#it’s Hugo’s funeral jk

[youngsap]

Porcelain: I can’t believe all these people dressed in black. Black was our thing, and now everyone’s doing it to be “cool”.

Lemieux: They are all posers.

Gerard: Porcelain, Lemieux, and I cannot stress this enough, we are at a funeral.

[psalm22-6]

Le Petit Parisien, 9 February 1934

Les Misérables, directed by M. Raymond Bernard and with a screenplay by Andre Lang, is a momentous film, not only owing to its dimension (it is constituted in three parts, A Tempest Beneath a Skull, The Thénardiers, and Liberty, Cherished Liberty, but also because it happily illustrates and materializes the vitality of Victor Hugo’s gigantic novel. We saw the entire film - which lasts for five hours - at a gala, stunning in its generosity, that Monsieurs Natan held the other night at the Marignan-Pathe and which was (despite the taxi drivers strike and an unfortunate atmosphere) a perfect success. All of Paris that was at the premiere (that is to say, everyone fashionable in Paris) was perhaps blasé but were also vibrant, enthusiastic, energetic, and warmly praised Raymond Bernard’s images with their applause. 

Speaking amongst themselves, they remembered the time of silent films: M. Henri Fescourt, after M. Capellanie, we believe, had made his version of Les Misérables. Mme Sandra Milowanoff had had the role of Fantine. M. Gabriel Gabrio had Jean Valjean and M. Jean Toulout was Javert. The film was so successful that it was even shown in America. 

But let us return to the film being presented to us today. It was an arduous task and a challenge to want to yet again transport to the screen, this time “talking,” Victor Hugo’s novel, which lacks completely any psychological veracity and to confer to it a cinematographic life by giving its characters psychological realism. We will say now the director was served by exceptional actors and to this situation he owes a great lot. Monsieurs Raymond Bernard and Andre Lang had to retain in Les Misérables that epic breath that knocks everything over, which makes possible the impossible and which stereotypes humanity. In this immense cinematographic fresco, M. Raymond Bernard managed not to diminish the work of Victor Hugo…that that is a marvelous thing! 

Yesterday the first part premiered: A Tempest Beneath a Skull. Before we study it, let’s briefly examine the last two films, in order to uncover a larger view of the whole. 

The Thénardiers, they are a dodgy couple who make a martyr of Cosette, the daughter of Fantine, and who are forced to return the child to Jean Valjean, who has become M. Fauchelevent. Under this new name, Jean Valjean ages, meanwhile Cosette begins a idyll with Marius in the old Gorbeau house. But Javert, the worrying policeman, does not want to let go of his prey. For him, M. Fauchelevent is Jean Valjean and his insistence forces the ex convict to run away once more, abandoning the two children who, in love, do not want to leave one another. 

Finally, here is the third movie: Liberty, Cherished Liberty recalls the days in June 1832, the funeral of General Lamarque and the affair of the Rue de La Chanvrerie. On immense scenery mounted in a vast terrain near Biot, and which represents a part of the faubourg Saint-Antoine, thousands of extras were employed. On the screen, it’s really the action of those who will make their liberty with their flesh. Gavroche, who is legendary, participates in the defense of the barricades. Isn’t that for us a reminder of recent times? Today it is no longer the faubourg Saint-Antoine and the rue de la Chanvrerie where we are fighting for an ideal, it is elsewhere. But have no fear: if the heroes die for their liberty, Marius and Cosette are united. And so, the cinematic dénouement -which is not of cinema - ends a work which will be remembered as a masterpiece of French cinema. 

Let us now envision the first part of Les Misérables, this Tempest Beneath a Skull, that was shown at the Boulevard. It is childish to recount the plot of the novel, however let it be a sign, if not a novelty . . . [jk I’m not translating that, it’s just plot summary up to Valjean’s escape after Arras] . . .

M. Harry Baur plays Jean Valjean; he is in all three films; his vast shoulders carry the film’s weight. He is magnificent. Power, emotion, moral constraint, M. Harry Baur captures everything in the character, he expresses everything, he makes everything understood. We’ll see him soon in the next part of Les Misérables but already we can confirm that he is as good as Jean Valjean as he is M. Madelaine and Champmathieu. An artist who will amaze us is Mlle Florelle. While her sincere and spontaneous talent is used in so-called fantasy roles, Mlle Florelle could do much better: her acting as Fantine is an admirable work in simplicity and tact. If M. Charles Dullin, in the role of Thénardier, seems to be very unadventurous, Mme Marguerite Moreno - as Mme Thénardier - is simply odious; she is just in the spirit of the novel. M. Charles Vanel is an artful Javert very in that tradition; and we cannot forget little Gaby Triquet, so vibrant with the soul of a child. 

And thus ends the first part of Les Misérables. Already everyone can realize the effort that has been made. Raymond Bernard’s images will seem to some strongly sculpted by a discord of light and shadow: the characters will appear imbued with a romantic exasperation. But how else to present characters who are so marked by their period? Messieurs Raymond Bernard and Andre Lang, (who are perhaps romantics and who have proved it in the course of producing Les Misérables with an infectious faith and enthusiasm) have offered us a reflection of those years around 1830 that each of us images through the poet’s luxurious prose. In that they were well served by cinema. 

[arin-schreave]

Challenge Eight

here’s my trash- please accept it.

It’s a funeral (no secret there or anywhere really.)

procession

the royal family will be leading the walk behind the casket with the Selected behind them and the Grahams and other family friends are behind the Selected

Mel (she’s great- really she is fine- more like she’s wine)

Arin (sorry but this is byor (bring your own roast))

Wylan (the lad just got his hearing back the day before so he can really hear the sounds of everyone crying, including himself but he tries to hide it bc #nofear and don’t act like you don’t know he’s the best schreave boi)

Safiya (who just got the BEST wedding gift ever)

Theo (shhhhhhhh)

Ayesha? (no freaking clue where she’s at but not around)

Hugo (only person he’s falling for here is Tavi)

Chloé (chaotic and cute)

Connor (funkle)

Colette (jk- only person they should be burying is her and her attitude)

service

eulogy given by Arin (was going to write but i’m deadass too lazy)

reception

Notable Guests in Attendance (other royals too but lazy):

Italy

Princess Livia

Dante Marino

The German Federation

Queen Edith

Prince Frederick (Nathan Niehaus- you’re welcome ;) and thank Bri)

Florian (insert German last name)

Swendway

Queen Verena (#powermove)

Others

Officer Reynold Ryans & family (has a wife named Lively and three little girls- Jamie, Agnes, and Betsy)

This challenge takes place from October 5th (best day of the year) to October 10th. The funeral is on October 7th. Challenge closes August 28th/29th depending on if RPs are finished up.

nothing is required. eliminations will happen. final 2-3 here we come. home stretch.

trash. 

[betweenironyandsilver]

MUSICAL ASKS: ALL! OF! THEM! (or as many as you feel like doing)

only u would want to know my shitty Thots on musicals lmao (jk ily)

1. Favorite (Reprise)

for pure head-bobbing enjoyment, this honor goes to paris/look down (les mis), but for narrative purposes, i would pick the just you wait reprise (my fair lady) because i love how you can see how much has changed 

2. Best Act 1 ending.

one day more (les mis) sure does get the blood pumpin'

3. If you could go back in time to see a certain production, which one would it be?

i would kill to see the original my fair lady with julie andrews and rex harrison

4. Who should write a musical?

i guess she already has her own musical tv show, but i would definitely go see an entire musical by rachel bloom

5. The routine you recreate when home alone:

nothing, really lol...i have the bad trait trifecta of being very self-conscious, a mediocre singer and also unable to dance

6. A duet you’d love to perform and with whom.

i want to perform confrontation (les mis) with someone, doesn’t even matter whomst

also i love bad idea (waitress) but i sadly do not have the vocal capacity for those higher notes so probably no one else should be subjected to that 

7. A musical everyone can learn from.

sorry that like half these answers so far are les mis-related, but i do think that les mis has something for everyone, and it’s about LOVE and REDEMPTION and FORGIVENESS

8. Favorite set design EVER.

the great comet set design (or rather, theatre design) made me gasp out loud

9. Favorite person to play (insert role)

the main musical i follow extensively through multiple casts throughout the years is my fair lady lol and my favorite person to play eliza doolittle (excluding julie andrews obviously, who is god-tier and on a different plane of existence from us mortals) is lisa o’hare

10. Best digital #ham4ham

i didn’t watch these because by then i was getting a little fatigued about hamilton lol

11. Make up a name and the ingredients for a Waitress pie.

Too Scared to Graduate, Too Tired to Keep College-ing pie, which is filled with lemons and tears

12. Best tap number.

i love the little tap battle in bottom’s gonna be on top (something rotten!) 

14. Express your love for the orchestras!

they’re all valid and lovely!!!!!! when i saw les mis at west end, we could look into the pit from our seats which was so cool

15. Favorite musical written by (insert composer, lyricist)

you didn’t give me a composer/lyricist lol so im gonna say that i love alan menken and howard ashman and my favorite musical by them is beauty and the beast

16. Which part (or parts) do you sing in One Day More?

you can sing all of them if you’re not a coward

17. A line that never fails to make you laugh.

My father newly dead and the funeral boiled eggs now coldly furnished for the marriage table/methinks another chef might have whisked our desperate eggs together as one (from something rotten!)

and i would be a lot more zen/and i would punch a lot of men/if i had my time again (from groundhog day)

18. An upcoming production you’re excited for.

THE MOULIN ROUGE MUSICAL IN BOSTON!!!!!!!!!!! i wanna see it so bad

19. Do you have any funny misheard lyrics from a showtune?

hmm, none that come to mind rn

20. A musical you would NEVER see with your parents.

well my parents don’t really like musicals so we’re already a little out of options, but they would probably hate musicals that are a little “out there”

21. Musicals can introduce you to new cultures, interests, fancy words and so on. Name 3 things you’ve learned from musicals.

i felt like i was missing a lot of the references in jesus christ superstar (and i was) when i initially listened to it, so i went and read up on the various biblical stories

after watching les mis in high school, i went and actually read les mis, which was fun, and that led me to read some other stuff by victor hugo as well

i didn’t know anything about leo frank before listening to parade, and it was interesting to read about

22. Favorite OBC.

my fair lady OBC forever, we stan a singing legend with a supposed four-octave range

23. Cast recording you know by heart.

>open my itunes 

>only one album, the sound of music (film version)

>3000 plays

24. Cast recording for a long car ride.

i’m a little over hamilton but it is VERY fun to sing along to in the car

25. Favorite Miscast performance.

:( i don’t really watch these, sorry

26. I really like these ones so: make 2 musical related confessions.

i think wicked is overrated

 i kind of wish we would stop making musicals about random movies

27. Showtune of the day:

‘s wonderful (funny face)

28.  Who would play you in a musical about your life?

my life is not exciting enough for a musical

29. Who would play your best friend in a musical about your life?

see above

30.  Who would play your romantic interest in a musical about your life?

romance?? in this economy?? 

31. 2 solos you’d love to perform.

if i had the vocal capacity, i would love to sing vanilla ice cream (she loves me) and stars (les mis)

32. Describe yourself with 3 musical theatre characters.

i’m very bad at describing my own qualities lol

33. A character that inspires you to be better.

jean valjean, hardened embittered convict turned loving father and CHRIST FIGURE

34. A showtune that always puts you in a good mood.

she loves me (from she loves me lol) is so fun and happy. the bit where he goes “i wonder why i didn’t want her/i want her/that’s the thing that matters/and matters are improving daily!” is so fun!

35. A showtune that makes you feel melancholic.

she used to be mine (waitress) makes me think about how i’m not really very happy with where i am in life, but also that i don’t know how to really address these issues

36. Best showstopper.

something rotten!/make an omelette; a bunch of dancing eggs on the stage that unfold their costumes to turn into omelettes? random musical and shakespeare references? could your faves ever

37. A place you consider to be your Santa Fe.

hmm...i guess greece?

38. The name of the prettiest theater you’ve been to.

lyric opera of chicago owns my entire ass

39. The most intense scene from a musical.

el tango de roxanne makes me go into cardiac arrest every damn time

40. A great cover of a showtune:

hmm i can’t think of anything off the top of my head

41. Put your phone on shuffle and write the first 2 showtunes that appear.

valjean’s soliloquy (les mis) and looking down the barrel of a gun (gentleman’s guide to love and murder)

(the worst part of this one was that the first two songs that came up on shuffle were showtunes)

42. Best design of a Playbill.

i don’t actually have particularly strong feelings about any playbill designs, they are mostly all nice!

[crollalanzaa]

1, 6, 10 (how about the beat of a drum and uncovered by death for both 6 and 10 lol)

Thank you. 

1) Gahhhh, I hate this question because I can never answer properly. If I have to choose, then it’s probably Zephyrus (my iwaoi) because I like the structure of it and it was something that I worked on. But I’m also incredibly fond of Veils (a James.Lily fic) High (because it was the first long multi-chaptered I finished), Uncovered by Death (because I managed to write a freaking murder mystery!) and then Cake or Break (daisuga) because I loved writing it so very much and it got a great reception. 

The Beat of a Drum

6)  Which scenes did you cut, and which were added in.I don’t make plans so nothing was actually added as such, although the whole thing did spiral somewhat.  I did cut a whole substory where I was thinking about having teenage Saeko as having a crush on Akiteru and Keishin thinking it was the guy she’d gone out with and ‘jealousy’ etc, but it had the potential to spiral too much and I’m pleased I didn’t do that. It was going to be made explicitly clear that Keishin’s dad was having an affair. It would have been a whole subplot, and he was going to have a kid (I think.) These were all a little muddled in my head, and might, possibly, turn up in other stories, but I think the fact his parents were dissatisfied was enough for the plot.

10) What are some facts readers may not know about TBoaDUm, I’d had the idea for around a month or two when I saw the potential for Saeko and Keishin to be a couple. Keishin reminded me in his smoky haze, of the old film noir movies I used to watch with my Dad, so that’s where the idea for the Bogart and Bacall thing came from.About a day after I started writing, Lauren Bacall died, and I was really anxious about posting. But actually no one said anything, and I’m not sure she was on their radar, so it was all good.Someone cosplayed my Saeko with her pink lollipops. Uncovered by Death (Scorpius/Lily Murder Mystery)

6) Which scenes did you cut, and which were added in?Um ... I’m trying to remember, but I feel sure that there was going to be a denoument scene between the murderer [redacted], Scorpius and Lily, set at the flat above Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, but I cut that and set it at Hogwarts instead... which makes a lot more sense. It was only after Id started writing (and posting) that I did proper research of wand wood and made the victim’s wand what it was. I needed something that was strongly loyal to its owner. Also the scene at the victim’s funeral and someone’s speech was added. I’d also written another story while writing this featuring Zach Smith, which is why he featured more heavily in this story than originally planned. And Draco kind of took over because he’s such a scene stealer. Ditto Daphne. 

10) What are some facts readers may not know about UbDThe initial idea for this was an OF set at my former college, but I wanted to try it out first in fanfic form. As HP was the only fandom I was into, I then used all the magical elements I could think of, rendering it useless for OF. It did prove to me that I could write a murder story though.One of my betas was a big Scugo shipper and I had to keep an eye on her ‘edits’ as she’d leave notes about how Hugo was watching Scorpius (thanks Nat)The previous story in this series (High) was written originally a 500 word drabble, written for a prompt. I was also quite anti the assumed canon of Sco/Rose. (I don’t dislike the ship at all, but hated the way everyone said that was going to be a ship. I mean, knowing how JK writes now, that probably would happen, but I hated the automatic pairing when they’re eleven fricking years old! I think this story had the longest search for a title ever, although I can’t remember what any of my other options were. Looking at it now, I can’t imagine it being called anything else. 

Thanks again!