Is it possible I haven’t seen a production of Les Miserables in over 6 years? Perhaps. That will be corrected soon.

It’s possible I have seen it, but the traveling show didn’t change Gavroche’s death scene like the Broadway revival apparently did. In which case I won’t hear Ten Little Bullets later this month.

I’m surprised it’s taken me six years to find this out, however, I was always more obsessed with the novel and author than the musical. However, I’ve long appreciated Fenton’s original lyrics, and agree with the linked commentary that I’d love to see what else he wrote for Act I before he got fired by Cameron Mackintosh for not meeting deadline.

I’ve wanted to applaud Fenton’s lyrics for “You” (also included in the link) for the social content, ever since I first read them in Behr’s “Complete Book of Les Miserables” years ago. However, I fear the lyrics would be above Gavroche’s comprehension. Putting the words of an adult into a kid’s mouth – it’s a problem I have at times had in my own writing, but I don’t think to this degree.

Addendum: Apparently Fenton’s agent worked out a clause in his contract so that if his lyrics weren’t used, he would still receive 0.5% of the box office receipts. So, even though none of his lyrics were used until the 2006 revival, he became wealthy. (In the first decade, Les Miz grossed 600 million pounds. 0.5% would have been 3 million.)