bigR
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StarsStars
All right. I�ve had a lot of free time today, and I� m well rested and up for a little discussion.
We were talking not long ago about the non book based songs and the songs that openly contradict the brick. Mostly, songs inserted in the musical out of the need to flesh out a character (stars, empty chairs, bring him home) or for some arcane reason only know by CM (Turning)
Most people here seemed to consider that Stars and religious Javert falled into that category, and I shamefully admit that I followed the tide because there was many stuff about book!javert that I couldn�t properly remember�
Then I read about how before the London opening CM kept trying to convice the composers and the director that Stars needed to go. Or at least that�s what John Caird says. CM argues that he did not want to cut off the song, just to remove it from the point in the musical where it was originaly sung because he though it slowed the action. Once they accepted to move it to later moment in the show he was happy with it.
So, I tried to figure out where could the song have fitted originaly and I decided that the only possible place was after �Who I am� or �Confrontation�.
And I found it there. In the book, I mean. You�ve got the Stars lyrics nearly word by word (and it's full of religious references).
(As always, in french. If you want to check the english version I�m copying from, Part I (Fantine), Book 8, chapter III (the last 3 paragraphs):
Javert en ce moment �tait au ciel� il personnifiait, lui Javert, la justice, la lumi�re et la verit� dans leur fonction c�leste d��crasement du mal. Il avait derri�re lui et autour de lui, � une profondeur infinie, l�autorit�, la raison, la chose jug�e, la conscience legale, la chose publique, toutes les �toiles; il prot�gait l�ordre, il faisait sortir de la loi la foudre, il vengeait la soci�t�, il pr�tait main forte � l�absolu ; il se dressait dans une gloire ; il y avait dans sa victoire un reste de d�fi et de combat ; debout, altier, �clatant, il �talait en plain azur la bestialit� surhumaine d�un archange f�roce ; l�ombre redoutable de l�action qu�il acomplissait faisait visible faisait visible � son poing crisp� le vague flamboiement de l��p�e sociale ; heureux et indign�, il tenait sous son talon le crime, le vice, la r�bellion, la perdition, l�enfer, il rayonnait, il exterminait, il souriait et il y avait une incontestable grandeur dans ce saint Michel monstrueux.
Now, if this does not make � Stars � the most canonical song in the whole musical�
(and just a few pages later, a little bit more on Javert and religion: On se rappelle que le fond m�me de Javert, son �l�ment, son milieu respirable, c��tait la v�n�ration de toute autorit�. Il �tait tout d�une pi�ce et n�admettait ni objection, ni restriction. Pour lui, bien entendu, l�autorit� eccl�siastique �tait la premi�re de toutes. Il �tait religieux, superficiel et correct sur ce point comme sur tous. � ses yeux un pr�tre �tait un esprit qui ne se trompe pas, une religieuse �tait une cr�ature qui ne p�che pas. C��taient des �mes mur�es � ce monde avec une seule porte qui ne s�ouvrait jamais que pour laisser sortir la v�rit�)
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