Finding Truth in the Theatre

One thing that you will learn about me if you are around me for long is that I love art. I like to think of myself as having an appreciation for the finer things in life. Although I have not initiated a “Finer Things Club” in my workplace, I feel very certain that I would be privy to that inner circle in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

One of my favorite “finer things” is the theatre. I had the privilege of going to see the musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic, Les Miserables, in Houston yesterday afternoon. Art which has the ability to be not only beautiful and inspiring but also to point indirectly to theological themes always impresses me. I can think of no other musical that does this as well as Les Mis.

The central character of the story is Jean Valjean, who has been in prison for nineteen years for stealing bread for his starving family. After his release, he quickly returns to his former ways—bitter, unchanged, and still ravaged by his devastated life. Soon Valjean is caught in the act of robbing a local bishop, and the police bring him before the bishop. It is a stunning visual contrast to observe the bishop, dressed all in white, standing before a humble and ragged Jean Valjean. The bishop reports to the police that what they had assumed Valjean had stolen was actually a gift and that Valjean left before he was able to give him more. One act of grace and a life is transformed. Because the bishop gave Valjean what he did not deserve, Valjean is saved—not only from the punishment of prison but he is given the opportunity to begin a new life, one revolutionized by the grace freely lavished on by another. From this moment on, he knows that he has a soul, and now he can never be the same. He describes his transformation by asking: “What spirit came to move my life? I stare into the void, to the whirlpool of my sin…Jean Valjean is nothing now, another story must begin!”

Throughout the rest of the story, Valjean commits his life to granting mercy to those in need. In the midst of his reformed life, he is constantly being hunted by the police inspector Javert. Javert was the prison guard in which Valjean was held captive and later becomes a police inspector, hungry to indict Valjean for past wrongs in the name of justice and righteousness. Javert serves as a foil for Valjean. Javert is ensnared in the bondage of legalism, whereas Valjean’s life is dramatically altered by the freedom of grace.

Grace, redemption, and forgiveness are not the only religious themes woven throughout the story. Love overrides the whole play. The characters are constantly sacrificing for one another out of a “heart full of love.” One young girl, Eponine, exhibits great depths of love for Marius, for she knew that her sacrificial death was the only way to be near to him.

It is easy to recognize messages of truth in this play, but I urge you to seek out truth in modern-day art. Look for mediums that express and communicate scriptural certainties—man’s depravity, the presence of evil in the world, hopelessness apart from Christ, and other spiritual themes. Even in the absence of truth, we can still show ourselves to be approved by bringing light to the darkness, pointing to the ultimate redemption that is only found in Jesus Christ.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” – Romans 3:23-24

Amanda Brundrett, College Intern