“One Day More”

Last night I had the awesome opportunity to see one of my favorite musicals, Les Miserables, in Denver at the Buell Theatre. I have previously blogged about this musical, writing about when I first saw it, which was here in Colorado Springs back in October of ‘99.

Well, it’s been almost 12 years since I saw Les Miz in the theater, so I was very anxious to see it again, and I was very excited about seeing it at the Buell Theatre, as it is a much larger, spacious stage, and I had great expectations for this production!

My mom and I went to this together (we’ve become regular patrons of the theater - at this point I feel we should invest in opera glasses and start attending the pre-show festivities!) and since we’ve been to the Performing Arts Center a few times we didn’t have any difficulty in finding our way there, and we were able to get such an ideal parking space! I realized just how ideal it was when we left the theater - we were in the car and out of the parking garage in record time!

Anyway, we were a little nervous that we would be running late (darn post-rush hour traffic!) as we arrived around 7:15 and the performance was supposed to start at 7:30, but as it turned out “the curtains would rise” at 8, so we were able to relax and wander around for a bit. We took the opportunity to pick up our souvenirs before show time (I had to get a t-shirt, and we also got the 25th Anniversary CD of Les Miz).

When it was time to find our seats I was amazed at how close we seemed to be to the stage, and when the musical began I realized we were VERY close, because Mom and I could see the little microphones attached onto the performers’ foreheads!

When the lights dimmed, the orchestra began playing the intro and then the actors appeared on stage to perform the Prologue I was swept away, fully engrossed and captivated and remained in this state for the next 2 ½ hours. It was glorious! The actors were all incredible with their amazing voices and their performances! The sets (including the pivotal barricade) were outstanding! This was just the way that I had hoped it would be! And it was all so moving, as I could hear several audience members (including my mom) crying during some of the most emotional moments of the musical.

I love the story and the music in Les Miz, particularly the spiritual tone. There are powerful messages of love, charity, compassion and humility presented, with an emphasis on faith in God; one of my favorite lyrics in the song score is the line “to love another person is to see the face of God.” It is such a simple, yet profoundly accurate statement. 

I loved every moment of the musical, but the one that stood out was during the final song of the first act, “One Day More” - which is performed by the entire company. It is so rousing, so energetic, so thunderous that I felt chills all over my body! What an experience!

A special note of thanks needs to be mentioned to my mom:

Mom, thanks for getting the tickets and for 

sharing this experience with me!