Angelica and Fantine

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I am a big fan of both Les Mis and Hamilton and lately I have noticed that there are quite a few parallels in these shows. The one I’m going to focus on is the secondary female leads in these shows. Angelica Schuyler is a very significant character in the story of Alexander Hamilton, and while Cosette and Eponine are the main female leads, the story began with Fantine, much as Hamilton’s did with Angelica.

First I will talk about Angelica. For those who don’t know Hamilton, Angelica is the third point of a love triangle in the first act. She is the sister of Eliza, who marries Hamilton. She claims that she is “a girl in a world in which my only job is to marry rich” (Satisfied). She, nevertheless, developed feelings for then dirt-poor Alexander Hamilton, which she knew was a bad idea, so therefore left him for Eliza. Throughout the show, she continues to flirt with Hamilton, while the naive Eliza sees it as a platonic relationship- nothing more than friends. Angelica marries someone she doesn’t love and moves to London, all sacrificially. She gives up her true love for her sister who she knows “like her own mind” and loves “more than anything in this life.”

Fantine’s sacrifices are even more tolling physically and emotionally. Fantine gives up whatever she can to help her daughter who was born out of wedlock, and who has to live with another family, since Fantine can’t afford to take care of a daughter. She still has to pay this family routinely, however, and when she loses her job, she has to find other ways. As she wanders the streets, she meets a lot of shady lower class citizens who make offers to her. She ends up selling first her necklace, which contains a lock of Cosette’s hair, to pay a debt. Next, she lets the street urchins shave her hair to sell and make wigs with. In the movie, she also sells four of her teeth, which are removed unsafely. These all take a toll on her self-esteem, since she was known for her beautiful hair. She still doesn’t have what she needs, and ends up selling her body. Living on the streets allows Fantine to contract tuberculosis, and she becomes too weak to take care of herself. This leads to her early death, setting the musical down a tragic path.

These two strong female characters both made huge sacrifices for people they loved the most. While Fantine’s is depicted more extravagantly than Angelica’s, both of their deeds were done in order to save and help their family. Their stories are similar, with Fantine’s being classic, since it was from a novel written in 1862 with the musical made in 1987. Angelica’s, on the other hand, is extremely modernized, even though it takes place chronologically within the setting before Fantine’s story, and the main focus is romance, which is viewed today as one of the most important things. At their cores, both of these musicals are about love. As it is said in Les Mis, “To love another person is to see the face of God.” While many see Hamilton’s plot as being centered around America’s early years, one of the most prominent themes is love, whether it is forgiveness, love at first sight, missing your loved one, or even the aftermath of an affair. Angelica and Fantine are both characters that would not be considered stereotypical females, as they are strong and fierce women.

Dear Evan Hansen: Exploring Connor Murphy

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I want to talk about the one main character the musical hardly gives us any information on. That character is the ever-present Connor Murphy. In the stage musical, we hardly get to know him, which is heartbreaking due to the fact that he is such a complex character. We need to remember that Connor isn’t just the stereotypical “emo” or “goth,” he has many components to his personality. I have been able to read both the novel version and the printed script, which has been so helpful in this case, as well as Through The Window, the informational book. Without further ado, let’s explore Connor Murphy!

The first aspect of Connor I want to discuss is his costume and appearance. When the average person hears the term “emo,” they probably think of someone wearing all black clothing, combat boots, over-the-top eyeliner, (or guyliner) and gauge earrings. But when Connor first comes onstage, those descriptions are not emulated in him at all. Connor wears a dark grey hoodie, a grey denim shirt, and black jeans. The costumer says that the production team wanted to put Connor in dark neutrals rather than complete black so that he seemed more approachable. The creators wanted us to like him at least a little bit. Connor’s hair, however, is long and slightly unkept, which symbolizes his internal thoughts and behaviors to an extent. Connor is not the stereotype some people tend to make him out to be.

Next, I want to talk about something that many people will not know, unless they have read the novel. So if you haven’t and don’t want spoilers, you might want to stop here. For those that have read the novel adaptation, we know that Connor had a friend when he attended an all-boys school. The friend’s name was Miguel, and they were so close that they were sometimes inseparable. Connor had a fallout with Miguel due to an incident at school, followed by the boys’ parents insisting they stop talking. Later on, we get the implied indication that Connor and Miguel may have been more than friends. If this is true, his feelings toward M may have been part of the reason for his emotional damage, substance abuse, and eventual death.

Following all of the pain he went through with Miguel, Connor turned to drinking and drugs. He also developed emotional conditions that were harmful such as using violence to cope. He tended to take out his anger on other objects and people, and eventually himself. In Connor’s segments of the novel we learn that Connor used to cut himself and covered the scars with wristbands and bracelets. His emotional trauma combined with the obvious misundertanding of his parents led Connor down a path he never wanted to go down.

Connor was never meant to be who he was demonized as. He is simply another teenager with flaws, like Evan, Jared, Zoe, and the rest of the cast. While all the things that are most prominent in the musical depict him as this mentally tormented soul, I personally think that Connor had good in him. Even if it was only at his very core, he still had it. It may have been overshadowed by hate, anger, and possibly repression, but the version of Connor that was showed to readers in flashbacks of the novel was still there. You just had to look for it. 🌠

Introduction to my Blog!

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This is my first time ever having a blog! I have always wanted to have a space to share all the thousands of things that I have discovered about Broadway and the world of musical theatre. I’m definitely a theatre kid, in all forms of the word: I have basically grown up in the theatre, and it’s made me who I am now. I’m a HUGE fan of a lot of different musicals. I’m more into contemporary musicals (1980-present) than classics, with a few exceptions, of course. I’m an avid bootleg watcher Broadway listener, performer, and audience member who could talk about Broadway for days on end, so this will be where I do so. Hope you enjoy everything I have to say! -Bella 💖🎭