I love les mis!!!

Last Friday I fulfilled my dream of watching Les Misérables! For so long I have sang the songs or played them in band and now I finally got the chance to see it all on stage.

It was utterly amazing. Hands down it was Randal Keith, the actor who played Jean Valjean, that stole the show. You must hear his performance of "Bring Him Home". It truly surpasses any performance that has gone before him and I can't help but listen to this small clip of it over and over. You must click here to listen to it!

Within the first ten minutes I was already crying. The themes of crime and punishment, injustice and prejudice were so well portrayed. In the program there is an excellent article by Edward Behr that speaks on the universal messages inherent in Les Mis, and this has explained its enormous success all around the world - in North America and Europe and from Iceland to Japan. I wish every child could afford to see a musical. I understand that there are enormous costs involved in production, casting and the orchestra but it's kind of sad that a person (like me, who grew up in the Village!) has to wait until they're 23 to see their first musical. (For those not familiar with Toronto geography, "the Village" is a dilapidated apartment complex at Caledonia and Lawrence, which is situated by "the Jungle" near Bathurst Heights.)

I say this because I have become very passionate about child literacy and promoting the arts... I'm so happy my little sister Rose is studying drama and I think it's something everyone should get to indulge in every once in awhile.

Speaking of which, Mike and I got to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) as well this weekend to further culture ourselves. We saw the "Catherine the Great" exhibit and while it was very well done, I have to say I still have a very vague idea of what she stood for and whether or not she was the champion of the people or not. What I remember however, is reading the back of a book about her in the AGO gift shop which mentioned that in her time, men held all the power and were the supreme beings... so much so that although Catherine the Great carried two X chromosomes she was the embodiment of a man. I find this quite interesting.

We also got to spend a wonderful evening at my sister's new place for dinner. I had so much fun watching Rose demonstrating her new mime moves, eating a delicious roast and listening to jazz on an amazing old record player. The night extended to clubbing where I met up with Mercedes, my best frend who I went to York with for undergrad. In all this, I was able to make it back to Kingston in one piece and practice for our medical variety night which is starting on Thursday!! I have to thank Mike for his impeccable driving.

All this craziness prompted my big sister to ask me if I actually ever studied (and rightly so). This is a very good question. I have to answer honestly and say, these days I've just been enjoying the arts. Soon, soon, I will hit the books (and be miserable, heheh).




My favourite medically-related line from les Mis: In the scene where Fantine has to enter prostitution to support her child, a rude French fellow mentions to another prostitute that "the clap has gone to her head!" I have to say I found this really funny, and it's even funnier that I caught this line (what a nerd am I). The clap, affectionately known as gonorrhea, is caused by a bacterial infection. Syphilis is also caused by a bacterial infection and I think this is what the quote is actually referring to. Syphilis can progress to a tertiary stage if left untreated for 10-30 years. In this stage, the disease-causing organism (Treponema pallidum) infiltrates the brain and can cause a psychiatric condition called General Paresis of the Insane (GPI). This curious malady can manifest itself as megalomania, which has led some historians to believe that Charles VIII, Nietzsche, Paul Gaugin and Al Capone were all afflicted with syphilis and driven insane. Please be careful - it's on the rise! For more information, visit this excellent website.