Les Mesirables

Jean Valjean is an ex-convict who was imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread.
Upon his release, he finds that he is treated like an outcast everywhere he goes, until
the Bishop Myriel helps him to create a new life for himself. He adopts the name
Monsieur Madeleine, and becomes a successful factory owner. However, he is hunted
by the dogged police officer Javert, who believes that no criminal can ever truly reform.

Fantine is an impoverished but beautiful young woman who falls in love with a
pompous young student, who eventually abandons her shortly after she gives birth to
their child. Fantine names this daughter Cosette, and leaves her in the care of the
Thénardiers in order to find work. The Thénardiers treat Cosette cruelly, and charge
Fantine high sums of money for the care of her daughter. After her illegitimate child is
discovered, she loses her job at Valjean's factory and is forced to turn to prostitution.

Javert takes her into custody after she assaults a young man who shoves a
snowball down her blouse. Valjean intervenes and brings Fantine to a hospital; she is
deathly ill after the snowball incident. Valjean promises Fantine that he will take care of
her daughter Cosette, but this task is interrupted when Valjean hears that a man
named Champmathieu has been mistakenly identified as him, and faces life
imprisonment as a recidivist convict. After much soul-searching, Valjean testifies in front
of the court that he is actually Valjean. Fantine dies, and Valjean is imprisoned once
again.
 Valjean escapes prison after falling from a rope, and he rescues Cosette from the
wicked Thénardiers. They start a new life in Paris that is soon interrupted by Javert, who
has discovered that Valjean escaped from prison alive. The two take shelter in the Petit-
Picpus convent, and Cosette grows into a young woman.

Marius is a wealthy young man who adores his grandfather Gillenormand.

However, Gillenormand has cut off Marius from his father, Georges Pontmercy,
because the two men disagree on politics. Marius thought his father abandoned him,
but the friendly churchwarden Monsieur Mabeuf tells him the truth, and Marius begins to
idolize his father (who has died). Eventually, this leads to a falling-out between Marius
and Gillenormand, and Marius starts a new life. He becomes friends with the
revolutionary ABC Society, and falls in love with Cosette, and beautiful young woman
that he sees in the Luxembourg garden. Marius is unable to find this young woman
again, and falls into despair.

However, the past catches up to them. The Thénardiers attempt to extort money
from Valjean by kidnapping him, but Marius intervenes and saves him. The eldest
Thénardier daughter, Éponine, has fallen in love with him. Marius has eyes only for
Cosette, and the two establish a relationship when Marius leaves a notebook of love
letters in her garden. Their romance is cut short when Valjean decides that he and
Cosette must leave France and move to England, because of the social upheaval.

In despair, Marius joins an uprising against the government. He finds his friends
from the ABC Society at a barricade, where they are doing battle against the police and
the army. Javert has attempted to infiltrate their ranks as a spy, but he has been
discovered and lashed to a pole. Éponine dies protecting Marius on the barricade.

Valjean, who has discovered Marius' love for Cosette, joins the group at the
barricade. He volunteers to execute Javert, but then lets him go instead, much to
Javert's bewilderment. Valjean returns just as the army is overwhelming the barricade.
He seizes a gravely injured Marius and disappears down the sewers. Javert is waiting
for Valjean at the exit, but rather than arresting him, he shows Valjean mercy and allows
him to bring the wounded Marius to safety (Marius never learns the identity of the man
who saved him). Disgusted and horrified at his lapse of duty, Javert commits suicide.

Marius recovers from his wounds and, with the blessing of Gillenormand and
Valjean, marries Cosette. Valjean has confessed his criminal past to Marius, who is
horrified that the man is a criminal. Marius and Cosette grow closer as Valjean and
Cosette grow farther apart. Valjean's life loses its meaning without Cosette, and his
health fades. However, Valjean's heroism is made clear to Marius when Thénardier
unwittingly reveals to Marius that it was Valjean who saved him on the night the
barricade fell. Marius and Cosette arrive in time to comfort Valjean on his deathbed and
the old man dies in peace, with the satisfaction of a life well and righteously lived.
 Florante at Laura

Synopsis
The story is about the struggle and love of the Duke Florante and Princess Laura of
Albania during the war between the Christian Albanians and the Moros (Muslim people).

Plot
In the Albanian forest
The story begins deep within a dark, gloomy forest. Florante, a duke of the Kingdom of
Albania is tied to a tree, lamenting the death of his father, Duke Briseo. He is driven mad by the
thought that his beloved, Princess Laura, has fallen into the arms of his enemy, Count Adolfo,
son of Count Sileno. Nearby, two starving lions keep watch and try to attack Florante. He is
saved, just in time, by Aladin, a Muslim prince who happens to be at the forest at the same
time. Weak and bewildered, Florante faints.
The merciful soldier nurses Florante to health. Upon recovery, Florante is initially taken
back by Aladin who he considers as an enemy due to his Islamic faith. After a few explanations
are made, however, Florante is grateful and begins to tell his story.
Florante’s tale
The son of a princess and a royal adviser, Florante grew up in happiness, showered with
love. He liked to play games when he was six, and was almost killed by a vulturethat entered in
their mountain cottage, which was also followed by the attack of a falcon, who snatched his
cupid diamond. He was saved by his cousin Menalipo, an archer from Epirus.
At the early age of 11, his parents, Duke Briseo and Princess Floresca, sent him
to Athens, Greece to study under Antenor, a renowned teacher. There, he met Adolfo, a fellow
countryman, the brightest student in their school. After 6 years of study, Florante surpassed
Adolfo’s capabilities, talents and intelligence, gaining popularity.
While acting during a school play, Adolfo attempted to kill Florante. Fortunately, Florante’s
friend, Menandro, was quick enough to intervene. Adolfo headed home to Albania after his
failed attempt. One year later, Florante received a letter from his father, announcing the death
of his mother.
Though filled with grief, Florante waited two months before he returned home.
Menandro, unwilling to be separated from him, accompanied him on his journey. Upon his
arrival to Albania, an emissary of the kingdom of Crotone requested his assistance in the
incoming war against the Persians. Florante had not the will to refuse, for the King
of Crotone was his grandfather.
During his stay in Albania, Florante was invited to the king’s palace. There, he was
stunned by the sight of Laura, the daughter of King Linseo, ruler of Albania.
Coming to the aid of Crotone, Florante fought with the Persian general, Osmalik for 5 hours,
finally slaying him in the end. He stayed in Crotonefor 5 months before returning to Albania to
see Laura. He was surprised by the sight of a Persian flag waving atop the kingdom. He
recaptured the palace and saved his father, the king, and Adolfo. He also saved Laura from
being beheaded from the hands of an Emir. He was declared “Defender of Albania” for his
bravery, deepening Adolfo’s envy and hatred.
Florante protected the kingdom, once more, from the Turkish forces, under general
Miramolin, an acclaimed conqueror. This took place in Aetolia, where he later received a letter
from his father. The letter summoned him back to Albania. He left his troops in the care of his
friend, Menandro. Upon returning, he was ambushed by 30,000 soldiers under Adolfo’s orders
and was imprisoned for 18 days. There, he learned of the tragic fate of his father and the king.
Under Adolfo’s hands, they were beheaded. Florante was then exiled into the forest and tied to
the tree. “Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option”

Aladin’s Tale
After months of wandering in the forest, the Persian, Aladin shares that he is also in a
similar circumstance.
Sultan Ali-Adab accused his own son, Aladin, of leaving his troops and allowing his
conquered enemy to be recaptured. He arranged for his son to be beheaded. Flerida, very
much in love with Aladin, begged the Sultan not to kill, but merely exile his son. In return,
Flerida agreed to marry the Sultan, who was very taken with her.
Reunion and Peace
Aladin’s speech is interrupted when they hear voices. A woman narrates her escape
from a kingdom and a marriage. She speaks of her search for her beloved, a search which lasted
6 years. She shares that while deep in the forest, she heard cries for help. Finding a lady about
to be raped by a man, she uses her bow and arrow to kill him. The woman introduces herself as
Flerida.
The lady saved by Flerida is revealed to be Laura, who begins to tell her story. While her
love was away at war, Count Adolfo gained the popularity of the people, having lied to them
and turned them against the king. Count Adolfo then rose to the throne, forcing Laura to be his
queen. An army under Menandro, Florante’s childhood friend, was able to overthrow Adolfo
from power. Adolfo, seeing all was lost, fled into the woods, taking Laura as hostage.
After hearing all this, Florante and Aladin reunite with their loved ones. Florante and Laura
returned to Albania, and became king and queen. Aladin and Flerida returned to Persia, where
Aladin became the new sultan as his father committed suicide. The two kingdoms lived in
harmony and peace.
 Ang Dakilang Anakpawis

UNANG YUGTO
Unang Tagpo A – Ginampanan ni Andres ang pagiging magulang sa mga kapatid
niyang lalaki at babae. Namatay ang kanyang mga magulang noong siya ay nasa
labing-apat na taong gulang. Ang tatlong nakababatang lalaki at dalawang babaeng
kapatid ni Andres ay kailangang tumulong sa kanya sa pagtratrabaho sa pabrika
pamamagitan ng pagtitinda ng pamaypay na yari sa papel, baston at sandalyas.
Ang nakababatang kapatid na si Maxima ay umaawit ng Awit ng Ulila. Umaawit din
si Andres ng Anumang Gagawin, isang awit tungkol sa kahalagahan ng paglikha ng
mga bagay (kagaya ng pamaypay, baston, sandalyas na magaganda at matitibay
upang magustuhan ng mamimili). Pagkatapos nito ay sumali na rin si Andres sa
kapwa manggagawa at inawit nila ang Awit ng Manggagawa.
Unang Tagpo B – Ang kanyang mga kapatid na bababe at lalake ay nagtataka
tungkol sa kanyang gawain. Sa tagpong ito, si Bonifacio ay lumaki sa pamamagitan
ng kanyang pagkaunawa sa Rebolusyong Pranses, mga aklat tungkol sa mga
Presidenteng Amerikano. Samantala, nakakita si Maxima ng tula na isinulat ng
kanyang kuya na pinamagatang Pag-ibig Sa Tinubuang Lupa.
Ikalawang Tagpo – Isinasalaysay ang pagkatatag ni Dr. Jose Rizal sa La Liga
Filipina at ang kanyang pagkakadakip at pagpapatapon sa Dapitan. Sa araw ding
iyon noong ika-pito ng Hulyo 1892 nang si Rizal ay nakulong sa Fort Santiago, si
Bonifacio kasama nina Valentin Diaz, Teodoro Plata, Jose Dizon, Ladislaw Diwa at
Deodato Arellano ay naitatag ang lihim na samahan na tinawag na Kataas-taasang,
Kagalang-galangan Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan. Ang rituwal na pagtatatag ay
nagtapos sa pag-awit ng Katipunan.
Ikatlong Tagpo – Ang pagtanggap ng mga bagong kasapi sa Katipunan ay
pinangunahan ni Andres at Mabalasik. Upang batiin ang mga bagong miyembro,
ang mga Katipunero ay umaawit ng Ang Laban ng Mamamayan.
IKALAWANG YUGTO
Unang Tagpo – Ang tagpong ito ay nakatuon sa buhay pag-ibig ni Bonifacio. Ang
iniibig niya ay si Gregoria de Jesus, ang nag-iisang anak nina Nicolas de Jesus at
Baltazara Alvarez Francisco. Hindi sumasang-ayon ang kanyang mga magulang sa
kanilang relasyon. Umaawit si Gregoria ng Ang Pag-ibig ay Totoong Mahiwaga.
Hinaharana ni Andres at ng kanyang mga kaibigan si Gregoria ng awit na
Pakinggan mo Giliw. Sa huli ay tinanggap din ni Gregoria ang pag-ibig ni Andres
habang inaawit nila ang Ikaw Lang. Nag-aalinlangan si Gregoria sa pag-ibig ni
Andres at siya ay umaawit ng Alinlangan. Si Andres ay umaawit ng Paano Ko
Sasabihing Mahal Kita. Ang kasal ay naganap sa simbahan ng Binondo noong
Marso 1893. Makalipas ang isang Linggo, sina Andres at Gregoria ay ikinasal sa
seremonyang pang-Katipunan. Binabati ng mga Katipunero ay bagong kasal sa
awiting Maligayang Bati.
IKATLONG YUGTO
Unang Tagpo – Ang tagpong ito ay nagpapahayag ng mabagal na paglago ng
Katipunan pagkatapos ng mahigit dalawang taon sa ilalim ng pangunguna ni
Deodato Arellano at Roman Basa; na si Emilio Jacinto ay sumasapi sa Katipunan
noong 1893; na sa eleksiyon ni Andres Bonifacio bilang Supremo noong Enero
1895, at sa inisasyon o pagtanggap kina Emilio Aguinaldo at Dr. Pio Valenzuela ng
parehong taon. Binabanggit din ang dalawang makabayang Bisaya – Candido Iban
at Francisco del Castillo – sila ang “nagregalo” sa Katipunan ng imprenta na nag-
iimprenta ng “Kalayaan” noong unang bahagi ng 1896; ang pagbisita ng mga
prominenteng Katipunero sa kuwebang Pamintinan noong ika-10 ng Abril 1895; at
ang reeleksiyon ni Bonifacio bilang Supremo noong ika-31 ng Disyembre 1895.
Dapitan:
Sinusubukang kumbinsihin ni Dr. Pio Valenzuela si Dr. Jose Rizal na ibigay ang
kanyang “bendisyon” sa Rebolusyon. Tinatanggihan ito ni Dr. Jose Rizal ... at
umaawit ng La Deportacion.
Ikalawang Tagpo - Nagkukumpisal si Teodoro Patino kay Padre Mariano Gil ng
Tondo tungkol sa ng pagkakaroon ng Katipunan noong ika-19 ng Agosto 1896.
Hindi sumasang-ayon si Teodoro Plata sa pagdedeklara ng digmaan subalit siya ay
di pa rin nagtagumpay. Iginiit ni Bonifacio sa mga mamamayan na punitin ang mga
sedula, sumisigaw siya ng pinakamalakas: Mabuhay ang Katipunan!” Mabuhay ang
Katipunan!”
 West Side Story

When West Side Story opened on Broadway in 1957, it was a new kind of
musical. At the time, the phrase “Broadway musical” was synonymous with “musical
comedy.” Musical theatre typically took a lighthearted approach, even when
broaching serious issues. But West Side Story, perhaps one of the most famous
adaptations of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, exposed audiences to gang
violence on the streets of New York. If Shakespeare’s lovers are star-crossed and ill-
fated, Tony and Maria are also tragically so. West Side Story shows how racism and
xenophobia create a system that dooms the youths of working class families. And
unlike the typical Broadway musical of the 1950s and before, West Side Story does
not offer audiences a happy ending.
Just as Romeo and Juliet are born to rival families, Tony and Maria are
associated with rival gangs. Tony is a Jet, a gang of American-born youths led by his
best friend, Riff. Maria’s brother Bernardo is the leader of the Sharks, a gang of first-
generation Puerto Rican immigrants. The Jets challenge the Sharks to a rumble (a
massive fight) to resolve a territory dispute once and for all. Tony and Maria meet,
and fall instantly in love. Tony tries to stop the rumble for Maria’s sake, but Bernardo
stabs Riff. Tony reacts, avenging Riff’s death by killing Bernardo. Still in love, Maria
agrees to meet Tony that night and run away with him. But Tony receives word from
Bernardo’s mourning girlfriend, Anita, that Maria is dead. Grief-stricken, Tony goes
out seeking the Sharks who are hunting him. He discovers that Maria is alive, but a
Shark shoots him. Tony dies in Maria’s arms.

But unlike Shakespeare’s Juliet, Maria doesn’t kill herself. Instead, she rebukes
both gangs for the lives lost, and watches as the Sharks and the Jets come together to
carry off Tony’s body. While the adults in Romeo and Julietweep for their lost
children and resolve to change and end the feud, the adults in West Side Story watch
helplessly as the two gangs leave the stage at the end. The musical shows a society in
which parents and law enforcement have failed to foster community, instead pitting
young people against each other to fight the same battles based on the same fears that
cause anti-immigrant sentiment today. West Side Story offers a powerful message to
audiences: hate breeds more hate. Until violent and discriminatory social structures
are dismantled, the most vulnerable members of the community will continue to suffer
and die.
 Labindalawang Masasayang Prinsesa

There were once twelve merry princesses who wanted to marry. As

much as their father wanted the same thing, he didn’t know that many
princes to marry them off to! To which the eldest daughter answered that
they didn’t have to marry noblemen; marrying good men who will take care
of them is enough!

One day, the King was informed that every morning his twelve
daughters’ shoes were all muddied, despite never leaving their rooms! He
assigned different people to guard his daughters every night, but every
morning yielded the same result! One day, a commoner decided to try his
luck, successfully discovered their secret with the aid of a kind old lady and
achieved a dream come true.
 Mahiwagang Biyulin

The story was effectively and clearly portrayed by the show. I was able to understand it because
there is a tutorial of how the ballet dancers would portray it before the show starts. The way the dancers
sway and jump on the floor, their posture, and their costumes really made the ballet show portray the
story clearly. The dancers were able to depict the characters in a way the audience can easily grasp the
theme and plot of the story. The story is a short story and it consists of very few characters that made the
story very simple to render it to a ballet show. Furthermore, the story’s success was through the
characters’ actions not through the way they speak and that made it possible for the efficient depiction of
the story.

Ballet uses body language. The dancers use their bodies to create movements, which they
exaggerate and abstracted to a dance to project infinite numbers of feelings and emotions. The bodies of
the dancers tell the story about the feelings of the characters. The audience naturally read the emotions
and feelings of the people performing on the stage. The choreographers also did not overdo the dance
because when the dancers show too much emotion and feelings they can’t portray the story and thus the
story becomes an abstract. They connected the structure of their dance to the human movements to create
a visual impact on the audience and for them to reach out to as many people as possible.

Lastly, the show was able to recognize the audiences are in their appropriate age to understand
the story because of their academic achievement and knowledge about short stories.
 Ang Palasyo ng mga Diwende

This is a story of a young woman, whose heart is as beautiful as her

appearance. When her mother died, her father re-married. Her step-mother
and step-sister were both envious of her beauty that they did everything to
make her life unbearable, especially when her father died.
 NOLI ME TANGERE

Juan Crisostomo Ibarra is a young Filipino who, after studying for seven years in
Europe, returns to his native land to find that his father, a wealthy landowner, has died in prison
as the result of a quarrel with the parish curate, a Franciscan friar named Padre Damaso. Ibarra
is engaged to a beautiful and accomplished girl, Maria Clara, the supposed daughter and only
child of the rich Don Santiago de los Santos, commonly known as “Capitan Tiago.”

Ibarra resolves to forego all quarrels and to work for the betterment of his people. To
show his good intentions, he seeks to establish, at his own expense, a public school in his
native town. He meets with ostensible support from all, especially Padre Damaso’s successor, a
young and gloomy Franciscan named Padre Salvi, for whom Maria Clara confesses to an
instinctive dread.

At the laying of the cornerstone for the new schoolhouse, a suspicious accident,
apparently aimed at Ibarra’s life, occurs, but the festivities proceed until the dinner, where Ibarra
is grossly and wantonly insulted over the memory of his father by Fray Damaso. The young man
loses control of himself and is about to kill the friar, who is saved by the intervention of Maria
Clara.

Ibarra is excommunicated, and Capitan Tiago, through his fear of the friars, is forced to
break the engagement and agree to the marriage of Maria Clara with a young and inoffensive
Spaniard provided by Padre Damaso. Obedient to her reputed father’s command and influenced
by her mysterious dread of Padre Salvi, Maria Clara consents to this arrangement, but becomes
seriously ill, only to be saved by medicines sent secretly by Ibarra and clandestinely
administered by a girl friend.

Ibarra succeeds in having the excommunication removed, but before he can explain
matters, an uprising against the Civil Guard is secretly brought about through agents of Padre
Salvi, and the leadership is ascribed to Ibarra to ruin him. He is warned by a mysterious friend,
an outlaw called Elias, whose life he had accidentally saved; but desiring first to see Maria
Clara, he refuses to make his escape, and when the outbreak page occurs, he is arrested as
the instigator of it and thrown into prison in Manila.

On the evening when Capitan Tiago gives a ball in his Manila house to celebrate his
supposed daughter’s engagement, Ibarra makes his escape from prison and succeeds in
seeing Maria Clara alone. He begins to reproach her because it is a letter written to her before
he went to Europe which forms the basis of the charge against him, but she clears herself of
treachery to him. The letter had been secured from her by false representations and in
exchange for two others written by her mother just before her birth, which prove that Padre
Damaso is her real father. These letters had been accidentally discovered in the convento by
Padre Salvi, who made use of them to intimidate the girl and get possession of Ibarra’s letter,
from which he forged others to incriminate the young man. She tells him that she will marry the
young Spaniard, sacrificing herself thus to save her mother’s name and Capitan Tiago’s honor
and to prevent a public scandal, but that she will always remain true to him.

Ibarra’s escape had been effected by Elias, who conveys him in a banka up the Pasig to
the Lake, where they are so closely beset by the Civil Guard that Elias leaps into the water and
draws the pursuers away from the boat, in which Ibarra lies concealed.

On Christmas Eve, at the tomb of the Ibarras in a gloomy wood, Elias appears, wounded
and dying, to find there a boy named Basilio beside the corpse of his mother, a poor woman
who had been driven to insanity by her husband’s neglect and abuses on the part of the Civil
Guard, her younger son having page disappeared some time before in the convento, where he
was a sacristan. Basilio, who is ignorant of Elias’s identity, helps him to build a funeral pyre, on
which his corpse and the madwoman’s are to be burned.

Upon learning of the reported death of Ibarra in the chase on the Lake, Maria Clara
becomes disconsolate and begs her supposed godfather, Fray Damaso, to put her in a nunnery.
Unconscious of her knowledge of their true relationship, the friar breaks down and confesses
that all the trouble he has stirred up with the Ibarras has been to prevent her from marrying a
native, which would condemn her and her children to the oppressed and enslaved class. He
finally yields to her entreaties and she enters the nunnery of St. Clara, to which Padre Salvi is
soon assigned in a ministerial capacity.