God to do so.



The original Broadway cast recording
is worth every penny!


*Let me caution, parts of this score contain quite a bit of vulgarity.  That's theater for ya' (I guess)  :/

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