Life Changing

Several years ago, I remember hearing one of my Mom's good friends refer to Les Miz as life-changing.  I'm going to admit that I've seen the musical and I love it, it's one of my favorites, but I always thought "life-changing" was a bit much.

And then I saw Les Miz at the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City last weekend.  It was the most incredible production I have seen in my life.  Life-changing is the only way to describe it.  The actors were excellent and the man playing Javier was extraordinary.  I think everyone in the audience was giddy when he walked onto the stage.  You could feel the excitement, "He's going to sing again!!!"  And Javier is not a sympathetic character.  But we couldn't get enough.  It was emotionally gripping and each song was better than the last.  By the end, I had determined how I could improve my most troubling relationships and how I needed to treat people.  Are you getting the picture here?  Life-changing. 

Here in Utah, we give standing ovations for EVERYTHING: a 3 year old's dance recital, a home school play, a preview for the next Twilight movie, everything.  This play, however, deserved to have  the entire audience on its feet by the end of the last song.  We really couldn't jump up fast enough.

I also need to say that I thoroughly enjoyed "The Merry Wives of Windsor," even though I haven't read it.  (My Dad reminded me that some people go through high school and college without reading a single book.  So it was okay that I hadn't read the play before I went to see it performed.)  And I should note that I brought two pairs of shoes on this trip - and Tricia only brought one.  Which is much more representative of our relationship than the strange phenomenon in St. George where I had fewer shoes than my sister. 

All in all, I love the Shakespeare Festival.  It's a tradition I started last year that I hope will continue for years to come.  I invite any and all to come to Cedar City with me to see Les Miz again in the next two months.  Or if that doesn't work for you, I am available next summer as well.