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Is it just me, or is music the single most powerful form of expression in the world? You can throw everything into it- color, light, dark, pain, elation, love, anything. And adding sung words makes it twice as effective at reaching those who don't take the time to study the shadings.

I think I'm some kind of freak. Because there are times music grabs me by the throat and holds me until I forget to breathe and my muscles freeze and my eyes fill with tears simply because my body can't contain my overflowing soul. I must be a freak. I don't know many other people that will admit that happens to them, and those that will are freaks. :o�

I saw the musical Les Mis�rables, based on the Victor Hugo novel, on Saturday. If I hadn't been sitting the entire time, some of the music would have brought me to my knees. And I've seen it before, on video, so many times that I have entire scenes memorized line by line, but it still moves me beyond words.

I'm lucky I went with my mom- my brother and dad would probably not have enjoyed it as much (they're those practical male types, you know), and there were moments where I'd feel my mom's shoulder rise in a sob at the same time mine did (the seats were rather close together) and I'd glance over and our glimmering eyes would meet and we'd smile at how silly we were. She shared her tissues with me. I love my mommy.

I think I teared up about nine separate times. Went to full-fledged, extended crying about five of those nine times. Granted, it's about a three-hour show, but still.

I loved it so much there aren't even really words to express how much I loved it. And it's more than the orchestral score, the powerful words, the staging, the costumes, the basic storyline, the strong and yet human characters, the beautiful voices, the recurring themes in the melodies, the... it's everything. Put together. And something weird that flutters in my stomach and clutches my lungs until my heart hurts and I realize I was holding my breath until a note ended.

Ooo. It's good. I felt almost ripped off the first time I saw the 10th-Anniversary performance on video, Christmas night. They didn't do any staging or sets- it was basically a rendition of the singing, fantastically done, but somehow flatter because it felt like a concert, not a series of lives set to song. But even that, if I closed my eyes and just let myself drift in that sound, was amazing.

There's a reason it's so well-known, you know. If you get a chance to see a good company perform it, spend whatever necessary. I walked all the way home from the theater dancing on the music under my feet, feeling music swell in my throat, hugging it to my heart and letting it slip between my lips every time I smiled.

Ahh. What a lovely feeling, to be bathing in music.

See why I think I'm a freak?

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