STAGE : The Happy State of ‘Les Miserables’

“I condemn slavery, I drive away poverty, I teach ignorance, I treat sickness, I light up the night, I hate hatred. That is what I am, and that is why I wrote ‘Les Miserables.’ ”

When Victor Hugo’s book was published in 1862, little did he know his work would one day be the basis for a musical theater extravaganza.

Still, it’s possible to imagine Hugo pronouncing a blessing upon the swashbuckling stage adaptation--especially if it prods audiences to meditate upon his timeless themes of self-sacrifice and justice even as they exit theaters humming the show’s prayerful song, “Bring Him Home.”

The book travels the years 1807 to 1833, and the story starts when Jean Valjean is released from prison after serving a 19-year sentence for stealing a loaf of bread. After a few more thefts and an act of kindness from a compassionate bishop, Valjean repents and reforms.

The Frenchman takes the name Madeleine, establishes a successful factory and becomes a respected figure in the town of Montreuil. But when the obsessively zealous Inspector Javert accuses an innocent man of being parole breaker Valjean, Valjean reveals his true identity--and slips away again.

At the deathbed of prostitute Fantine, a prostitute who once worked in Valjean’s factory, Valjean vows to care for her little girl Cosette. His first challenge is to rescue her from the custody of an insidious innkeeper-couple who have treated their temporary ward like a slave. Following that, Cosette and Valjean take refuge in a convent for several happy years, under the alias Leblanc.

Meanwhile, in a nearby town, a wealthy 17-year-old named Marius joins a group of radical students. Soon, he and Cosette meet and fall in love, keeping their romance a secret from Valjean.

Marius sees that insurrection is imminent and joins his friends at the barricades. He is shadowed by Valjean, who has learned of the Cosette-Marius romance. While Valjean disapproves and is even jealous of this new man in his adopted daughter’s life, he vows to protect Maurius out of his love for her.

Bloodhound Javert tracks down Valjean once again--and then inexplicably releases him. Disgusted with himself for not following the letter of the law, Javert commits suicide.

Valjean carries a seriously wounded Marius to safety via a harrowing journey through the sewers of Paris. The young renegade recuperates, marries Cosette and gradually estranges her from Valjean, not knowing the old man saved his life. Valjean is heartbroken, and his health fails. Marius and Cosette learn of Valjean’s noble actions just in time to comfort him on his deathbed.

Born in France in 1802, Victor Hugo wrote nine novels (including “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”), 10 plays, 20 volumes of poetry and numerous books, articles and pamphlets on political, literary and sociological subjects before his death in 1885. He was also an artist and a gifted interior designer with a penchant for creating his own eccentric furniture.

Today, Hugo is generally regarded as one of the greatest writers of the 19th Century, despite some detractors’ claims that his fiction--especially “Les Miserables”--is overblown and overrated. The French, in particular, revere him for his grace with their language and for his lifelong battle against social injustice and political dictatorship.

“Les Miserables” was an instant international success and was translated into nine languages in its first year of publication. Americans soldiers read it as they fought the Civil War, and pastors in Holland quoted it in their sermons.

Perhaps the best known of at least 20 film versions is the 1935 American production starring Charles Laughton as Javert, Florence Eldridge as Fantine and her real-life husband, Frederic March, in a dual role as Valjean and the half-wit mistaken for him. A television movie featuring Richard Jordan and Anthony Perkins was made in 1978. “The Fugitive” and “Kung Fu” television series were supposedly inspired by “Les Miserables,” according to one film reference book.

As for earlier stage versions, Puccini once attempted to mount “Les Miserables” as an opera, according to the current production’s composer, Claude-Michel Schonberg. And American actor Wilton Lackaye is said to have played Valjean in his own dramatization of “Les Miserables.”

Is Hugo’s written work doomed to be overshadowed by the flash and panache of the live productions being mounted around the world? A word from Simon & Schuster indicates that Hugo can rest easy.

“International sales of ‘Les Miserables’ have almost doubled in the last year,” said a spokesperson. “That must be due to the play.”