Les Mis....Up Close

Saturday evening I had the pleasure of attending a performance of the musical "Les Miserable" at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival in Boise, Idaho. 

This was the third time I had watched Les Mis on stage.  The first time was with Paul at the INB Performing Arts Center in Spokane, Washington.  The final song had me weeping.

The second time was also as the INB Performing Arts Center, and this time we brought Zoe and Cosette.  Cosette especially wanted to see this musical, since she was named after the character from Victor Hugo's book.

This is the third performance I have seen, and will actually see another performance in less than a month at Lake City Playhouse in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. 

I have also read the book and thought it was one of the best books I have ever read.

And I have seen various film versions of this story as well.

It is an incredible story of love, redemption, forgiveness and loss.

Watching it in the venue in Boise was incredible, in part because it is outdoors, and you are close to the action being performed on stage.

They had a very minimal set design, and there were only about 20 people in the cast, and they all played multiple roles throughout the production.  But it was never distracting to see the same actor play multiple roles.

Paul and I attended the production with his sister Laurie.  This was our birthday present.

We had a treat before the show began by running into our dear friend Ryan Griffin and his friend Shane.  It had been a while since we had seen Ryan, and it felt good to give him a big hug, and to meet Shane, who we have heard a lot about.

Before we attended the theater, we went to downtown Boise and ate at "The Dish".  We were not disappointed by the delicious food.

We had a cheese platter for our appetizer, made up of local cheeses.

I had organic salmon in a curry sauce, with a cucumber salad on the top.

Paul ordered blueberry prawns with tarragon waffles.

Laurie had homemade beet fries that were really good, and the calamari, pictured above,
that was really good, but quite spicy.

 

I had a full day of socializing during all three meals.  My friend Anita and I went to "Groove Coffee" in Meridian for coffee and quiche, and caught up on lots of things, but, of course, had much more we wish we could have visited about, but time ran out.  Always a special time with my kindred spirit.

 

 

April #2 and I went to this new place in Meridian called, "The Village".  Here is what the website says about this place:

 

The perfect gathering place for friends and family, The Village at Meridian features upscale apparel and specialty retail, fine restaurants and cafes, Village Cinemas, and luxury office space. Designed with European style architecture, the buildings and tree lined village streets surround a park setting complete with a children's play area and world class show fountain with hourly shows choreographed to lights and music. Located in the heart of Idaho's Treasure Valley, The Village at Meridian is a unique and unexpected destination you have to experience for yourself.

It was a very beautiful area, and we had a wonderful lunch at "Twigs".  Their special dessert that day was Salted Caramel Gelato.  We just had to order one and split it.  So delicious!!  And a wonderful time spent with April as always.

Here are a few photos from "The Village".

A wonderful day filled with friends, family and food.  A great way to spend the day of a very quick trip to Meridian, Idaho.