Can the message of a work triumph over poor artistic execution and a lack of understanding of genre? Jim Bennett and Joseph Addington join us to discuss this less-than-successful film version of the classic musical, which is itself an adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic work. Jim tells us about the pull this musical has on the Utah theater community and Joseph shares his love of the novel's classic spiritual journey. In the end, we find a few things to love about the film version in spite of its much criticized live singing style.

Show Notes: https://www.popcultureapricottree.com/post/lesmis

Video editing by Liz Busby; Audio mastering by Carl Cranney

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00:00:00 Intro
00:01:59 Best Books
00:10:34 Main Discussion
00:11:15 Les Mis in Utah Theater
00:13:49 The Book was Better
00:20:30 Failure as a Movie Musical
00:33:04 A Digression About Schmigadoon
00:36:30 Solutions to Poverty in Les Mis
00:44:33 Justice and Mercy
00:50:14 The Thenadiers and the Villain Problem
00:53:49 Our Ratings
01:05:19 Wrap Up & Summer Break