Darlings, It Is Time For Me To Come Clean About Fantine!!!!!!!!!!

                                        Why do I seem so obsessed with the character of Fantine from "Les Miserables," girls????  Let me assure you, it is not because I want to walk out and stop the show with "I Dreamed A Dream."  For that song to work, you almost have to do the opposite of stopping the show; you don't get out there and belt (as I have seen and heard some do) you have to make the audience feel Fantine's desperation.  And that takes lots more work than belting.

                                             But back to the beginning.  In 1987, just before the musical was to hit our shores on Broadway, I read the Victor Hugo novel. It was the Penguin Classics edition, with a translation by Norman Denny.  When I finished the section on Fantine, I was so devastated by what I had read, I could not go back to the book for two days.  And that was because this character was the embodiment of one of my key fears--not of being unwed and pregnant, not of being a prostitute, but of ending up alone on the streets, and dying.  I was living alone at the time, and that fear preyed heavily upon me.

                                              During the two days I had put the book down, I had an almost spectral experience.  I had been out late, and I was making my way home to Brooklyn, by way of the R at 14th and Union Square.  By the stairs, as I was going down, stood a haggard looking woman, mid-30s at latest, with long, straggly hair, and not all her teeth. With her was a child, most likely her daughter, who was definitely under 10. Young.  I passed them by; it was Winter, cold, and I was tired. But--when I got to the bottom of the stairs, a voice in my head said to me, "In another age, that would have been Fantine and Cosette."  I could not turn my back on them, if I were to remain true to the message of Fantine in the book, so I went back up the stairs; they were still there, and gave them some money, which I hope they both used to eat or find shelter.

                                               Not to mention the feeling of "there but for the grace of God, go I."

                                                 Which is why, much as I love "Les Miserables," both book and film, experiencing them is painful. In over 25 years I have only read it once, and seen the musical twice.  The second time, Melba Moore had joined the cast as Fantine--and she was great!--but what informed her performance was that she had been through some Fantine like experiences herself recently, and had just emerged from them.

                                                     That impressed me.  So much so, I waited for her outside the stage door. We had a lovely discussion, and, of course, she autographed my Playbill.  And she assured me such fears could be overcome,,,,as she did!

                                                        So, that is why Fantine stands out for me.  I would never have given that name to a child, but I will say this to my girls--there are plenty of other, contemporary Fantines out there.  Don't ignore them like the anonymous hordes.  Be a Christian humanitarian, like Sister Peg, and help when you can.

                                                           We are all Fantines, in the eyes of God!!!!!!!!!!!!