Phantom of the Opera

Opera singer Christine triumphs at the gala on the night of the old managers' retirement. Her old
childhood friend, Raoul, hears her sing and recalls his love for Christine. At this time, there are
rumors of a phantom living at the Opera and he makes himself known to the managers through
letters and malevolent acts. Some time after the gala, the Paris Opera performs Faust, with
the prima donnaCarlotta playing the lead, against the Phantom's wishes. During the performance,
Carlotta loses her voice and the grand chandelier plummets into the audience.
Christine is kidnapped by the phantom and is taken to his home in the cellars of the Opera where he
identifies himself as Erik. He plans to keep her there for a few days, hoping she will come to love
him. But she causes Erik to change his plans when she unmasks him and, to the horror of both,
beholds his noseless, lipless, sunken-eyed face which resembles a skull dried up by the centuries,
covered in yellowed dead flesh. Fearing that she will leave him, he decides to keep her with him
forever, but when Christine requests release after two weeks, he agrees on condition that she wear
his ring and be faithful to him.
On the roof of the opera house, Christine tells Raoul that Erik abducted her. Raoul promises to take
Christine away to a place where Erik can never find her. Raoul tells Christine he shall act on his
promise the next day, to which Christine agrees. She, however, has pity for Erik and will not go until
she has sung a song for him one last time. Neither is aware that Erik has been listening to their
conversation and that he has become extremely jealous.
The following night, Erik kidnaps Christine during a production of Faust and tries to force Christine to
marry him. He states that if she refuses, he will use explosives (which he has planted in the cellars)
to destroy the entire opera house. Christine refuses, until she realizes that Erik learned of Raoul's
attempt to rescue her and has trapped Raoul in a hot torture chamber (along with the Persian, an old
acquaintance of Erik who was going to help Raoul). To save them and the people above, Christine
agrees to marry Erik. Erik initially tries to drown Raoul, using the water which would have been used
to douse the explosives. But Christine begs and offers to be his "living bride", promising him not to
kill herself after becoming his bride, as she had both contemplated and attempted earlier in the
novel. Erik eventually rescues Raoul from his torture chamber. When Erik is alone with Christine, he
lifts his mask to kiss her on her forehead, and is given a kiss back. Erik reveals that he has never
received a kiss (not even from his own mother) nor has been allowed to give one and is overcome
with emotion.
Erik allows them to escape, though not before making Christine promise that she will visit him once
on his death day, and return the gold ring he gave her. He also makes her promise that afterwards
she will go to the newspaper and report his death. Indeed, some time later Christine returns to Erik's

lair, buries him and returns the gold ring. Afterwards, a local newspaper runs the simple note: "Erik is
dead".

West Side Story

Two rival teenage gangs, the Jets (White) and the Sharks (Puerto Rican), struggle for control of the
neighborhood somewhere in the Upper West Side of New York City amidst the police (Prologue).
They are warned by Lt. Schrank and Officer Krupke to stop fighting on their beat. The police chase
the Sharks off, and then the Jets plan how they can assure their continued dominance of the street.
The Jets' leader, Riff, suggests setting up a rumble with the Sharks. He plans to make the challenge
to Bernardo, the Sharks' leader, that night at the neighborhood dance. Riff wants to convince his
friend and former member of the Jets, Tony, to meet the Jets at the dance. Some of the Jets are
unsure of his loyalty, but Riff is adamant that Tony is still one of them ("Jet Song"). Riff meets Tony
while he's working at Doc's Drugstore to persuade him to come. Tony initially refuses, but Riff wins
him over. Tony is convinced that something important is round the corner ("Something's Coming").
Maria works in a bridal shop with Anita, the girlfriend of her brother, Bernardo. Maria has just arrived
from Puerto Rico for her arranged marriage to Chino, a friend of Bernardo's. Maria confesses to
Anita that she is not in love with Chino. Anita makes Maria a dress to wear to the neighborhood
dance.
At the dance, after introductions, the teenagers begin to dance; soon a challenge dance is called
("Dance at the Gym"), during which Tony and Maria (who aren't taking part in the challenge dance)
see each other across the room and are drawn to each other. They dance together, forgetting the
tension in the room, and fall in love, but Bernardo pulls his sister from Tony and sends her home. Riff
and Bernardo agree to meet for a War Council at Doc's, a drug store which is considered neutral
ground, but meanwhile, an infatuated and happy Tony finds Maria's building and serenades her
outside her bedroom ("Maria"). She appears on her fire escape, and the two profess their love for
one another ("Tonight"). Meanwhile, Anita, Rosalia, and the other Shark girls discuss the differences
between the territory of Puerto Rico and the mainland United States of America, with Anita defending
America, and Rosalia yearning for Puerto Rico ("America").
The Jets get antsy while waiting for the Sharks inside Doc's Drug Store. Riff helps them let out their
aggression ("Cool"). The Sharks arrive to discuss weapons to use in the rumble. Tony suggests "a
fair fight" (fists only), which the leaders agree to, despite the other members' protests. Bernardo
believes that he will fight Tony, but must settle for fighting Diesel, Riff's second-in-command, instead.
This is followed by a monologue by the ineffective Lt. Schrank trying to find out the location of the
rumble. Tony tells Doc about Maria. Doc is worried for them while Tony is convinced that nothing can
go wrong; he is in love.
The next day, Maria is in a very happy mood at the bridal shop, as she anticipates seeing Tony
again. However, she learns about the upcoming rumble from Anita and is dismayed. When Tony

arrives, Maria asks him to stop the fight altogether, which he agrees to do. Before he goes, they
dream of their wedding ("One Hand, One Heart"). Tony, Maria, Anita, Bernardo and the Sharks, and
Riff and the Jets all anticipate the events to come that night ("Tonight Quintet"). The gangs meet
under the highway and, as the fight between Bernardo and Diesel begins, Tony arrives and tries to
stop it. Though Bernardo taunts Tony, ridiculing his attempt to make peace and provoking him in
every way, Tony keeps his composure. When Bernardo pushes Tony, Riff punches him in Tony's
defense. The two draw their switchblades and get in a fight ("The Rumble"). Tony attempts to
intervene, inadvertently leading to Riff being fatally stabbed by Bernardo. Tony kills Bernardo in a fit
of rage, which in turn provokes an all-out fight like the fight in the Prologue. The sound of
approaching police sirens is heard, and everyone scatters, except Tony, who stands in shock at what
he has done. The tomboy, Anybody's, who stubbornly wishes that she could become a Jet, tells Tony
to flee from the scene at the last moment and flees with the knives. Only the bodies of Riff and
Bernardo remain.
Blissfully unaware of the gangs' plans for that night, Maria daydreams about seeing Tony with her
friendsRosalia, Consuelo, Teresita and Francisca ("I Feel Pretty"). Later, as Maria dances on the
roof happily because she has seen Tony and believes he went to stop the rumble, Chino brings the
news that Tony has killed Bernardo. Maria flees to her bedroom, praying that Chino is lying. Tony
arrives to see Maria and she initially pounds on his chest with rage, but she still loves him. They plan
to run away together. As the walls of Maria's bedroom disappear, they find themselves in a dreamlike
world of peace ("Somewhere").
Two of the Jets, A-Rab and Baby John, are set on by Officer Krupke, but they manage to escape
him. They meet the rest of the gang. To cheer themselves up, they lampoon Officer Krupke, and the
other adults who don't understand them, ("Gee Officer Krupke"). Anybody's arrives and tells the Jets
she has been spying on the Puerto Ricans; she has discovered that Chino is looking for Tony with a
gun. The gang separates to find Tony. Action accepts Anybody's into the Jets, and includes her in the
search.
A grieving Anita arrives at Maria's apartment. As Tony leaves, he tells Maria to meet him at Doc's so
they can run away to the country. In spite of her attempts to conceal it, Anita sees that Tony has
been with Maria, and launches an angry tirade against him, ("A Boy Like That"). Maria counters by
telling Anita how powerful love is, ("I Have a Love"), though, and Anita realizes that Maria loves Tony
as much as she had loved Bernardo. She admits that Chino has a gun and is looking for Tony.
Lt. Schrank arrives to question Maria about her brother's death, and Anita agrees to go to Doc's to
tell Tony to wait. Unfortunately, the Jets, including Anybody's, who have found Tony, have
congregated at Doc's, and they taunt Anita with racist slurs and eventually simulate rape. Doc arrives
and stops them. Anita is furious, and in anger spitefully delivers the wrong message, telling the Jets
that Chino has shot Maria dead.

Doc relates the news to Tony, who has been dreaming of heading to the countryside to have children
with Maria. Feeling there is no longer anything to live for, Tony leaves to find Chino, begging for him
to shoot him as well. Just as Tony sees Maria alive, Chino arrives and shoots Tony. The Jets,
Sharks, and adults flock around the lovers. Maria holds Tony in her arms (and sings a quiet, brief
reprise of "Somewhere") as he dies. Angry at the death of another friend, the Jets move towards the
Sharks but Maria takes Chino's gun and tells everyone that "all of [them]" killed Tony and the others
because of their hate for each other, and, "Now I can kill too, because now I have hate!" she yells.
However, she is unable to bring herself to fire the gun and drops it, crying in grief. Gradually, all the
members of both gangs assemble on either side of Tony's body, showing that the feud is over. The
Jets and Sharks form a procession, and together carry Tony away, with Maria the last one in the
procession.

RENT
On Christmas Eve, 1989, aspiring filmmaker Mark Cohen, and his roommate, Roger Davis, learn
that the rent previously waived by their old friend and landlord, Benjamin Benny Coffin III, is due
("Rent"). Their former roommate Tom Collins shows up and gets mugged. Mark and Roger meet with
Benny, who tells them he plans to evict the homeless from the nearby lot and build a cyber studio
("You'll See Boys"). He offers them free rent if they get Maureen, Mark's ex-girlfriend, to cancel her
protest against his plans, but they refuse.
A street drummer, Angel, finds Collins and they bond since they have AIDS. Roger, who is HIVpositive and a former drug addict, tries to compose his one last great song ("One Song Glory"). He's
visited by his downstairs neighbor, Mimi, an exotic dancer and heroin addict ("Light My Candle").
On Christmas Day, Mark and Roger are visited by Collins and Angel (in drag), bearing gifts ("Today 4
U"). They invite Mark and Roger to attend Life Support, an AIDS support group. Roger turns them
down, while Mark goes to fix Maureen's sound equipment. He runs into Joanne, Maureen's new
girlfriend, who bonds with him as they discuss Maureen's promiscuity ("Tango: Maureen"). Mark
arrives at the Life Support meeting ("Life Support"). He films the meeting for the documentary he's
making about people living with HIV/AIDS.
Mimi visits Roger ("Out Tonight"). Roger, whose ex-girlfriend died of HIV/AIDS, rebukes her
advances and throws her out ("Another Day"). The next day, he joins Mark, Collins and Angel at a
Life Support meeting ("Will I?"). Leaving the meeting, the group imagines what it would be like to
move to Santa Fe ("Santa Fe"). Roger and Mark leave to help Maureen set up for her performance,
and Angel and Collins reveal they are falling in love ("I'll Cover You"). Maureen performs her song
that calls out Benny for changing who he was when he got married and blames him for trying to shut

down the tent city ("Over the Moon"). The performance starts a riot because Benny called in police to
make sure the protest stayed peaceful, but it escalated into violence. Once the protest is over, the
group goes to The Life Cafe and celebrates Mark selling his riot footage to a local news station ("La
Vie Boheme"). Roger and Mimi reveal they are falling for each other, and reveal they are HIV
positive ("I Should Tell You"). They share a kiss and continue celebrating with their friends ("La Vie
Boheme B").
On New Years Day, Benny has padlocked the apartment, but Angel breaks the lock with a garbage
can. Mark takes a job at Buzzline, the news station he sold his riot footage to. After another fight,
Maureen proposes to Joanne; the relationship ends when Maureen flirts with another woman at the
engagement party ("Take Me or Leave Me"). After being persuaded by Mimi, his ex-girlfriend, Benny
gives the group back their apartment. Over the following year, Roger grows distrustful of Mimi, and
their relationship ends ("Without You"). Angel's condition gets worse and he dies in Collins' arms. At
Angel's funeral, the group goes their separate ways after a bitter argument ("I'll Cover You/Goodbye
Love").
Roger sells his guitar, buys a car, and moves to Santa Fe. He returns because he still loves Mimi.
Mark quits his job at Buzzline to pursue his own film ("What You Own"). On Christmas Eve, 1990,
Mark and Roger reunite with Collins, who reveals he has reprogrammed an ATM to dispense cash
when someone inputs A-N-G-E-L. Joanne and Maureen find Mimi on the streets, near death. Mimi
and Roger reconcile and he sings the song he has written over the past year ("Finale A/Your Eyes").
Mimi appears to die, but suddenly awakens. She tells them that she was heading to the light, but
Angel told her to go back. As Mark's documentary is shown for the first time, the friends reaffirm that
there is "no day but today" ("Finale B").

Fiddler on the Roof

Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman with five daughters, explains the customs of the Jews in the
Russian shtetl of Anatevka in 1905, where their lives are as precarious as the perch of a fiddler on a
roof ("Tradition"). At Tevye's home, everyone is busy preparing for the Sabbath meal. His sharptongued wife, Golde, orders their daughters, Tzeitel, Hodel, Chava, Shprintze and Bielke, about their
tasks. Yente, the village matchmaker, arrives to tell Golde that Lazar Wolf, the wealthy butcher, a
widower older than Tevye, wants to wed Tzeitel, the eldest daughter. The next two daughters, Hodel
and Chava, are excited about Yente's visit, but Tzeitel is unenthusiastic ("Matchmaker,
Matchmaker"). A girl from a poor family must take whatever husband Yente brings, but Tzeitel wants
to marry her childhood friend, Motel the tailor.

Tevye is delivering milk, pulling the cart himself, as his horse is lame. He asks God, whom would it
hurt "If I Were a Rich Man?" Avram, the bookseller, has news from the outside world
about pogroms and expulsions. A stranger, Perchik, hears their conversation and scolds them for
doing nothing more than talk. The men dismiss Perchik as a radical, but Tevye invites him home for
the Sabbath meal and offers him food and a room in exchange for tutoring his two youngest
daughters. Golde tells Tevye to meet Lazar after the Sabbath but does not tell him why, knowing that
Tevye does not like Lazar. Tzeitel is afraid that Yente will find her a husband before Motel asks Tevye
for her hand. But Motel resists: he is afraid of Tevye's temper, and tradition says that a matchmaker
arranges marriages. Motel is also very poor and is saving up to buy a sewing machine before he
approaches Tevye, to show that he can support a wife. The family gathers for the "Sabbath Prayer."
After the Sabbath, Tevye meets Lazar at Mordcha's inn, assuming mistakenly that Lazar wants to
buy his cow. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, Tevye agrees to let Lazar marry Tzeitel with
a rich butcher, his daughter will never want for anything. All join in the celebration of Lazar's good
fortune; even the Russian youths at the inn join in the celebration and show off their dancing skills
("To Life"). Outside the inn, Tevye happens upon the Russian Constable, who has jurisdiction over
the Jews in the town. The Constable warns him that there is going to be a "little unofficial
demonstration" in the coming weeks (a euphemism for a minor pogrom). The Constable has
sympathy for the Jewish community but is powerless to prevent the violence.
The next morning, after Perchik's lessons with her young sisters, Tevye's second daughter Hodel
mocks Perchik's Marxist interpretation of a Bible story. He, in turn, criticizes her for hanging on to the
old traditions of Judaism, noting that the world is changing. To illustrate this, he dances with her,
defying the prohibition against opposite sexes dancing together. The two begin to fall in love. Later,
a hungover Tevye announces that he has agreed that Tzeitel will marry Lazar Wolf. Golde is
overjoyed, but Tzeitel is devastated and begs Tevye not to force her. Motel arrives and tells Tevye
that he is the perfect match for Tzeitel and that he and Tzeitel gave each other a pledge to marry. He
promises that Tzeitel will not starve as his wife. Tevye is stunned and outraged at this breach of
tradition, but impressed at the timid tailor's display of backbone. After some soul-searching ("Tevye's
Monologue"), Tevye agrees to let them marry, but he worries about how to break the news to Golde.
An overjoyed Motel celebrates with Tzeitel ("Miracle of Miracles").
In bed with Golde, Tevye pretends to be waking from a nightmare. Golde offers to interpret his
dream, and Tevye "describes" it ("Tevye's Dream"). Golde's grandmother Tzeitel returns from the
grave to bless the marriage of her namesake, but to Motel, not to Lazar Wolf. Lazar's formidable late
wife, Fruma-Sarah, rises from her grave to warn, in graphic terms, of severe retribution if Tzeitel
marries Lazar. The superstitious Golde is terrified, and she quickly counsels that Tzeitel must marry
Motel. While returning from town, Tevye's third daughter, the bookish Chava, is teased and
intimidated by some Russian youths, but one of them, Fyedka, protects her, dismissing the others.
He offers Chava the loan of a book, and a secret relationship begins.

The wedding day of Tzeitel and Motel arrives, and all the Jews join the ceremony ("Sunrise, Sunset")
and the celebration ("The Wedding Dance"). Lazar gives a fine gift, but an argument arises with
Tevye over the broken agreement. Perchik ends the tiff by breaking another tradition: he crosses the
barrier between the men and women to dance with Tevye's daughter Hodel. The celebration ends
abruptly when a group of Russians rides into the village to perform the "demonstration". They disrupt
the party, damaging the wedding gifts and wounding Perchik, who attempts to fight back, and wreak
more destruction in the village. Tevye instructs his family to clean up the mess.
Months later, Perchik tells Hodel he must return to Kiev to work for the revolution. He proposes
marriage, admitting that he loves her, and says that he will send for her. She agrees ("Now I Have
Everything"). They tell Tevye that they are engaged, and he is appalled that they are flouting tradition
by making their own match, especially as Perchik is leaving. When he forbids the marriage, Perchik
and Hodel inform him that they do not seek his permission, only his blessing. After more soul
searching, Tevye relents the world is changing, and he must change with it ("Tevye's Rebuttal"). He
informs the young couple that he gives them his blessing and his permission.
Tevye explains these events to an astonished Golde. "Love," he says, "it's the new style." Tevye asks
Golde, despite their own arranged marriage, "Do You Love Me?" After dismissing Tevye's question
as foolish, she eventually admits that, after 25 years of living and struggling together and raising five
daughters, she does. Meanwhile, Yente tells Tzeitel that she saw Chava with Fyedka. News spreads
quickly in Anatevka that Perchik has been arrested and exiled to Siberia ("The Rumor/I Just Heard"),
and Hodel is determined to join him there. At the railway station, she explains to her father that her
home is with her beloved, wherever he may be, although she will always love her family ("Far From
the Home I Love").
Time passes. Motel has purchased a used sewing machine, and he and Tzeitel have had a baby.
Chava finally gathers the courage to ask Tevye to allow her marriage to Fyedka. Again Tevye
reaches deep into his soul, but marriage outside the Jewish faith is a line he will not cross. He
forbids Chava to speak to Fyedka again. When Golde brings news that Chava has eloped with
Fyedka, Tevye wonders where he went wrong ("Chavaleh Sequence"). Chava returns and tries to
reason with him, but he refuses to speak to her and tells the rest of the family to consider her dead.
Meanwhile, rumors are spreading of the Russians expelling Jews from their villages. While the
villagers are gathered, the Constable arrives to tell everyone that they have three days to pack up
and leave the town. In shock, they reminisce about "Anatevka" and how hard it will be to leave what
has been their home for so long.
As the Jews leave Anatevka, Chava and Fyedka stop to tell her family that they are also leaving
for Krakw, unwilling to remain among the people who could do such things to others. Tevye still will
not talk to her, but when Tzeitel says goodbye to Chava, Tevye prompts her to add "God be with
you." Motel and Tzeitel go to Poland as well but will join the rest of the family when they have saved

up enough money. As Tevye, Golde and their two youngest daughters leave the village for America,
the fiddler begins to play. Tevye beckons with a nod, and the fiddler follows them out of the village.

Miss Saigon
In April 1975 at "Dreamland," a Saigon bar and brothel, shortly before the end of the Vietnam War, it
is Kim's first day as a bargirl. The seventeen-year-old peasant girl is hauled in by the Engineer, a
French-Vietnamese hustler who owns the joint. Backstage, the girls ready themselves for the night's
show, jeering at Kim's inexperience ("Overture"). The U.S. Marines, aware that they will be leaving
Vietnam soon, party with the Vietnamese prostitutes ("The Heat Is on in Saigon"). Chris Scott, a
sergeant disenchanted by the club scene, is encouraged by his friend John Thomas to go with a girl.
The girls compete for the title of "Miss Saigon," and the winner is raffled to a Marine. Kim's
guilelessness strikes Chris. Gigi Van Tranh wins the crown for the evening and begs the marine who
won the raffle to take her back to America, annoying him. The showgirls reflect on their dreams of a
better life ("Movie in My Mind"). John buys a room for Chris and the virgin Kim ("The Transaction").
Kim is reluctant and shy, but dances with Chris. Chris tries to pay her to leave the nightclub. When
the Engineer interferes, thinking that Chris does not like Kim, Chris allows himself to be led to her
room ("The Dance").
Chris, watching Kim sleep, asks God why he met her just as he was about to leave Vietnam ("Why,
God, Why?"). When Kim wakes up, Chris tries to give her money, but she refuses, saying that it is
her first time sleeping with a man ("This Money's Yours"). Touched to learn that Kim is an orphan,
Chris offers her to come and live with him. The two fall in love ("Sun and Moon"). Chris tells John
that he is taking leave to spend time with Kim. John warns him that the Viet Cong will soon take
Saigon, but then reluctantly agrees to cover for Chris ("The Telephone Song"). Chris meets with the
Engineer to trade for Kim, but the Engineer tries to include an America visa in the deal. Chris forces
the Engineer at gunpoint to honour the original arrangement for Kim ("The Deal").
The bargirls hold a "wedding ceremony" for Chris and Kim ("Dju Vui Vai"), with Gigi toasting Kim as
the "real" Miss Saigon. Thuy, Kim's cousin, to whom she was betrothed at thirteen, arrives to take
her home. He has since become an officer in the North Vietnamese Army and is disgusted to find her
with a white man ("Thuy's Arrival"). The two men confront each other, drawing their guns. Kim tells
Thuy that their arranged marriage is now nullified because her parents are dead, and she no longer
harbours any feelings for him because of his betrayal. Thuy curses them all and storms out ("What's
This I Find"). Chris promises to take Kim with him when he leaves Vietnam. Chris and Kim dance to

the same song as on their first night ("Last Night of The World"). On the night when Saigon falls,
Chris is forced to evacuate without Kim, leaving her at the gate.
Three years later in 1978, a street parade is taking place in Saigon (since renamed Ho Chi Minh
City) to celebrate the third anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam and the defeat of the
Americans ("Morning of The Dragon"). Thuy, a commissar in the new Communist government, has
ordered his soldiers to look for the still-corrupt Engineer. Thuy orders the Engineer to find Kim and
bring her to him. Kim is still in love with Chris and has been hiding in an impoverished area,
steadfastly believing Chris will return to Vietnam and rescue her. Meanwhile, Chris is in bed with his
new American wife, Ellen, when he wakes from a dream shouting Kim's name. Ellen and Kim both
swear their devotion to Chris from opposite ends of the world ("I Still Believe").
A week later, Thuy's soldiers find the Engineer somewhere up north. For the Communist Party, he
goes by the name "Tran Van Dinh" and has spent the past three years working in the rice fields. The
Engineer takes Thuy to where Kim has been hiding. Kim refuses Thuy's renewed offer of marriage,
unaware that his men are waiting outside the door. Furious, Thuy calls them in and they begin tying
up Kim and the Engineer, threatening to put them into a reeducation camp. Kim introduces him to
Tam, her three-year-old son from Chris. Thuy calls Kim a traitor and Tam an enemy, and tries to kill
Tam with a knife, but Kim pulls out a gun and kills Thuy ("You Will Not Touch Him"). She flees with
Tam ("This Is the Hour") and tells the Engineer what she has done ("If You Want to Die in Bed"). The
Engineer refuses to help her until he learns that Tam's father is American ("Let Me See His Western
Nose") thinking the boy is his chance to emigrate to the United States. He tells Kim that now he is
the boy's uncle, and he will lead them to Bangkok. The three set out on a ship with other
refugees ("I'd Give My Life for You").
In Atlanta, Georgia, John now works for an aid organisation whose mission is to connect BuiDoi (from Vietnamese tr bi i "street children," meaning children conceived during the war) with
their American fathers ("Bui Doi"). John tells Chris that Kim is still alive, which Chris is relieved to
hear after years of having nightmares of her dying. He also tells Chris about Tam and urges Chris to
go to Bangkok with Ellen. Chris finally tells Ellen about Kim and Tam ("The Revelation"). In Bangkok,
the Engineer is hawking a sleazy club where Kim works as a dancer ("What A Waste"). Chris, Ellen,
and John arrive in search of Kim. John finds Kim dancing at the club, and tells her that Chris is also
in Bangkok. He then tries to tell her that Chris is remarried, but Kim interrupts. She is thrilled about
the news and tells Tam that his father has arrived, believing that they are to go to America with Chris.
Seeing Kim happy, John cannot bring himself to break the news to her, but promises to bring Chris
to her ("Please", replaced with "Too Much for One Heart" [same melody] in 2014 London revival).

The Engineer tells Kim to find Chris herself, because he doubts that Chris will come ("Chris Is
Here"). Kim is haunted by the ghost of Thuy, who taunts Kim, claiming that Chris will betray her as
he did the night Saigon fell. Kim suffers a horrible flashback to that night ("Kim's Nightmare").
In the nightmare/flashback to 1975, Kim remembers the Viet Cong approaching Saigon. As the city
becomes increasingly chaotic, Chris is called to the embassy and leaves his gun with Kim, telling her
to pack. When Chris enters the embassy, the gates close, as orders arrive from Washington for an
immediate evacuation of the remaining Americans. The Ambassador orders that no more
Vietnamese be allowed into the Embassy. Kim reaches the gates of the Embassy, one of a mob of
terrified Vietnamese trying to enter. Chris calls to Kim and is about to go into the crowd to look for
her, but John is eventually forced to punch Chris in the face to stop him from leaving. Chris is put
into the last helicopter leaving Saigon as Kim watches from outside, still pledging her love to him
("The Fall of Saigon").
Back in 1978 Bangkok, Kim joyfully dresses in her wedding clothes ("Sun and Moon [Reprise]") and
leaves the Engineer to watch Tam while she is gone. She goes to Chris's hotel room, where she
finds Ellen. Kim mistakenly thinks that Ellen is John's wife, but Ellen reveals that she is Chris's wife.
Kim is heartbroken and refuses to believe Ellen. Ellen asks Kim if Chris is the father of Tam, and Kim
confirms. Kim says that she does not want her son to continue living on the streets and pleads that
they take Tam with them back to America, but Ellen refuses, saying that Tam needs his real mother,
and Ellen wants her own children with Chris. Kim angrily demands that Chris tell her these things in
person, and runs out of the room ("Room 317"). Ellen feels bad for Kim, but is determined to keep
Chris ("Now That I've Seen Her", originally "Her or Me", replaced with "Maybe" [completely new
lyrics and melody] for the 2014 London revival).
Chris and John return, having failed to find Kim. Ellen tells them both that Kim arrived and that she
had to tell Kim everything. Chris and John blame themselves, realising that they were gone too long.
Ellen also tells them that Kim wants to see Chris at her place, and that she tried to give away her
son to them. John realises that Kim wants Tam to be "an American boy." Ellen then issues an
ultimatum to Chris: Kim or her. Chris reassures Ellen, and they pledge their love for each other. Chris
will leave Tam and Kim in Bangkok but offer them monetary support from America. John warns that
Kim will not find it acceptable to have Tam stay in Thailand ("The Confrontation"). Back at the club,
Kim lies to the Engineer that they are still going to America ("Paper Dragons"). The Engineer
imagines the extravagant new life that he will lead in America ("The American Dream"). Chris, John,
and Ellen find the Engineer and he takes them to see Kim and Tam.
In her room, Kim tells Tam that he should be happy because he now has a father. She tells him that
she cannot go with him but will be watching over him ("This Is the Hour [Reprise]", referred to as
"Little God of My Heart" on the 2014 London revival recording, though those words are not contained

in the lyrics). Chris, Ellen, John, and the Engineer arrive just outside her room. The Engineer comes
in to take Tam outside to introduce Tam to his father. While this is happening, Kim steps behind a
curtain and shoots herself. As she falls to the floor, everyone rushes into the room at the sound of
the gunshot and find Kim mortally wounded. Chris picks up Kim and asks what she has done. She
asks him to hold her once more and repeats something that he said to her on the first night they met:
"How in one night have we come so far?" and dies in his arms ("Finale").
Les Miserables
In 1815, the prisoners work at hard labour ("Work Song"). After 19 years in prison (five for stealing
bread for his starving sister's son and her family, and the rest for trying to escape), Jean Valjean,
"prisoner 24601," is released on parole by the policeman Javert. By law, Valjean must display a
yellow ticket-of-leave, which identifies him as an ex-convict ("On Parole"). As a convict, Valjean is
shunned wherever he goes and cannot find regular work or lodging, but the Bishop of Digne offers
him food and shelter. Desperate and embittered, Valjean steals the Bishop's silver and flees. He is
captured by the police, but rather than turn him in, the Bishop lies and tells the police that the silver
was a gift, giving Valjean a pair of silver candlesticks in addition. The Bishop tells Valjean that he
must use the silver "to become an honest man" and that he has "bought (Valjean's) soul for God"
("Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven"). Ashamed and humbled by the Bishop's kindness, Valjean
resolves to redeem his sins ("Valjean's Soliloquy" / "What Have I Done?"). He tears up his yellow
ticket, breaking his parole but giving himself a chance to start a new life free from the stigma of his
criminal past.
Eight years later, in 1823, Valjean has assumed a new identity as Monsieur Madeleine, a wealthy
factory owner and mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer. Fantine is a single mother working in his factory,
trying to support her daughter Cosette, who is being raised by an innkeeper and his wife while
Fantine labors in the city. Unbeknownst to Valjean, the factory foreman lusts after Fantine, and when
she rejects his advances he takes it out on the other workers, who resent her for it. One day a
coworker steals a letter about Cosette from Fantine, revealing to the other workers that Fantine has
a child. A fight breaks out, and the foreman uses the incident as a pretense to fire Fantine ("At the
End of the Day"). Fantine reflects on her broken dreams and about Cosette's father, who abandoned
them both ("I Dreamed a Dream"). Desperate for money, she sells her locket and hair, finally
becoming a prostitute ("Lovely Ladies"). When she fights back against an abusive customer,
Bamatabois, Javert, now a police inspector stationed in Montreuil-sur-Mer, arrives to arrest her. But
Valjean, passing by the scene, pities Fantine, and when he realizes she once worked for him and
that she blames him for her misfortune, he is guilt-stricken. He orders Javert to release her before
taking her to a hospital ("Fantine's Arrest").

Soon afterwards, Valjean rescues a man pinned by a runaway cart ("The Runaway Cart"). Javert,
who has up until now not recognized Valjean, though he has pursued him as a fugitive all these
years, witnesses the incident and becomes suspicious, remembering the incredible strength Valjean
displayed in the work camp. But it turns out another man has been arrested, and is about to go to
trial for breaking parole. The real Valjean realizes that this case of mistaken identity could free him
forever, but he's not willing to see an innocent man go to prison in his place and so confesses his
identity to the court ("Who Am I?The Trial"). At the hospital, a delirious Fantine dreams of Cosette.
Valjean promises to find Cosette and protect her ("Come to Me" / "Fantine's Death"). Relieved,
Fantine succumbs to her illness and dies. Javert arrives to take Valjean back into custody, but
Valjean asks Javert for time to fetch Cosette. Javert refuses, insisting that a criminal like Valjean can
never change or do good. They struggle, but Valjean overpowers Javert and escapes ("The
Confrontation").
In Montfermeil, the duplicitous innkeepers, the Thnardiers, use Cosette as a servant while extorting
money from Fantine by claiming that Cosette is seriously ill, all the while indulging their own
daughter, ponine. Cosette dreams of a life where she is not forced to work and is treated lovingly
("Castle on a Cloud"). The Thnardiers cheat their customers and live a life of criminal depravity
("Master of the House"). Valjean meets Cosette while she's on an errand drawing water and offers
the Thnardiers payment to adopt her ("The Bargain"). The Thnardiers feign concern for Cosette
and bargain with Valjean, who pays them 1,500 francs in the end. Valjean and Cosette leave for
Paris ("The Waltz of Treachery").
Nine years later, in 1832, Paris is in upheaval because of the impending death of General Lamarque,
the only man in the government who shows mercy to the poor. Among those mingling in the streets
are the student revolutionaries Marius Pontmercy and Enjolras, who contemplate the effect
Lamarque's death will have on the poor and desperate in Paris; the Thnardiers, who have since lost
their inn and now run a street gang; their daughter ponine, who is now grown and has fallen in love
with Marius (who is oblivious to her affections); and the streetwise young urchin Gavroche, who
knows everything that happens in the slums ("Look Down"). The Thnardiers prepare to con some
charitable visitors, who turn out to be Valjean and Cosette, who has grown into a beautiful young
woman. While the gang bamboozles her father, Cosette runs into Marius, and the pair fall in love at
first sight. Thnardier suddenly recognizes Valjean, but before they can finish the robbery Javert,
now an inspector stationed here in Paris, comes to the rescue ("The Robbery"). Valjean and Cosette
escape, and only later (when Thnardier tips him off) does Javert suspect who they were. Javert
makes a vow to the stars (which represent his belief in a just and ordered universe where suffering is
a punishment for sin) that he will find Valjean and recapture him ("Stars"). Meanwhile, Marius
persuades ponine to help him find Cosette ("ponine's Errand").

At a small caf, Enjolras exhorts a group of idealistic students to prepare for revolution. Marius
interrupts the serious atmosphere by fantasizing about his new-found love, much to the amusement
of his compatriots, particularly the wine-loving Grantaire ("The ABC CafRed and Black"). When
Gavroche brings the news of General Lamarque's death, the students realize that they can use the
public's dismay to incite their revolution and that their time has come ("Do You Hear the People
Sing?"). At Valjean's house, Cosette thinks about her chance meeting with Marius and later confronts
Valjean about the secrets he keeps about his and her own past ("Rue PlumetIn My Life"). ponine
leads Marius to Valjean's house (despite being heartbroken that he has fallen in love with another),
and he and Cosette meet again and confess their mutual love ("A Heart Full of Love"). Thnardier
and his gang arrive, intending to rob Valjean's house, but ponine stops them by screaming a
warning ("The Attack on Rue Plumet"). The scream alerts Valjean, who believes that the intruder was
Javert. He tells Cosette that it's time once again for them to go on the run.
On the eve of the 1832 Paris Uprising, Valjean prepares to go into exile; Cosette and Marius part in
despair; Enjolras encourages all of Paris to join the revolution as he and the other students prepare
for battle; Marius is conflicted whether to follow Cosette or join the uprising; Javert reveals his plans
to spy on the students; and the Thnardiers scheme to profit off the coming violence. Marius decides
to stand with his friends, and all anticipate what the dawn will bring ("One Day More"). [6]
As the students build a barricade to serve as their rally point, Javert, disguised as a rebel, volunteers
to "spy" on the government troops. Marius discovers that ponine has disguised herself as a boy to
join the rebels and sends her to deliver a farewell letter to Cosette. ("Building the BarricadeUpon
These Stones") Valjean intercepts the letter and learns about Marius and Cosette's romance.
ponine walks the streets of Paris alone, imagining that Marius is there with her, but laments that her
love for Marius will never be reciprocated ("On My Own").
The French army arrives at the barricade and demands that the students surrender ("At the
BarricadeUpon These Stones"). Though Javert tells the students that the government will not
attack that night ("Javert's Arrival"), Gavroche exposes him as a spy, and the students detain him
("Little People"). Their plan is to spark a general uprising with their act of defiance, hoping that all the
people of Paris will side with them and overwhelm the army. ponine returns to find Marius but is
shot by the soldiers crossing the barricade. As Marius holds her she assures him that she feels no
pain and reveals her love for him before dying in his arms ("A Little Fall of Rain"). The students
mourn this first loss of life at the barricades and resolve to fight in her name, and they carry her body
away while Enjolras attempts to comfort Marius, who is heartbroken over ponine's death. Valjean
arrives at the barricade, crossing the government lines disguised as a soldier ("Night of Anguish"),
hoping that he might somehow protect Marius in the coming battle for Cosette's sake. The rebels are
suspicious of him at first, but when the army attacks Valjean saves Enjolras by shooting a sniper,
and they accept him as one of them. In return, he asks Enjolras to be the one to execute the

imprisoned Javert, which Enjolras grants. But as soon as Valjean and Javert are alone, Valjean frees
Javert. Javert warns Valjean that he will not give up his pursuit and rejects what he perceives as a
bargain for Valjean's freedom. Valjean says there are no conditions to his release, and holds no illwill toward Javert for doing his duty. ("The First Attack").
The students settle down for the night and reminisce about the past while also expressing anxiety
about the battle to come. Enjolras tells the other students to stay awake in case the enemy strikes
unexpectedly in the night, but he tells Marius to get some sleep, knowing Marius is still much too
devastated over losing ponine to stay awake. Grantaire gets angry and asks the students if they
fear to die as Marius wonders if Cosette will remember him if he dies. ("Drink with Me"). As Marius
sleeps, Valjean prays to God to protect Marius, even at the cost of his own life ("Bring Him Home").
As dawn approaches, Enjolras realizes that the people of Paris have not risen up with them, but
resolves to fight on in spite of the impossible odds ("Dawn of Anguish"). Their resolve is fired even
further when the army kill Gavroche, who snuck out to collect ammunition from bodies on the other
side of the barricade ("The Second Attack / Death of Gavroche"). The army gives a final warning, but
the rebels fight to the last man with Enjolras exhorting "Let others rise to take our place, until the
Earth is free!". Everyone at the barricade is killed except Valjean and a gravely wounded Marius,
who escape into the sewers ("The Final Battle"). Javert returns to the barricade, searching for
Valjean amongst the bodies, and finds the open sewer grating.
Valjean carries Marius through the sewers but collapses in exhaustion. While he is unconscious,
Thnardier, who has been looting bodies ("Dog Eats Dog"), comes upon them and takes a ring from
the unconscious Marius, but flees when Valjean (whom he again recognizes) regains consciousness.
When Valjean carries Marius to the sewer's exit he finds Javert waiting for him. Valjean begs Javert
for one hour to bring Marius to a doctor, and Javert reluctantly agrees. Javert finds himself unable to
reconcile Valjean's merciful acts with his conception of Valjean as an irredeemable criminal.
Refusing to compromise his principles but no longer able to hold them sacred, he finds himself torn
between God and the law and commits suicide by throwing himself into the Seine ("Soliloquy Javert's Suicide").
In the wake of the failed revolution, women mourn the deaths of the students ("Turning") and Marius,
wounded but alive, despairs at the sacrifice of so many lives ("Empty Chairs at Empty Tables"). As
he wonders who saved his own life, Cosette comforts him and they reaffirm their blossoming
romance. Valjean realises that Cosette will not need him as a caretaker once she's married and
gives them his blessing ("Every Day"). Valjean confesses to Marius that he is an escaped convict
and must go away because his presence endangers Cosette ("Valjean's Confession"), making
Marius promise never to tell Cosette. A few months later, Marius and Cosette marry ("Wedding
Chorale"). The Thnardierscrash the reception in disguise and attempt to blackmail Marius, telling
him that Valjean is a murderer and that Thnardier saw him carrying a corpse in the sewers after the

barricades fell. When Thnardier shows him the ring as proof, Marius realizes that it was Valjean
who saved his life. The newlyweds leave to find Valjean (Marius pausing to give Thnardier a punch
in the face). The Thnardiers are not discouraged, instead gloating that their craven practicality has
saved their lives time and time again ("Beggars at the Feast").
At a convent, Valjean awaits his death, having nothing left to live for. The spirit of Fantine appears to
him and tells him that he has been forgiven and will soon be with God. Cosette and Marius arrive to
find Valjean near death. Valjean thanks God for letting him live long enough to see Cosette again
and Marius thanks him for saving his life. ("Epilogue - Valjean's Death"). Valjean gives Cosette a
letter confessing his troubled past and the truth about her mother. As he dies, the spirits of Fantine
and ponine guide him to Heaven reminding him that "to love another person is to see the face of
God." They are joined by the spirits of those who died at the barricades, who sing that in the next
world God lays low all tyranny and frees all oppressed people from their shackles ("Finale").