Les Misérables (musical)

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Les Misérables programme from Palace Theatre purchased for £3 in July 2003.

Les Misérables on Broadway (Imperial Theatre, February 2003)

Les Misérables, commonly known as Les Mis, is a musical based on the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. It tells the story of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his attempts to start a new life and make the world a better place. The musical was written by the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg and the librettist Alain Boublil, and opened in September 1980 at the Palais des Sports in Paris for a projected eight-week season — it ran for sixteen weeks, closing only because the venue was already committed to other projects after that point. In 1982, English producer Cameron Mackintosh began work on an English language version, with lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. The first English production, produced by Mackintosh and directed by Trevor Nunn, opened on October 8, 1985, in the Barbican Theatre, London. The Broadway production that opened in 1987 was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards and won nine, including Best Musical and Best Original Score, and ran until 2003; at the time of its closing it was the third-longest running show in the history of Broadway.

1 Composition and History
2 Original British version and cast
3 Broadway
4 Student edition
5 Other international productions
6 Awards
7 External links

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Composition and History

The musical was written by the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg and the librettist Alain Boublil. It opened in September 1980 at the Palais des Sports in Paris for a projected eight-week season; such was its success that it ran for sixteen weeks, closing only because the venue was already committed to other projects after that point. Les Misérables was a part of the major European influence on Broadway in the 80's along with Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon.

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Original British version and cast

In 1982, English producer Cameron Mackintosh began work on an English language version, with lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. The first English production, produced by Mackintosh and directed by Trevor Nunn, opened on October 8, 1985, in the Barbican Theatre, London.

It starred Colm Wilkinson as Valjean, Rebecca Caine as Cosette, Patti LuPone as Fantine, Roger Allam as the persistent Inspector Javert, and Alun Armstrong as the villainous rogue Thenardier.

On December 4, 1985, it transferred to the Palace Theatre, and moved again on April 3, 2004 to the Queen's Theatre. On October 8, 1995, the show's 10th anniversary was celebrated with a concert at the Royal Albert Hall; one of the finalés was a performance of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" sung a line at a time by seventeen Jean Valjeans, each from a different production in a different country followed by a powerful rendition of "One Day More."

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Broadway

The Broadway production opened on March 12, 1987 at the Broadway Theater. Colm Wilkinson and Frances Ruffelle (as Eponine) reprised their roles from the London production. The musical won the Tony Award for Best Musical in that year, and won in five additional categories: Michael Maguire for Actor in a Featured Role, Musical; Frances Ruffelle for Actress in a Featured Role, Musical; Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg for Book, Musical; Trevor Nunn and John Caird for Director, Musical; and David Hersey for Lighting Design.

The musical ran at the Broadway Theater through October 10, 1990, when it moved to the Imperial Theatre. It was scheduled to close on March 15, 2003, but the closing was postponed by a surge in public interest, probably as a result of the announcement. After 6,680 performances in sixteen years, when it closed on May 18, 2003, it was the third-longest-running Broadway musical after Cats and The Phantom of the Opera.

The musical's emblem is a picture of the waif Cosette, usually shown cropped to a head-and-shoulders portrait with the French national flag superimposed.

Well-known songs from the musical include "I Dreamed a Dream", "Master of the House", "Do You Hear the People Sing?", "On My Own", "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables", "Stars", "At the End of the Day", and "One Day More".

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Student edition

In 2002, a student edition of the musical became available. This is notable because it is unusual for a student edition to be released while professional productions (London and US touring productions) are still showing. However, all the actors in the school edition must be students (under 19 and unpaid), in order to prevent theatre companies from performing the show. It is also shorter than the "official" version, although no major scenes or songs have been removed (some, however, are very substantially cut). The official poster and cover art for the student edition features Cosette wearing a letterman jacket and holding several textbooks.

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Other international productions

Les Miserables opened in 2000 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, being the second version in Spanish after the 1993 Madrid version. It ran for eight months at Teatro Ópera. The Spanish-speaking version (Madrid, Buenos Aires, México) is the only international version having changed its name from "Les Misérables" to "Los Miserables". No recording was made from the Buenos Aires production, the Madrid production being the only Spanish recording of the show. The official webpage of the show still has a link to the Argentine production. [1]

In 2002, Les Miserables became the first Broadway musical to be staged in mainland China. Running for twenty-one performances at Shanghai's Grand Theatre, the American Touring Cast's production was spectacularly successful, grossing 12 million yuan.

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