Hurricane Harvey Victims Sing a Rousing “One Day More” From Les Miserables

These Texas residents turned their tragedy on its head with the help of musical theater.

I hope it’s well-established that I love Les Miserables very much and will never stop appreciating Les Miserables-related content. But even for a book/movie/show about love, loss, revolution, death and redemption, this has to be one of the more moving uses of Les Mis that I’ve ever seen.

As reported by Broadway World, Sarah Hames “had a literal barricade in her ditch following the aftermath of the storm. So, naturally, she got some friends together and performed ‘One Day More.'”

As Sarah and her friends perform the song—sometimes upon the barricade made by the storm—they’re intercut with scenes of both Harvey’s destruction and the community-driven clean-up in progress. It’s an incredibly inspiring performance, and you can imagine that the act of singing together and making the video provided a lot of levity to its participants during the bleakest of times. “You take your pain and experience and put it to song,” reads the video’s description.

The video was also created in order to bring awareness to the ongoing devastation that Harvey wreaked on so many lives. After the news cameras leave, many people forget that for the residents of Texas, reckoning with the storm has just begun.

We created this video to bring in more donations to those affected by Hurricane Harvey. Please consider donating! It’s far from over and people from all over our area have been devastated and need your help to help them get back on their feet and back to their lives.

You can donate here: www.wehateharvey.com

“One Day More” is the perfect choice. In Les Miserables, the song represents the cusp of hope and promise that a new day will be dawning, while all of the characters involved are also grappling with personal tragedies and fears. Its message here is also that those so affected will keep persevering, a day at a time, and that we can help.

(via Broadway World, image: screengrab)

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