Drama Queen.

So in case you don't know this- I'm really into theater. In my high school days my niche was "drama kid" and I was in "Glee" before it was even a thing. Singing in particular is a passion of mine. I've "starred" (local in south florida that is) in 9 full productions between high school and college; 7 of these being Musicals (my favorite lead roles being Meg in Damn Yankees and Cinderella in Into the Woods). I've trained classically with private intstructors (yep, I can sing Opera), been honored to sing during 3 wedding ceremonies (my sister's and 2 dear friends), and have spent countless hours singing in the shower or evenings out at karaoke bars.

I'm not gonna lie...I sort of think I'm a big deal in the vocal department. I was truly blessed with a talent and lately I've been frustrated with myself that I don't use this talent more often. I do at times think, "Oh if only i tried out for American idol, or moved to New York to pursue it.."; However I am far to practical and pragmatic to have tried such a thing. Eh... C'est la vie.

Well you can imagine my excitement a few years back when the film industry decided to undertake transforming the beauty of musical theater to the big screen! I.have.seen.them.all. no matter how good (Evita, Chicago, Dreamgirls, Rent) or bad (Sweeny Todd)- I go.

Over the holidays I was able to go see Les Miserables. Simply put, I was blown away. Mostly I was overjoyed by the way it was done. This is the first time the raw passion and acting of musical theater while also singing LIVE was caught on camera (let me tell you, it is hard to cry and belt out notes at the same time!). no no no, no dubbed singing here. I was SO impressed with every aspect and talent of the actors within the film and the quality overall. Now keep in mind, Les Mis is an operetta or "through-sung" musical, meaning there's about 3 spoken lines of dialogue in the whole 2 hour 45 minutes film...no joke.  

I wept throughout and have a whole new respect for Anne Hathaway (however I still think Amanda Seyfried should stick to just acting ... or take a hike altogether please).

I bought the soundtrack, and have been humming along (slash belting out notes in my apartment at random). I will own this film as soon as it's available as well, and really hope it gets the props it deserves come awards season. If you haven't seen it, you should. A beautiful story about sacrifice, forgiveness, and love...