There was a buzz of excitement as the audience awaited the upcoming event. Suddenly the lights dim and a wave of silence falls over the eager crowd. Then music from the orchestra commences. So begins the Broadway "opera," "Les Miserables," a French musical based on the book bearing the same title, by the famous author, Victor Hugo.

The music is enchanting and the characters are lovable. "Les Miserables" takes place in a French town many years following the French Revolution. It is a story of love, courage, dishonesty, sadness, poverty, and death. Especially entertaining was J.C. Sheets who played the hero and main character, Jean Valjean, in this Broadway production. At the end of the three and a half hour show, there is a tear in almost every eye as a standing ovation occurs. In the lobby people rush to buy mugs, t-shirts, posters, and buttons bearing "Les Miserables" as well as the picture of the young heroine, Cosette.

This was the second time I had seen "Les Miserables" on Broadway and I could see it again and again. Although the tickets are expensive, it is worth it because you leave with a memory that will last a lifetime. I encourage anyone to see "Les Miserables," or any Broadway play or musical. n