Les Misérables (musical)

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Image:Les Misérables program.jpg Image:New York Imperial Theatre Les Miserables 2003.jpg Les Misérables, commonly known as Les Mis, is a musical based on the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. The name, which is French, is pronounced Template:IPA.

"Les Mis" 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.

It came first in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals" (wherein Nation refers to the United Kingdom). <ref>Elaine Page - BBC </ref> On 8 October 2005, the show celebrated its 20th anniversary performance at London's Queen's Theatre, where it is currently booking to 6 January 2007 - overtaking Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats as longest running West End musical ever.

1 Composition and History
2 Original British version and cast
3 Broadway
4 Student edition
5 Other international productions
6 Film
7 Awards
8 Notes
9 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, Frances Ruffelle as Eponine, 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."

As of 2006, the London cast includes John Owen-Jones (Jean Valjean), Cornell John (Javert), Tracie Bennett (Madame Thénardier), Barry James (Monsieur Thénardier) and Kerry Ellis (Fantine).

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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 (as Enjolras), 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 second-longest-running Broadway musical after Cats. More recently, its position has fallen to the third-longest-running Broadway musical after The Phantom of the Opera ascended initially to the second and, in 2006, to the number one spot.

Image:Victor Hugo-Cossette.jpg 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. The picture is based on an illustration by Émile Bayard that appeared in the original edition of the novel.

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

It was announced on February 17, 2006, that Les Misérables would be making a six-month return to Broadway, beginning on October 21, 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre.

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Student edition

The first school age theatre to gain the rights to the musical was The King's Theatre, in Sydney, Australia, in late 2000, performing the official edition in March 2001. This first performance prompted a student edition to become available through Musical Theater International in 2002. 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. The official poster and cover art for the student edition features Cosette wearing a letterman jacket and holding several textbooks.

The immense popularity of the show has caused hundreds of high schools across the USA to pick up the show's rights and perform it. Some middle schools have also tackled this piece. It has also been performed in the United Kingdom, most notably by Young Inspirations Theatre Company in two separate venues (Chesterfield's Pomegranate Theatre and Mansfield's Palace Theatre), a feat for which they won the 'Best Young Production in the Midlands' in 2004.

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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 and México, in which Mexican Soprano Claudia Cota, one of the world's greatest voices, played the role of Cosette) 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.

In 2002, Lés 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.

On April 8 2004, to mark the 100th anniversery of the Entente Cordiale this became the first West End play ever to be performed at Windsor Castle

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