As usual the play, and the two movies, try, and do a decent job, to convey the themes in Hugo’s novel...but IMO, they miss (or leave out) some important things. However, I really understand that you can’t condense an entire book into a 2.5 hour production.
But the theme law/grace is what intrigues me about Hugo’s novel, and all film and play versions did get this across. The nuances of the theme were sometimes lost in the lyric of the songs, or the lack of more of the story to put things in more context. But all in all, the screenplay, composers, and lyricists did do a fine job.
Thanks—the “Law/Grace” element is one I can get my head around!