FACTS OF LES MISÉRABLES
WORLDWIDE FIGURES
LES MISÉRABLES had its world premiere October 8, 1985 at the Barbican Theatre in London and transferred to the Palace Theatre in the West End on December 4, 1985.
Over 51 million people worldwide have seen LES MISÉRABLES.
The worldwide box office gross is more than $1.8 billion.
Over 39,500 performances have taken place.
50 major theatre awards, including eight 1987 Tony Awards (including Best Musical), two Grammy Awards and many gold and platinum discs.
There have been 31 cast recordings internationally, with the Original London Cast Recording awarded Triple-Platinum status in the U.K. and Gold status awarded to three U.S. recordings: the Original Broadway Cast, the Complete Symphonic Recording and the Complete Symphonic Recording Highlights.
58 productions of LES MISÉRABLES have played in 38 countries and in 227 cities.
There are currently 5 productions playing around the world: London, The U.S. National Tour, Prague (Czech Republic), Berlin (Germany), Mexico City (Mexico).
On June 22, 2002, LES MISÉRABLES made history becoming the first Broadway musical to ever play in China. The three-week engagement played to sold out crowds at the Shanghai Grand Theatre in Shanghai, China.
LES MISÉRABLES has been translated into 23 languages: Argentinean, Castilian, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, French, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Japanese, Mauritian Creole, Mexican, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish.
A song from the show, "One Day More", was used for Bill Clinton's 1992 US Presidential Campaign. "Do You Hear The People Sing?" was played over TV newscasts from the student protest in Tianamen Square. "Bring Him Home" was officially requested by the US State Department to use as background for promotional material about the US troops engaged in the Gulf War.
UNITED STATES
LES MISÉRABLES had its American premiere at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in December of 1986.
The Broadway Company opened March 12, 1987 at the Broadway Theatre and moved to the Imperial Theatre on October 17, 1990 to make way for the Broadway production of Miss Saigon.
After 16 years and 6,680 performances, the Broadway Company of LES MISÉRABLES closed on May 18, 2003 at the Imperial Theatre as the second longest running show in Broadway history. (Cats is the longest with 7,485 performances.)
On February 4, 2004, The Phantom of the Opera claimed the second longest running show title, surpassing LES MISÉRABLES’ record of 6,680. LES MISÉRABLES is now the third longest running show in Broadway history.
There have been 3 U.S. national touring companies of LES MISÉRABLES: First National Company: November 1987-September 1991 Second National Company: May 1988-January 1991 Third National Company: November 1988-present
LES MISÉRABLES has played in 145 cities in the following 43 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin.
Br>The only states that have not yet hosted LES MISÉRABLES are Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The District of Columbia will has hosted LES MISÉRABLES 7 times, including the United States premiere in December, 1986.
St. Paul, Minnesota holds the record for LES MISÉRABLES engagements: 10 times.
Over 25 million people have seen LES MISÉRABLES in the U.S. alone.
7 U.S. Presidents have seen LES MISÉRABLES (Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon)
THE SHOW
Over 726 actors have performed in the four U.S. companies.
Craig Schulman has played the role of Jean Valjean more than any other actor in the world: over 1,900 performances on Broadway, across the U.S. and in Singapore.
There are approximately 101 Cast and Crew members directly involved in every performance not including front of house staff, and the huge back up services including ticket sales, advertising, wardrobe staff, set contractors, maintenance, office staff, advertising and publicity.
Each performance uses 392 costumes, consisting of 1,782 items and 20 wigs.
The Broadway production has grossed more than $410 million.
The New York production cost $4.5 million to mount, and opened with advance ticket sales of $11 million (the Broadway record up to that date).
269 U.S. schools performed LES MISÉRABLES, School Edition during the first year that the rights have been made available (July 2002 – July 2003). LES MISÉRABLES is the first musical ever to become available for school productions while still playing on Broadway, in the West End and in productions around the world.
