LES MISÉRABLES CELEBRATES ITS 10th ANNIVERSARY ON BROADWAY WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12TH
Cameron Mackintosh's production of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg's Les Misérables will celebrate its 10th Anniversary on Broadway Wednesday, March 12 at the Imperial Theatre. 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.)
Les Misérables will mark this extraordinary milestone with the premiere of a completely new 10th Anniversary production, directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird. Previews for the new company will begin March 6. Leading the new cast of Les Misérables is Robert Marien as Jean Valjean. Mr. Marien won great acclaim for his portrayal of Valjean in Cameron Mackintosh's Paris, Montreal and London productions of the musical.
The 10th Anniversary Production of Les Misérables also stars Christopher Innvar as Javert, Juliet Lambert as Fantine, Nick Wyman as Thénardier, Fuschia Walker as Madame Thenardier, Peter Lockyer as Marius, Sarah Uriarte Berry as Eponine, Christeena Michelle Riggs as Cosette, and Stephen Buntrock as Enjolras.
On Broadway,Les Misérables has been seen by over six million people since it opened in 1987. The show, which will give its 4,134th 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 $292 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 20 million Americans, many of them returning time and time again.115 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 30 productions of Les Misérables, in 26 countries, in 14 different languages. To date, over 24,000 performances of Les Misérables have taken place throughout the world. The show has won more than 50 major theater awards throughout the world, 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.
Based on Victor Hugo's classic novel, Les Misérables began its life as a double LP pop opera recording in French, which originally sold over a quarter million copies. The material was subsequently staged as an arena attraction at Paris' Palais des Sports in the fall of 1980, where it quickly became a huge success with audiences.
Les Misérables' journey to the stage began in 1981 when producer Mackintosh was first given a copy of the original French album. Immediately captivated by the soaring score, Mackintosh contacted Boublil and Schönberg about the possibility of turning their work into a full-fledged stage musical. The duo quickly gave the producer the go-ahead, and Mackintosh began the process of assembling a creative team: co-directors Trevor Nunn and John Caird, translator James Fenton, English lyricist Herbert Kretzmer, and designers John Napier (sets), David Hersey (lighting), Andreane Neofitou (costumes), and Andrew Bruce (sound.)
The world premiere of the stage version of Les Misérables was presented as a co-production of 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.
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 Schönberg's Miss Saigon.
