CAMERON MACKINTOSH ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR A 10th ANNIVERSARY COMPANY OF LES MISÉRABLES ON BROADWAY
October 28, 1996- Producer Cameron Mackintosh announced today plans to unveil a 10th Anniversary Company of Les Misérables at a special birthday performance of the landmark musical on Wednesday, March 12, 1997. 700 tickets for this special performance will be given away to devoted Les Misérables fans through a contest that will be announced in January.
The 10th Anniversary Company of Les Misérables, which will be comprised of many new actors in both major roles and in the ensemble, as well as current cast members, will begin previews on March 3 at the Imperial Theater.
"The audience deserves the best show they can get. After 10 years of wonderful support from the American public, Trevor Nunn, John Caird and I can think of no better way to celebrate the 10th Anniversary than with a completely refreshed production to take into the 21st century," said Mackintosh.
Extensive auditions will be held in the coming weeks to re-cast a number of the show's major roles, as well as many ensemble parts. The entire 37-member 10th Anniversary Company will then begin a five week rehearsal period on January 28 at 890 Broadway. Casting will be announced later this fall.
Because of the extensive rehearsal required to put together a new company of actors, Mackintosh will take the unprecedented step of bringing to Broadway the national touring company of Les Misérables.
"During the five week rehearsal period for the new Broadway company, I'm delighted to have the opportunity of bringing the national touring company to Broadway. When I first sent Les Misérables on tour almost 9 years ago, I vowed it would be as good as Broadway or I would not do it at all. The continued success of the national tour across America has proved this to be the right decision," said Mackintosh.
The national touring company has played to sold-out houses and critical acclaim in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Boston and many other major cities throughout the country. This December, the production returns to Philadelphia for its 5th triumphant engagement, where already there have been more than $2.5 million in advance sales (for a four-week booking period.) Due to this overwhelming response, the show will be extended by two weeks in Philadelphia, prior to its arrival on Broadway on January 28. The national touring company will then perform on Broadway through March 1.
Seen by more than 40 million people worldwide, Les Misérables is one of the greatest musical successes in history. The show's global box-office receipts now exceed $1.6 billion, a figure even greater than the highest-grossing film of all time, "Jurassic Park" ($915 million.)
On Broadway, Les Misérables has been seen by over 5.8 million people since it opened in 1987. The show, which will give its 4,112th performance on March 12, is already the 4th longest-running show in Broadway history, having surpassed the long runs of such landmark musicals as My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, Annie and Oklahoma! Les Misérables' Broadway box-office gross exceeds $250 million.
Les Misérables has been embraced by audiences across America. The show, which began touring the United States in December of 1987, has been seen by over 13.9 million Americans, many of them returning time and time again. 116 cities in America have hosted Les Misérables, many of them numerous times -- St. Paul, Minnesota and Detroit, Michigan share the record at six engagements each. Several other cities have hosted the musical five times.
Internationally, there have been 28 productions of Les Misérables, in 26 countries, in 14 different languages. To date, over 23,000 performances of Les Misérables have taken place throughout the world. The show has won more than 50 major theater awards internationally, including the 1987 Tony Award for Best Musical. There have been 29 cast recordings of the musical, including the multi-platinum original London cast album, the Grammy Award-winning
Broadway cast recording, the Grammy-Award winning complete symphonic version, and the recently released London 10th Anniversary Concert recording.
The world premiere of the stage version of Les Misérables was presented as a co-production of Cameron Mackintosh and the Royal Shakespeare Company on October 8, 1985 at the Barbican Theatre in London. The show was an instant success with the public and soon transferred to the Palace Theatre in London's West End (where it still plays today.)
In October of 1995, the original London production of Les Misérables celebrated its 10th Anniversary with an already legendary concert performance of the musical at the Royal Albert Hall, featuring performers from around the world. Television audiences in the United States have had the opportunity to experience this concert as part of the "Great Performances" series on PBS. In fact, the London 10th Anniversary Concert broadcast is the single most successful fund-raising program in PBS history, raising millions of dollars for stations across the country.
The American premiere of Les Misérables took place on December 27, 1986 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The Broadway premiere occurred on March 12, 1987 at the Broadway Theater, where the show opened with the largest advance sale in Broadway history (as of that date.) An instant and overwhelming success with audiences, Les Misérables went on to win eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, as well as Best Musical honors from the New York Drama Critics' Circle, the Outer Critics' Circle, and the Drama Desk. The show moved to the Imperial Theater in October, 1990 to make way for Boublil and Schonberg's Miss Saigon (which is now in its sixth year on Broadway.)
Produced by Cameron Mackintosh, Les Misérables is a musical by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, with lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. The co-directors of Les Misérables are Trevor Nunn and John Caird. Sets are by John Napier, with lighting by David Hersey, costumes by Andreane Neofitou and sound by Andrew Bruce.
