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Les Misérables
by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil
Les Misérables, colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz /leɪ ˈmɪz/, is a musical composed in 1980 by French composer Claude-Michel Schönberg, with a French-language libretto by Alain Boublil.
The English-language adaptation, with libretto by Herbert Kretzmer, opened at London’s Barbican Centre on 8 October 1985. It is the worlds longest-running musical, now in its 26th year, and the third longest-running show in Broadway history. In January 2010 it played its 10,000th performance in London’s West End.[1] The production continues at London’s Queen’s Theatre.
On October 3, 2010, the show became the first musical in history to have three productions running in the same city, with the original show running in London’s West End, a 25th Anniversary touring production running at the original home of the show, London’s Barbican Centre, and a special concert version at London’s O2 Arena.
Based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel of the same name, set in early nineteenth-century France, the plot follows the stories of the characters as they struggle for redemption and revolution. An ensemble that includes prostitutes, student revolutionaries, factory workers, and others joins the lead characters.
The Tony Award-winning score features the song “I Dreamed a Dream”, sung as a solo by the character Fantine during the first act. Numerous professional artists have recorded cover versions of this song since the musical’s premiere in October 1985, including Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin, David Essex, Susan Boyle, Michael Crawford, Lea Salonga and most recently as a duet between Idina Menzel and Lea Michele on the television show Glee.
Video 2014 Broadway Production
Background
Originally released as a French-language concept album, the first musical stage adaptation of Les Misérables was presented at a Paris sports arena in 1980. However, the first production closed three months later when the booking contract expired.
In 1982, about six months after he had opened Cats in London, producer Cameron Mackintosh received a copy of the French concept album by director Peter Farago. Farago had been impressed by the work, and asked Mackintosh to produce an English version of the show. Initially reluctant, Mackintosh eventually agreed.
Mackintosh assembled a production team to adapt the French musical for a British audience. After two years in development, the English language version opened in London on October 8, 1985, at the Barbican Arts Centre. Critical reviews were negative, and literary scholars condemned the show for converting classical French literature to a musical. Public opinion differed from the press, with the box office receiving record ticket orders. The limited three-month Barbican engagement eventually sold-out and reviews improved
Reception
The Broadway production opened on March 12, 1987, and ran until May 18, 2003, closing after 6,680 performances. It is the third longest-running Broadway show in history.[2] A fully re-orchestrated Broadway revival opened on November 9, 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre.
The show was nominated for twelve Tony Awards, winning eight, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Les Misérables placed first in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the “Nation’s Number One Essential Musicals” in June 2005, receiving more than 40% of the votes cast.[3]
Les Misérables was one of the British musicals on Broadway in the 1980s as well as Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon.
Emblem
The musical’s emblem is a picture of the waif Cosette sweeping the Thénardier’s Inn, usually shown cropped to a head-and-shoulders portrait with the French national flag superimposed. The picture is based on the illustration by mr.hugo Émile Bayard that appeared in the original edition of the novel in 1862.
Production History
Original French Production
French songwriter Alain Boublil had the idea to adapt Victor Hugo’s novel into a musical while at a performance of the musical Oliver! in London:
As soon as the Artful Dodger came onstage, Gavroche came to mind. It was like a blow to the solar plexus. I started seeing all the characters of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables—Valjean, Javert, Gavroche, Cosette, Marius, and Éponine—in my mind’s eye, laughing, crying, and singing onstage.[6]
He pitched the idea to French composer Claude-Michel Schönberg, and developed a rough synopsis of what they believed would work in a musical. They worked up an analysis of each character’s mental and emotional state, as well as that of an audience watching the show. Schönberg then began to write the music, while Alain Boublil began work on the text. According to Alain Boublil in the piano/vocal selections book published by Alain Boublil Music Ltd. and exclusively distributed by Hal Leonard, “…I could begin work on the words. This I did – after myself deciding on the subject and title of every song – in collaboration with my friend, poet Jean-Marc Natel.” Two years later, a two-hour demo tape with Schönberg accompanying himself on the piano and singing every role was finally completed. An album of this collaboration was recorded at CTS Studios in Wembley and was released in 1980, selling 260,000 copies.
The concept album includes Maurice Barrier as Jean Valjean, Jacques Mercier as Javert, Rose Laurens as Fantine, Yvan Dautin as Thénardier, Marie-France Roussel as Mme. Thénardier, Richard Dewitte as Marius, Fabienne Guyon as Cosette, Marie as Éponine, Michel Sardou as Enjolras, Fabrice Bernard as Gavroche, Maryse Cédolin as Young Cosette, Claude-Michel Schönberg as Courfeyrac, Salvatore Adamo as Combeferre, Michel Delpech as Feuilly, Dominique Tirmont as M. Gillenormand, and Mireille as the hair buyer.
That year, in September 1980, a stage version directed by veteran French film director Robert Hossein was produced at the Palais des Sports in Paris. The show was a success, with 100 performances seen by over 500,000 people.[7][8][9]
Most of the cast from the concept album performed in the production.[7][10] The cast included Maurice Barrier as Valjean, Jean Vallée as Javert, Rose Laurens as Fantine, Maryse Cédolin and Sylvie Camacho and Priscilla Patron as Young Cosette, Marie-France Roussel as Mme. Thénardier, Yvan Dautin as M. Thénardier, Florence Davis and Fabrice Ploquin and Cyrille Dupont as Gavroche, Marianne Mille as Éponine, Gilles Buhlmann as Marius, Christian Ratellin as Enjolras, Fabienne Guyon as Cosette, René-Louis Baron as Combeferre, Dominique Tirmont as M. Gillenormand, and Anne Forrez as Mlle. Gillenormand.[7][10][11][12]
London Production
The English language version, with lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and additional material by James Fenton, was substantially expanded and reworked from a literal translation by Siobhan Bracke of the original Paris version, in particular adding a prologue to tell Jean Valjean’s back story. Kretzmer’s work is not a direct “translation” of the French, a term that Kretzmer refuses to use. A third of the English lyrics were a rough translation, another third were adapted from the French lyrics and the final third consisted of new material.
The first production in English, produced by Cameron Mackintosh and adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird, opened on 8 October 1985 (five years after the original production) at the Barbican Arts Centre, London. It was billed in the RSC Barbican Theatre programme as “The Royal Shakespeare Company presentation of the RSC/Cameron Mackintosh production”, and played to preview performances beginning on September 28, 1985.
The set was designed by John Napier, costumes by Andreane Neofitou and lighting by David Hersey. Musical supervision and orchestrations were by John Cameron, who had been involved with the show since Claude-Michel and Alain hired him to orchestrate the original French concept album. Musical staging was by Kate Flatt with musical direction by Martin Koch.
The original London cast included Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, Roger Allam as the persistent Inspector Javert, Ken Caswell as the Bishop of Digne, Patti LuPone as Fantine, Zoë Hart and Jayne O’Mahony and Joanne Woodcock as Young Cosette, Danielle Akers and Gillian Brander and Juliette Caton as Young Éponine, Susan Jane Tanner as Madame Thénardier, Alun Armstrong as the villainous but funny rogue Thénardier, Frances Ruffelle as Éponine, Rebecca Caine as Cosette, Michael Ball as Marius, David Burt as Enjolras, and Ian Tucker and Oliver Spencer and Liza Hayden as Gavroche.[13][14]
On December 4, 1985, the show transferred to the Palace Theatre, London and moved again on April 3, 2004, to a much more intimate Queen’s Theatre, with some revisions of staging, where it is still playing. It celebrated its ten-thousandth performance on 5 January 2010. The drummer from the original cast album, Peter Boita, is still with the show – the only musician still associated with the show that was there from the beginning.[15]
The co-production has generated valuable income for the Royal Shakespeare Company.[16]
Broadway Production
The musical had its out-of-town tryout at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House in Washington D.C., in December 1986 for eight weeks, through February 14, 1987.[17]
The musical then premiered on Broadway on March 12, 1987 at The Broadway Theatre. Colm Wilkinson and Frances Ruffelle reprised their roles from the London production.[18] The $4.5 million production had a more than $4 million advance sale prior to its New York opening.[19]
The show underwent further tightening of plot, and an improved sewer lighting and Javert suicide scene effect was incorporated into the staging.[20] In an interview with Boublil, the changes were explained: “The transfer from London to the United States has prompted further modifications. ‘We are taking this opportunity to rethink and perfect, to rewrite some details which probably no one else will see, but which for us are still long nights of work,’ Mr. Boublil says. ‘There are things that nobody had time to do in London, and here we have a wonderful opportunity to fix a few things. No one will notice, perhaps, but for us, it will make us so happy if we can better this show. We would like this to be the final version.'”[19] In addition, two songs were deleted – the complete version of Gavroche’s song “Little People” and the adult Cosette’s “I Saw Him Once.” A short section at the beginning of “In My Life” replaced “I Saw Him Once”. The lyrics in Javert’s “Stars” have been changed. It now ends with the line, “This I swear by the stars!”, while the London production and cast recording ended with the repeated line, “Keeping watch in the night.”
The original Broadway cast included Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, David Bryant as Marius, Judy Kuhn as Cosette, Michael Maguire as Enjolras, Frances Ruffelle as Éponine, Braden Danner as Gavroche, Donna Vivino as Young Cosette, Jennifer Butt as Madame Thénardier, Leo Burmester as Thénardier, Randy Graff as Fantine, Terrence Mann as Javert, Chrissie McDonald as Young Éponine, and Norman Large as the Bishop of Digne.[18]
Other members of the original Broadway cast included: Kevin Marcum, Paul Harman, Anthony Crivello, John Dewar, Joseph Kolinski, Alex Santoriello, Jesse Corti, Susan Goodman, John Norman, Norman Large, Marcus Lovett, Steve Shocket, Cindy Benson, Marcie Shaw, Jane Bodle, Joanna Glushak, Ann Crumb, Kelli James, Gretchen Kingsley-Weihe, Chrissie McDonald. Michael Hinton was the original drummer and credited on the cast album.[18]
The musical ran at the Broadway Theatre through October 10, 1990, when it moved to the Imperial Theatre.[18] It was scheduled to close on March 15, 2003, but the closing was postponed by a surge in public interest.[21] According to an article in The Scotsman, “Sales picked up last October, when Sir Cameron made the announcement that the show would be closing on 15 March…its closure postponed to 18 May because of an unexpected increase in business.” [22] After 6,680 performances in sixteen years,[22] when it closed on May 18, 2003,[18] it was the second-longest-running Broadway musical after Cats.[23] 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.[24]
This Broadway production of Les Misérables and its advertising in New York City is a reoccurring themes in = Behr | first = Edward | titl American Psycho. The reviewer for the Financial Times wrote that Les Miserables is “the book’s hilarious main cultural compass-point”.[25]
2006 Broadway revival
Only three years after the original run closed, Les Misérables began a limited return to Broadway on November 9, 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre. On December 19, 2006, it was announced that Les Misérables would extend its run until September 1, 2007. It was subsequently announced that the show would have an open-ended run rather than a set closing date.
Using the set, costumes, performers, and other resources from the recently closed third U.S. national touring production, the production was only slightly altered. Minor changes included a y friend, poet Jean-Marc Natel.” of colourful projections blended into its existing lighting design, and a proscenium that extended out into the first two boxes on either side of the stage.
Some cuts previously made to the show during its original Broadway run were restored, new lyrics were penned for Gavroche’s death scene (known in the revival as “Ten Little Bullets”), and much of the show was re-orchestrated by Christopher Janke, introducing a snare and timpani heavy sound played by a 14 member band, a reduction of about 10 musicians from the original score’s requirement of 23–25.
The original 2006 Broadway revival cast included Alexander Gemignani as Jean Valjean, Norm Lewis as Javert, Daphne Rubin-Vega as Fantine, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Éponine, Aaron Lazar as Enjolras, Adam Jacobs as Marius, Ali Ewoldt as Cosette, Gary Beach as Thénardier, Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier, Brian D’Addario and Jacob Levine and Austyn Myers as Gavroche, James Chip Leonard as The Bishop of Digne, Drew Sarich as Grantaire, and Tess Adams and Kylie Liya Goldstein and Carly Rose Sonenclar as Young Cosette/Young Éponine.[26]
Fantine was played by Lea Salonga beginning on March 2, 2007. Ann Harada replaced Jenny Galloway as Mme. Thénardier on April 24, 2007. Ben Davis joined playing Javert, and Max von Essen playing Enjolras. Ben Crawford and Mandy Bruno joined the cast that day too, playing Brujon and Éponine respectively. On July 23, 2007, Drew Sarich took over the role of Jean Valjean, following Alexander Gemignani’s departure. On September 5, 2007, it was announced that John Owen-Jones (who played Valjean in London) was to join the Broadway cast. In return, Drew Sarich (the Valjean on Broadway) was joining the London cast in Owen-Jones’ place. Judy Kuhn, who originated the role of Cosette returned to the show after 20 years as Fantine, succeeding Lea Salonga, who previously played the role of Éponine.
On September 27, 2007, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo attended the Broadhurst Theatre to watch Lea Salonga in her role as Fantine in Les Misérables. Salonga’s cast included Adam Jacobs as Marius and Ali Ewoldt as Cosette.[27] Later that year, the show went temporarily dark because of the Broadway stagehands’ strike.
The revival closed on January 6, 2008. Combined with the original production’s 6,680 performances, Les Misérables has played 7,176 performances on Broadway.[28]
2014 Broadway Revival
The show returned to Broadway in March 2014 at the Imperial Theatre with previews beginning March 1, 2014 and had an official opening on March 23, 2014. The creative team includes the direction of Laurence Connor and James Powell, the set design by Matt Kinley, costumes by Andreane Neofitou and Christine Rowlands, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Mick Potter and projections by Fifty-Nine Productions. Cameron Mackintosh once again produced the show.
Cast
Jean Valjean – Ramin Karimloo (Bway Debut)
Javert – Will Swenson
Fantine – Caissie Levy
Eponine – Nikki M James
Marius – Andy Mientus
Cosette – Samantha Hill
Madame Thenardier – Keala Settle
Monsieur Thenardier – Cliff Saunders
Enjolras – Kyle Scatliffe
Costume Designer – Andreane Neofitou
New Orchestrations – Christopher Jahnke, Stephen Metcalfe & Stephen Booker
Musical Staging – Michael Ashcroft & Geoffrey Garratt
Sound – Mick Potter
Lighting – Paule Constable
Costume Design – Andreane Neofitou & Christine Rowland
Set & Image Design – Matt Kinley inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo
Directed by Laurence Connor & James Powell
Tenth Anniversary London Concert
On October 8, 1995, the show celebrated its tenth anniversary with a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. This Tenth Anniversary Concert is nearly “complete,” missing only a handful of scenes, including “The Death of Gavroche” and the confrontation between Marius and the Thénardiers at the wedding feast. Sir Cameron Mackintosh hand-selected the cast, which has come to be called the Les Misérables Dream Cast, assembling cast members from around the world. The concert concluded with seventeen Valjeans from various international productions singing “Do You Hear the People Sing?” in their native languages.
The concert cast included Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, Philip Quast as Javert, Paul Monaghan as the Bishop of Digne, Ruthie Henshall as Fantine, Hannah Chick as Young Cosette, Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier, Alun Armstrong as Thénardier, Adam Searles as Gavroche, Michael Maguire as Enjolras, Michael Ball as Marius, Judy Kuhn as Cosette, Lea Salonga as Éponine, and Anthony Crivello as Grantaire.
25th Anniversary Concert
The 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Misérables was held at The 02 Arena in North Greenwich on Sunday 3 October 2010 at 1:30pm and 7pm. The star-studded concert featured Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean, Norm Lewis as Javert, Lea Salonga as Fantine, Nick Jonas as Marius, Katie Hall as Cosette, Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier, Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras, Samantha Barks as Eponine and Matt Lucas as Thénardier. Casts of the current London production, current international Tour production and Original 1985 London production took part, making up an ensemble of 300 performers and musicians.
For the encore four Jean Valjeans sung Bring Him Home, Colm Wilkinson from the original London cast, John Owen-Jones from the 25th Anniversary touring production, Simon Bowman from the current London cast and Alfie Boe who sang the role in the Concert. The original 1985 cast then led the ensemble in a performance of One Day More
After speeches from Cameron Mackintosh, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg the concert concluded with students from some school productions of Les Misérables coming down through the audience and joining the casts for the Finale song.
The evening concert was shown live in cinemas across the UK, Ireland, and around the world. A Blu-ray and DVD version of the O2 broadcast is due to be released on November 29th in the UK (Region 2, PAL DVD and Bluray)with a future release to be determined in North America.
Other Concert Performances
The musical has also been performed in concert at Cardiff Castle and several venues in southern England, produced by Earl Carpenter Concerts. A concert version starring Jeff Leyton was also performed at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast. In 1989, a one-night concert performance was performed at SkyDome in Toronto, and the largest concert production attracted an audience of approximately 125,000 as part of the Australia day celebrations in Sydney’s Domain Park. The Scandinavian concert tour, produced by Cameron Mackintosh in association with Noble Art, starred Danish musical icon Stig Rossen in the leading role and commemorated author Victor Hugo’s 200th birthday. Venues on the tour included the Stockholm Globen, Oslo Spektrum, the Helsinki Hartwell Areena, and the Gothenburg Scandinavium, with audiences totalling over 150,000 for the complete tour.
In February 2008, Les Misérables was performed at the BIC in Bournemouth, England with a cast of West End stars accompanied by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. In August 2008, a concert version,directed by Richard Jay-Alexander, was performed at the Hollywood Bowl. The cast included veteran Les Misérables star J. Mark McVey as Valjean, The Office star Melora Hardin as Fantine, Broadway star and Bowl veteran Brian Stokes Mitchell as Javert, Spring Awakening star Lea Michele as Éponine, Tony winning Jersey Boys star John Lloyd Young as Marius, West End star Tom Lowe as Enjolras, Michael McCormick as Thénardier, Ruth Williamson as Madame Thénardier, Michele Maika as Cosette, Maddie Levy as Young Cosette, and Sage Ryan as Gavroche.
In September 2008, it was performed at the St John Loveridge Hall in Guernsey with a cast of West End performers—the first time that it had been professionally performed on the Island where Victor Hugo wrote the novel. Former London Valjean Phil Cavill reprised his role alongside Les Misérables veteran Michael McCarthy as Javert. In March 2009, the Guernsey production was remounted at Fort Regent in Jersey; and in July 2009, the musical was performed in concert at Osborne House on the Isle Of Wight.
National U.S. Broadway Tours
The show had three national touring productions in the U.S., all of which shared the Broadway producer and manager, cast, creative teams, sets, costumes, and lighting. While the touring production and the New York production were running simultaneously, the staff, cast members, crew, and musicians of the two productions interchanged often, which contributed to keeping both companies of the show in form. When the New York production closed in 2003, the Third National Tour continued for another three years, and enjoyed the influx of many members from the original and subsequent New York companies.
The First National Tour opened at Boston’s Shubert Theatre on December 12, 1987, and continued to play until late 1991. The Second National Tour opened at Los Angeles’ Shubert Theatre on June 1, 1988. The production played for 14 months then transferred to San Francisco’s Curran Theatre where it enjoyed a similar run. The Third National Tour of Les Misérables (called “The Marius Company”) was one of the longest running American touring musicals. Opening on 28 November 1988 at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in Florida and closing on July 23, 2006, at the Fox Theatre in Saint Louis, Missouri, the tour ran for seventeen years and seven thousand sixty-one performances. The tour played in one hundred forty-five cities in forty-three states. The same touring company also frequently performed in Canada, and made a diversion in 2002 to visit Shanghai, China for three weeks.
The final company of the Third National Broadway Tour included Randal Keith as Valjean (Keith also played Valjean in the final company of the original Broadway engagement), Robert Hunt as Javert, Joan Almedilla as Fantine, Daniel Bogart as Marius, Norman Large (from Original Broadway Cast) as Monsieur Thénardier, Jennifer Butt (from Original Broadway Cast) as Madame Thénardier, Melissa Lyons as Éponine, Ali Ewoldt as Cosette, Victor Wallace as Enjolras, Meg Guzulescu and Rachel Schier alternating as Young Cosette and Young Éponine, Austyn Myers and Anthony Skillman alternating as Gavroche.
25th Anniversary International Tour
A new tour to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the show began performances on December 12, 2009, at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. Differences from the original production included a new set, new costumes, new direction and alterations to the original orchestrations. The new tour also didn’t use a revolving stage and the scenery was insprired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. Locations have included Manchester, Norwich, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol, Salford, and Southhampton.
The tour also played a special engagement in Paris. From September through October, the show returned to the Barbican Centre, London, where the original 1985 production commenced. The tour cast features John Owen-Jones as Valjean, Earl Carpenter as Javert, Gareth Gates as Marius, Ashley Artus as Thénardier, Lynne Wilmot as Madame Thénardier, Madalena Alberto as Fantine, Rosalind James as Éponine, Jon Robyns as Enjolras, Katie Hall as Cosette, and David Lawrence as the Bishop of Digne. The tour ended October 2, 2010, at the Barbican.
International Productions
1980
Palais des Sports, Paris. Opened 17 September. Closed 14 December. (NR)
1985
Barbican Theatre, London. Opened 8 October. Production transferred to the Palace Theatre on 4 December. In April 2004, production moved to the Queen’s Theatre, where it is currently running.
1986
Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington D.C. American premiere/out-of-town tryout. Opened December 27. Closed February 14, 1987.
1987
Broadway Theatre, New York. Opened March 12. Production moved to the Imperial Theatre in October 1990. Closed May 18, 2003.
Imperial Theatre: Tokyo, Japan. Opened June 17. Closed November 30. Production has toured Japan ever since with stops in Nagoya; Osaka; Sendai; Sapporo; and Tokyo. In repertory since ’87.
Cameri Theatre: Tel Aviv, Israel. Opened August 9. Closed March 31, 1989. (NR)
Rock Theatre: Szeged, Hungary. Opened August 14. Closed August 21. (NR)
Vigszinhaz Theatre: Budapest, Hungary. Opened September 14. Closed September 21. In repertory. (NR)
Theatre Royal, Sydney, Australia. Opened November 27. Closed July 15, 1989. Production then toured Australia and New Zealand with stops in Perth; Melbourne; Adelaide; Brisbane; and Auckland.
Shubert Theatre: Boston, MA. Opened December 15. Closed June 26, 1988. First U.S. national tour launched with stops in Washington D.C.; Philadelphia; Chicago; Detroit; Baltimore; and Los Angeles. Tour closed in Chicago on September 29, 1991.
National Theatre of Iceland: Reykjavik, Iceland. Opened December 26. Closed June 5, 1988. (NR)
1988
Det Norske Teatret: Oslo, Norway. Opened March 17. Closed December 31.
Shubert Theatre: Los Angeles, CA. Opened 1 June. Closed July 23, 1989. Second U.S. national tour launched with stops in San Francisco. Tour closed in San Francisco on January 27, 1991.
Raimund Theatre: Vienna, Austria. Opened September 15. Closed March 31, 1990.
Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center: Tampa, FL. Opened November 28. Closed December 11.
Third U.S. national tour launched with stops in 145 cities, in 43 states, including engagements in Canada, Singapore, and China. Tour closed in St. Louis, MO on July 23, 2006.
1989
Royal Alexandra Theatre: Toronto, Canada. Opened March 15. Closed May 26, 1992. Production then toured Canada with stops in Calgary; Vancouver; Montreal (bilingual cast); Winnipeg; Ottawa; Edmonton; Hamilton; Honolulu, HI; and Regina.
Teatr Muzyczny: Gdynia, Poland. Opened June 30. In repertory to date. (NR)
1990
Cirkus Theatre: Stockholm, Sweden. Opened October 12. Closed December 14, 1991.
1991
Carre Theatre: Amsterdam, Netherlands. Opened February 28. Closed October 20. Production then transferred to the Cirkustheater in Scheveningen and closed March 8, 1992.
Odense Teater: Odense, Denmark. Opened April 20. Closed June 22. (NR)
Mogador Theatre: Paris, France. Opened October 23. Closed May 24, 1992.
1992
Palace Theatre: Manchester, England. Opened 14 April. Closed 1 May 1993. Production went on to play Dublin; and Edinburgh.
Vinorhady Theatre: Prague, Czech Republic. Opened 25 June. Closed 13 September. (NR)
Teatro Nuevo Apolo: Madrid, Spain. Opened 16 September. Closed 29 May 1994.
Ostre Gasvaerk Teater: Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened 27 December. Closed 31 December 1993. (NR)
1993
Point Theatre: Dublin, Ireland. Opened 30 June. Closed September.
Edinburgh Playhouse: Edinburgh, Scotland. Opened 23 September. Closed 19 February 1994.
Meralco Theatre: Manila, Philippines. Opened 7 October. Closed 31 October. (NR)
1994
Kallang Theatre: U.S. third national tour makes special trip to Singapore. Opened 3 February. Closed 17 April.
1996
Music Hall/Theater am Marientor: Duisburg, Germany. Opened 26 January. Closed 28 November 1999.
Kallang Theatre: Asian/African tour launched in Singapore. Opened 28 February. Closed 31 March. Production continued on to Hong Kong, Seoul, and Cape Town, South Africa.
Karlstads Teater: Karlstad, Sweden. Opened 15 October. Closed 27 April 1997. (NR)
Aalborg Teater: Aalborg, Denmark. Opened 14 November. Closed 4 January 1997. (NR)
1997
Imperial Theatre, Broadway. 12 March. Special 10th anniversary performance and first look at slightly revamped production.
Theatre Royal, Sydney, Australia. Opened 29 November. Closed 13, June, 1998. Launch of the 10th anniversary Australian tour, with stops in Melbourne; Auckland, New Zealand; Perth; and Brisbane.
1998
Music Hall: Antwerp, Belgium. Opened 24 May. Closed 25 April 1999. This production was performed in both French and Flemish.
Aarhus Theatre: Aarhus, Denmark. Opened 4 September. Closed 31 December. (NR)
City Hall: Hamilton, Bermuda. Opened 5 October. Closed 17 October. (NR)
1999
City Theatre: Helsinki, Finland. Opened 25 February. Closed 13 May 2000. (NR)
Kongrescenter: Herning, Denmark. Opened 15 April. Closed 30 May. (NR)
Municipal Theatre: Mahebourg, Mauritius. Opened 12 June. Closed 28 June. (NR)
Performing Arts Center: Tel Aviv, Israel. Opened 20 July. Closed 4 September. (NR)
Madach Theatre: Budapest, Hungary. Opened 20 November. In repertory to date. (NR)
2000
Teatro Opera: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Opened 22 March. Closed 15 October.
Opera House: Gothenburg, Sweden. Opened 22 April. Closed 23 September. (NR)
2001
Opera Bonn: Bonn, Germany. Opened 8 April. Closed 7 July. (NR)
Teatro Abril: São Paulo, Brazil. Opened 25 April. Closed –
Roadside Theatre: Heidelberg, Patton Barracks, Germany. Opened 11 May. Closed 10 June (14 perf.). (NR)
Opernhaus: Chemnitz, Germany. Opened 21 October. In repertory to date. (NR)
City Hall Theatre: Tallinn, Estonia. Opened 1 November. Closed 25 November. (NR)
Holy Trinity Diocesan High School: Hicksville, New York. World’s first high school production.
2002
Shanghai Grand Theater Shanghai, China. Opened 22 June. Closed 7 July.
Centro Cultural Telmex: Mexico City, Mexico. Opened 14 November. Closed 30 August 2004.
Staatstheater: Saarbrücken, Germany. Opened 7 December. In repertory to date. (NR)
2003
Anhalitisches Theatre: Dessau, Germany. Opened 21 March. Closed 27 June. (NR)
Moster Amfi: Bolmo, Norway. Opened 8 August. Closed 16 August. (NR)
Goja Music Hall: Prague, Czech Republic. Opened 16 September. In repertory to date. (NR)
Theater des Westens: Berlin, Germany. Opened 26 September. Closed 31 December 2004.
2006
Trøndelag Teater: Trondheim, Norway. Opened 25 February and closed 14 October 2005.
2007
Madlenianum Opera and Theatre: Belgrade, Serbia. Opened 18 October. In repertory to date. (NR)
Akershus Teater: Lillestrøm, Norway. Opened 29 January 2007 for a limited run. (NR)
2008
Theatre Du Capitole: Quebec, Canada. (NR)
Den Nasjonale Scene: Bergen, Norway. (NR)
Luxor Theatre: Rotterdam, Netherlands. Opened 20 April. Closed 4 January 2009
.
2009
Carré Theatre: Amsterdam, Netherlands. Opened 17 January 2009. Closed 22 February 2009.
Oslo Nye Teater: Oslo, Norway. Opened 4 February 2009. Closed 20 June 2009. (NR)
Det Ny Teater: Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened 17 September 2009. Ending 31 December 2009. (NR)
Wales Millennium Centre: *Cardiff, UK. Ran from 12 December 2009 – 16 January 2010. The tour will commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the show with stops in Manchester; Norwich; Birmingham; Edinburgh, Paris & London. This production features rethought designs and staging.
Productions opening after December, 2009 will be denoted by “NR” only if they differ from both the original London/Broadway AND new 25th anniversary staging since they are both official Cameron Mackintosh productions. It is assumed that new Cameron Mackintosh productions after this date will feature the all-new 25th anniversary staging, making the London (currently at the Queens) and Japanese (in repertory since ’87) the last remaining of the original designs and staging. And the Dutch production, which last played Amsterdam in 2009, to be the most recently produced of the original staging.
2010
Palace Theatre, Manchester: UK. Ran from 19 January – 13 February 2010.
Theatre Royal, Norwich: UK. Ran from 16 February – 20 March 2010.
Birmingham Hippodrome: Birmingham, UK. Ran from 23 March – 17 April 2010.
Harbour View High School: Saint John, NB, CAN. Ran from April 14–17, 2010.
Edinburgh Playhouse: Edinburgh, UK. Ran from 20 April – 15 May 2010.
Théâtre du Châtelet: Paris, France. Ran from 26 May – 4 July 2010.
Bristol Hippodrome: Bristol, UK. Will run from 13 July – 7 August 2010.
The Lowry: Salford: UK. Will run from 10 August – 21 August.
The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton: UK. Will run from 24 August – 11 September 2010.
Barbican Centre: London, UK. Will run from 14 September – 2 October 2010.
Teatr Muzyczny Roma: Warsaw. Runs from 25 September 2010. (NR)
Ã…bo Svenska Teater, Finland: Will run from 23 September 2010 (NR)
Teatro Lope de Vega, Madrid: Will run from 18 November 2010
North American Regional Productions
With the approval of the Cameron Mackintosh organization, Music Theatre International selected the USAREUR Roadside Theater in Heidelberg, Germany for the American Community Theater World Premiere of Les Misérables.[30] The premiere took place May 11, 2001, with the production closing June 10, 2001.[31] This production was also one of the first uses of the Sinfonia system by MTI in collaboration with Realtime Music Solutions, later used in the London production.
Beginning in 2007, a limited number of regional productions (five in the US, two in Canada) of Les Misérables licensed by Cameron Mackintosh have been staged.
The California Musical Theatre (CMT) (Sacramento, California) in its Music Circus summer series (production ran from July 10 thru July 22, 2007) staged the show as theater in the round. Glenn Casale, choreographed by Bob Richard, with music directed by Andrew Bryan, directed the production that featured Ivan Rutherford who gave over one thousand eight hundred performances as Jean Valjean on Broadway as well as performing in the Tenth Anniversary Company.
Other regional productions of Les Misérables include the Pioneer Theatre Company (PTC) of Salt Lake City which was honoured to be the first company to present a regional production. This production ran from April 27, 2007, to July 7, 2007, making it the longest running production in PTC’s history. It was directed by PTC Artistic Director Charles Morey and brought both William Solo as Jean Valjean and Merwin Foard as Inspector Javert to the PTC re-enacting roles both men played previously on Broadway.
The first independent regional theatre production of “Les Misérables” in Canada was directed by Linda Moore at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax Nova Scotia, starring Frank Mackay as Jean Valjean in 1994. The Thousand Islands Playhouse in Gananoque Canada staged a production, which opened July 4, 2008, featured Lee B.Siegel as Valjean, Shane Carty as Javert, Kevin Power as Thénardier, Marcia Tratt as Madame Thénardier, Ramona Gilmour-Darling as Éponine, Ashley Taylor as Cosette, Shannon Barnett as Fantine, Dale R. Miller as Marius, Gabriel Burrafato as Enjolras, and Derrick Paul Miller as the Bishop of Digne. Derrick Paul Miller played the role of Valjean on July 22, July 23 (matinee), July 24, and July 26 (matinee). It is directed by Greg Wanless, and musical director Sandy Thorburn.
An outdoor production played at The Muny, the nation’s oldest and largest outdoor theatre, which seats 12,000 people. The theatre is located in Saint Louis, MO. Directed by Fred Hanson, Les Misérables was the final production of the Muny’s 89th season, playing August 6–15, 2007. Ivan Rutherford, who was a Valjean in the original Broadway production, reprised his role in the production. Kevin Kern and Diana Kaarina, who played Marius and Éponine in the closing cast of the original Broadway production, reprised their roles.
Another outdoor production has been staged at Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Ivins, UT and runs June through mid-October, 2008.
In September 2008, a mini tour produced by Atlanta’s Theater of the Stars played Eisenhower Hall at the United States Military Academy,[32] in West Point, NY; the Filene Center at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, VA; Kansas City Starlight Theater; and The Fox Theater in Atlanta. The show featured a new set of original pictures painted by Victor Hugo himself. Robert Evan played Valjean, returning to the role he played in the mid-nineties on Broadway. Also featured were Nikki Rene Daniels as Fantine and Robert Hunt as Javert, both reprising their roles from the Broadway revival. Fred Hanson directed the production. The creative team included Matt Kinley as Scenic Designer, Ken Billington as Lighting Designer, Peter Fitzgerald and Erich Bechtel as Sound Designers, Zachary Borovay as Projection Designer, and Dan Riddle as Musical Director and Conductor.[33]
In 2008, the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia staged a small venue “black box” version of the play. Signature was honored to receive Mackintosh’s special permission for the production: “One of the great pleasures of being involved with the creation of Les Misérables is seeing this marvelous musical being done in a completely different and original way. Having seen many shows brilliantly reimagined at Signature I have no doubt that Eric and his team will come up with a revolutionary new take on Les Miz unlike anything anyone has seen before. Viva la différence!”[34] This production, coupled with years of imaginative productions, earned Signature the 2009 Regional Theater Tony Award. The production officially opened on December 14, 2008 (after previews from December 2), and ran through February 22, 2009 (extended from January 25, 2009).[35][36]
Northern Stage, a regional theatre company in White River Junction, Vermont, also staged a production on a small stage, in December 2008; in their case, it was a three-quarter-thrust stage in a 245-seat house. This production featured Timothy Shew as Jean Valjean, Mary Gutzi as Madame Thénardier and Kevin David Thomas as Marius, all of whom appeared in the Broadway production (where Shew starred as Valjean, Gutzi as Fantine and Thomas as Marius). The production also featured Broadway veterans Dan Sharkey (The Music Man) and David DeWitt (Phantom of the Opera). The production was directed by Northern Stage Artistic Director Brooke Ciardelli.
In July 2009, the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO) staged Les Misérables as part of their summer show collection.
Les Misérables School Edition
The School Edition cuts a considerable amount of material from the original show. It is divided into thirty scenes and, although no “critical” scenes or songs have been removed, it runs twenty-five–thirty minutes shorter than the “official” version. A few subtle changes of vocal pitch have been made: “What Have I Done?”, Valjean’s Soliloquy, “Stars” by Javert, “A Little Fall of Rain” by Éponine and Marius, “Turning” by the women of the Revolution, and “Castle on a Cloud” lose a verse each. The song “Fantine’s Death/Confrontation” is edited, removing the signature counter-point duel between Valjean and Javert. “Dog Eats Dog” by Thénardier is truncated, as is as “Beggars at the Feast”, with the song before it, “Wedding Chorale” being excluded entirely.
After The King’s Theatre, The King’s School and Tara Anglican School for Girls, in Sydney, Australia, gained rights for the full production in late 2000 from Cameron Mackintosh to perform the show, Music Theatre International developed a school version, available only to productions with an entirely amateur cast aged under 19. Hundreds of schools worldwide have purchased the rights and staged performances, and it was the best selling play for high schools in the year 2006.
Holy Trinity Diocesan High School located in Hicksville, New York marked the world’s first school edition premiere.[37]
Films
Although numerous films of the Les Misérables story have been made, no film adaptation of the stage musical was produced for many years. A film adaptation has been in development several times since the late 1980s. Alan Parker was reported to be connected to an adaptation at an early stage.[59] In 1992 Mackintosh announced planning for a film to be directed by Bruce Beresford and co-produced by Tri-Star Pictures,[60] but the project was later abandoned.[61]
The 2010 DVD/Blu-ray release of Les Misérables: 25th Anniversary Concert included an announcement of revised plans for a film adaptation[62] which was later confirmed by Mackintosh. Tom Hooper signed on in March 2011 to direct the Mackintosh-produced film from a screenplay by William Nicholson.[63] In June 2011, Working Title Films and Mackintosh announced that the film would begin principal photography in early 2012 for a tentative December release date. The film was given its general US release on Christmas Day 2012.[64] Principal cast members include Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert,[65] Anne Hathaway as Fantine,[66] Amanda Seyfried as Cosette,[67] Eddie Redmayne as Marius Pontmercy,[68] Samantha Barks as Éponine,[69] and Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thénardiers.[70][71] Other notable actors who played roles in the film include Aaron Tveit as Enjolras, Bertie Carvel as Bamatabois, Colm Wilkinson as the Bishop of Digne and Frances Ruffelle as prostitute.[72]
Movie Update
Les Misérables premiered in London on 5 December 2012, and was released on 25 December 2012 in the United States, on 26 December 2012 in Australia, and on 11 January 2013 in the UK.[3][8][10] The film received divided, but generally favourable[11] reviews, with many critics praising the cast, with Jackman, Hathaway, Redmayne, and Barks being the most often singled out for praise. Crowe’s and Seyfried’s performances were less favorably received, however. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Jackman and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for Hathaway. It has also won four BAFTA Awards, including the Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Hathaway). It received eight Academy Award nominations including Best Picture (the first musical nominated since 2002’s winner Chicago) and Best Actor for Jackman, and won three, for Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Supporting Actress for Hathaway.[12] With over $430 million made at the box office, the film is the highest grossing movie musical worldwide.
Cast Recordings
The following recordings of Les Misérables are available in the English: the Original London Cast, the Original Broadway Cast, the Complete Symphonic Recording, and the Tenth Anniversary London Concert.
The Musical Event of A Lifetime
Original London Cast Recording
The Original London Cast recording was the first English language album of the musical. Recorded in 1985, when the show premiered, it is closest to the original French concept album. For example, “Stars” appears before “Look Down” and shortly after, the original version of “Little People” plays, which was later incorporated into the revealing of Javert. It also features a song entitled “I Saw Him Once”, sung by Cosette, which was later incorporated into the first part of “In My Life”.
The cast includes Colm Wilkinson as Valjean, Roger Allam as Javert, Patti LuPone as Fantine, Alun Armstrong as Thénardier, Susan Jane Tanner as Mme. Thénardier, Frances Ruffelle as Éponine, Ian Tucker as Gavroche, Michael Ball as Marius, David Burt as Enjolras, and Rebecca Caine as Cosette.
Les Miserables 1985 Original Cast BUY NOW 
Buy The Original 1985 London Cast Michael Ball, Frances Ruffelle, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil, Patti LuPone, Colm Wilkinson
Original Broadway Cast Recording
The Original Broadway Cast recording was produced in 1987. It included several changes to the songs that are still evident in today’s performances. As with its predecessor, it is incomplete, and leaves out songs or parts that are more important narratively than musically (e.g., “Fantine’s Arrest”, “The Runaway Cart”, “The Final Battle”).
The cast includes Colm Wilkinson as Valjean, Terrence Mann as Javert, Randy Graff as Fantine, Leo Burmester as Thénardier, Jennifer Butt as Madame Thénardier, Frances Ruffelle as Éponine, Braden Danner as Gavroche, David Bryant as Marius, Michael Maguire as Enjolras, and Judy Kuhn as Cosette.
Les Miserables (1987 Original Broadway Cast) Buy Your Copy NOW !
Buy Your Copy Now Les Miserables (1987 Original Broadway Cast) by Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Frances Rufelle and Colm Wilkinson(1989) –
Complete Symphonic Recording
Recorded in 1988 and released in 1989, the Complete Symphonic Recording features the entire score. (The Czech Revival Recording is the only other album, in any language, to feature the entire score.) Cameron Mackintosh’s original plan was to use the Australian cast,[41] but the scope was expanded to create an international cast featuring performers from the major performances of the musical. The cast was recorded in three different places.[42]
The album, produced by David Caddick and conducted by Martin Koch, won the Best Musical Cast Show Album Grammy Award in 1991. The cast includes Gary Morris as Valjean, Philip Quast as Javert, Debra Byrne as Fantine, Gay Soper as Mme. Thénardier, Barry James as Thénardier, Kaho Shimada as Éponine, Michael Ball as Marius, Anthony Warlow as Enjolras, and Tracy Shayne as Cosette.
Les Miserables Complete Symphonic Recording BUY NOW !
Les Miserables Complete Symphonic Recording by Claude-Michel Schoenberg, Martin Koch, Philharmonia Pit Orchestra
10th Anniversary Concert
The Tenth Anniversary recording was of a concert version of Les Misérables, performed at the Royal Albert Hall in October 1995, featuring full orchestra and choir. All the parts were sung live, giving the performance a different mood from other recordings. The score was recorded consecutively without pauses or multiple recordings. The concert’s encores are also included. As with the original recordings, this edition omitted certain parts; however, they differed from those missing from the original (e.g., those vital to plot such as “Fantine’s Arrest” and “The Runaway Cart” were kept, while unnecessary or complex songs, such as “At the Barricade”, were left out).
The cast includes Colm Wilkinson as Valjean, Philip Quast as Javert, Ruthie Henshall as Fantine, Alun Armstrong as Thénardier, Jenny Galloway as Mme. Thénardier, Lea Salonga as Éponine, Adam Searles as Gavroche, Hannah Chick as Young Cosette, Michael Ball as Marius, Michael Maguire as Enjolras, Judy Kuhn as Cosette and Anthony Crivello as Grantaire.
Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert BUY NOW !
Manchester Highlights
A five-track album featuring members of the U.K. national tour was released in 1992 and includes “I Dreamed a Dream” (Ria Jones); “Stars” (Philip Quast); “On My Own” (Meredith Braun); “Bring Him Home” (Jeff Leyton); and “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” (Mike Sterling). The version of “Stars” is the same as that on the Complete Symphonic Recording.
Manchester HighLights Cast BUY NOW 
Buy Today Manchester Cast by Les Miserables Highlights (2008) – Import
Twenty-fifth Anniversary Cast Recording
The 2010 New 25th Anniversary Cast Recording will be released on Tuesday 12 October 2010 with the caption “Dream the Dream.” It will be titled “Les Misérables: 2010 Cast.”
The cast includes John Owen-Jones as Valjean; Earl Carpenter as Javert; Gareth Gates as Marius, Jon Robyns as Enjolras, Ashley Artus as Thénardier, Rosalind James as Éponine, Madalena Alberto as Fantine, Lynne Wilmot as Madame Thénardier and Katie Hall as Cosette.
Les Miserables 2010 The 25th Anniversary Concert Cast CD BUY NOW !
Les Miserables: The 25th Anniversary Concert [Blu-ray]
Les Miserables: The 25th Anniversary Concert [Blu-ray] Starring Roger Allam, Alun Armstrong, Samantha Barks and Alfie Boe(2010)
Other Languages
There are also various non-English language cast albums of the musical.
1980 Original French Concept Album
1987 Original Israeli Cast
1988 Original Hungarian Cast
1988 Original Vienna Cast
1990 Original Swedish Cast
1991 Original Dutch Cast
1991 Paris Revival Cast
1992 Original Danish Cast
1992 Original Czech Cast
1993 Original Madrid Cast
1994 Japanese “Blue” Cast
1994 Japanese “Red” Cast
1996 Original Duisburg Cast
1996 Swedish Värmland Cast
1998 Original Antwerp Cast
2003 Japanese “Orange” Cast
2003 Japanese “Green” Cast
2003 Japanese “Light Blue” Cast
2003 Japanese “Violet” Cast
2003 Czech Revival Cast
2008 Dutch Revival Cast
2008 Quebec Cast
Video
Awards and Nominations
Original West End Production
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best New Musical | Nominated | |
| Best Actor in a Musical | Colm Wilkinson | Nominated | ||
| Alun Armstrong | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress in a Musical | Patti LuPone | Won | ||
| 2012 | Laurence Olivier Award[76] | Audience Award for Most Popular Show | Won | |
Original Broadway Production
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Tony Award | Best Musical | Won | |
| Best Book of a Musical | Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg | Won | ||
| Best Original Score | Claude-Michel Schönberg and Herbert Kretzmer | Won | ||
| Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | Colm Wilkinson | Nominated | ||
| Terrence Mann | Nominated | |||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical | Michael Maguire | Won | ||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical | Judy Kuhn | Nominated | ||
| Frances Ruffelle | Won | |||
| Best Direction of a Musical | Trevor Nunn and John Caird | Won | ||
| Best Scenic Design | John Napier | Won | ||
| Best Costume Design | Andreane Neofitou | Nominated | ||
| Best Lighting Design | David Hersey | Won | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Musical | Won | ||
| Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Colm Wilkinson | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Michael Maguire | Won | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Judy Kuhn | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Orchestrations | John Cameron | Won | ||
| Outstanding Music | Claude-Michel Schönberg | Won | ||
| Outstanding Set Design | John Napier | Won | ||
Plot
Act 1
Sung through, Les Misérables opens in a prison in Toulon, France in 1815, where the prisoners work at hard labour (“Work Song”). After nineteen years of imprisonment (five for stealing bread for his starving sister and her family, and the rest for trying to escape) Jean Valjean, prisoner 24601, is released on parole by the policeman Javert. By law, Valjean must display a yellow ticket-of-leave, which condemns him as an outcast (“On Parole”). He then meets the Bishop of Digne, who offers him food and shelter. Valjean steals silver from the bishop and the police catch him shortly. The bishop, however, lies to save Valjean and helps him begin a new life (“Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven”). Humbled by the bishop’s mercy and kindness, Valjean decides to follow the bishop’s advice and breaks his parole. (“Valjean Soliloquy” / “What Have I Done?”).
Eight years later, Valjean, having assumed a new identity as Monsieur Madeleine, is a wealthy factory owner and mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer. One of his workers, Fantine, has a fight when the other workers discover she is sending money to her secret illegitimate child who is living with an innkeeper and his wife (“At the End of the Day”). The Mayor breaks up the conflict, but asks his factory foreman to resolve it. The other women demand Fantine’s dismissal, and because she had previously rejected his advances, the foreman agrees and throws Fantine out.
Fantine sings about her broken dreams and about the father of her daughter who abandoned her (“I Dreamed a Dream”). Desperate for money, she sells her locket and her hair, before becoming a prostitute (“Lovely Ladies”). When she fights back against an abusive customer, Javert, now stationed in Montreuil-sur-Mer, arrests her (“Fantine’s Arrest”). “Madeleine” soon arrives, and realising his part in the ruination of Fantine, he orders Javert to let her go and takes her to a hospital.
Soon after, when the Mayor rescues Fauchelevant, who is pinned by a runaway cart (“The Runaway Cart”), Javert is reminded of Jean Valjean (who was abnormally strong), whom he has sought for years for breaking parole. However, Javert assures the mayor that Valjean has been arrested recently and will be in court later in the day. Unwilling to see an innocent man go to prison in his place, Valjean confesses his identity to the court—that he is the prisoner 24601—revealing the convict’s brand on his chest as proof (“Who Am I? – The Trial”).
Before returning to prison, Valjean visits the dying Fantine and promises to find and look after her daughter Cosette. (“Come to Me” / “Fantine’s Death”). When Javert arrives to arrest him, Valjean asks for three more days to fetch Cosette, but Javert refuses to believe his honest intentions (“The Confrontation”). Valjean eventually knocks Javert out and escapes.
The next scene occurs in an inn at Montfermeil run by the Thénardiers, where Cosette has been living. The Thénardiers have been abusing the little girl, while indulging their own daughter, Éponine. Cosette dreams of a better life (“Castle on a Cloud”) before Madame Thénardier sends her to fetch water in the dark. As the inn fills for the evening, the Thénardiers use numerous methods to cheat their customers (“Master of the House”). Valjean finds Cosette fetching water (“The Bargain”) and pays the Thénardiers fifteen hundred Francs to let him take Cosette away (“The Waltz of Treachery”).
Nine years later, Paris is in upheaval because General Lamarque, the only man in the government who shows mercy to the poor, is ill and may soon die. The young street urchin Gavroche mingles with the prostitutes and beggars on the street, while students Marius Pontmercy and Enjolras discuss the likely demise of the general (“Look Down”).
A street gang led by the Thénardiers prepares to ambush Valjean, whom Thénardier recognizes as the man who took Cosette (“The Robbery”). Éponine sees Marius, whom she secretly loves, and warns him to stay away, but Marius accidentally bumps into Cosette and immediately falls in love. The Thénardiers’ attempt to rob Valjean and Cosette fails, as the result of Javert, who does not recognise Valjean until after he makes his escape (“Javert’s Intervention”). Javert gazes at the night sky, comparing his hunt of Valjean and justice to the order of the stars (“Stars”). Meanwhile, Marius, although he does not know Cosette’s name, persuades a reluctant Éponine to help to find her (“Éponine’s Errand”).
The scene shifts to a political meeting in a small café where a group of idealistic students led by Enjolras gathers to prepare for a revolution that they believe will materialise after General Lamarque’s death, (“The ABC Café – Red and Black”). Marius arrives late and when Gavroche brings the news of the General’s death, the students march out into the streets (“Do You Hear the People Sing?”)
Cosette is infatuated with Marius, and although Valjean realises that his daughter has grown up, he refuses to tell her about his past or her mother. (“Rue Plumet – In My Life”). In spite of her own feelings, Éponine leads Marius to Cosette (“A Heart Full of Love”), and then prevents her father’s gang from robbing Valjean’s house (“The Attack on Rue Plumet”). Valjean, convinced that Javert was lurking outside his house, tells Cosette that they must prepare to flee the country.
On the eve of the Paris Uprising, Valjean prepares to go into exile; Cosette and Marius part in despair of ever meeting again; Éponine mourns the loss of Marius; Marius decides to join the other students as they prepare for the upcoming conflict; Javert plans to spy on the students and learn their secrets; and the Thénardiers look forward to stealing from the corpses of those who will be killed during the battle to come (“One Day More”).[4]
Act 2
As the students begin a barricade (“At the Barricade – Upon These Stones”), Javert, disguised as one of the rebels, volunteers to “spy” on the government troops. Marius notices that Éponine has disguised herself as a boy and has joined the revolutionaries. He sends her with a letter to deliver to Cosette, which will also serve to get Éponine to safety. Valjean intercepts the letter, promising Éponine he will tell Cosette about the letter. After Éponine leaves, Valjean reads the letter, learning about Marius and Cosette’s relationship. While walking the streets of Paris, Éponine decides, despite what he has said to her, to rejoin Marius at the barricade (“On My Own”).
“At the Barricade” the students defy an army warning them to surrender or die. Javert returns and tells the students that the government will attack (“Javert’s Arrival”), but Gavroche exposes him as a spy (“Little People”). Éponine is shot as she returns to the barricades and dies in Marius’s arms (“A Little Fall of Rain”). Valjean arrives at the barricades in search of Marius as the first battle erupts, and he saves Enjolras by shooting a sniper (“The First Attack”). As a reward, he asks to be the one to kill Javert, but instead he releases him and even gives him his address. The students settle down for a night (“Drink with Me”), while Valjean prays to God to save Marius from the onslaught that is to come (“Bring Him Home”).
As dawn approaches, Enjolras realises that the people have abandoned them. He sends away women and fathers of children, but resolves to continue to fight (“Dawn of Anguish”). With ammunition running low during the second attack, Gavroche moves in front of the barricade to collect more cartridges. As he collects bullets and runs back behind the barricade, he is shot three times. He dies as he returns behind the barricade (“The Second Attack / Death of Gavroche”). Enjolras and the students realise that they will likely die. The army gives a final warning for surrender, but the rebels refuse, and as they continue to fight, they are all killed except Valjean and Marius (“The Final Battle”).
Carrying a wounded Marius on his back, Valjean escapes through the sewers. Meanwhile, Thénardier is also in the sewers, stealing valuables from bodies, laughing that he is performing a “service to the town” (“Dog Eats Dog”). Thénardier takes a ring off Marius’s hand as Valjean is resting, and then escapes when he sees Valjean getting up. When Valjean reaches the sewer’s issue, he runs into Javert, who has been waiting for him. Valjean begs Javert to give him one more hour to bring Marius to a doctor, and Javert reluctantly agrees. After Valjean leaves, Javert, unable to bear the gift of Valjean’s mercy to him, commits suicide by throwing himself in the Seine (“Javert’s Suicide”).
Back on the streets, several women mourn the deaths of the young students (“Turning”). Marius also mourns for his friends (“Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”). As he wonders who saved him from the barricades, Cosette comforts him, and she tells him that she will never go away (“Every Day”) and they reaffirm their love. Valjean then confesses to Marius that he is an escaped convict and tells him that he must go away because his presence puts Cosette in danger (“Valjean’s Confession”). Valjean makes Marius promise never to tell Cosette, and Marius makes only a half-hearted attempt to hold him back.
Marius and Cosette are married (“Wedding Chorale”). The Thénardiers crash the wedding reception in disguise as “The Baron and Baroness du Thénard” and tell Marius that Valjean is a murderer, saying that they saw him carrying a corpse in the sewers after the barricades fell. When Thénardier shows him the ring that he took from the corpse, Marius realises that he was the “corpse” and that Valjean saved his life. Marius punches Thénardier, the newlyweds leave, and the Thénardiers enjoy the party and celebrate their survival (“Beggars at the Feast”).
Meanwhile, Valjean prepares for his death, having nothing left for which to live. Just as the ghosts of Fantine and Éponine arrive to take him to heaven, Cosette and Marius rush in, in time to bid farewell to Valjean and for Marius to thank him for saving his life (“Valjean’s Death”). Valjean gives Cosette his confession to read, and as he sleeps the souls of Fantine and Éponine guide him to Paradise, his long struggle over. The entire cast of characters, living and dead, asks once more, “Do You Hear the People Sing?” (“Finale”).
Principal Characters
| Character[9] | Voice[10] | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Jean Valjean | dramatic tenor | Prisoner 24601. After being released from imprisonment for serving nineteen years (five for stealing a loaf of bread and fourteen for multiple escape attempts), he decides to break his parole and turns his life around, proving that the corrupt can make themselves virtuous and selfless once more. He changes his identity, becoming the wealthy mayor of a small town. He later adopts Cosette, the only daughter of Fantine. At the end, he eventually dies and the spirit of Fantine thanks him for raising her child. |
| Inspector Javert | baritone or bass-baritone | Respects the law above all else and relentlessly pursues Valjean, hoping to bring the escaped convict to justice. He firmly believes that humans cannot change for the better. In the end he commits suicide. |
| The Bishop of Digne | baritone | Houses Valjean after his release from jail and gives him gifts of silver and absolution. His acts of kindness inspire Valjean to improve himself and escape the label of “criminal.” |
| The Factory Foreman | baritone or tenor | Foreman of Valjean’s (Valjean has assumed the name Madeleine) jet bead factory in Montreuil-sur-Mer which employs Fantine and other workers. The Foreman fires Fantine from the factory when she persists in resisting his overt sexual advances and because it is discovered that she is the mother of an illegitimate child (Cosette) living elsewhere. |
| The Factory Girl | lyric mezzo-soprano | In the original Broadway and London versions of the musical, the Factory Girl is mistress to the Factory Foreman. The Factory Girl discovers that the Foreman has his eyes set on bedding Fantine, so she does what she believes is necessary to see to it that Fantine gets fired. At the factory (in “At the End of the Day”), the Factory Girl intercepts a letter that the Thénardiers have sent to Fantine requesting that Fantine send them more money to care for Cosette who is ill (a lie). The letter exposes Fantine as the mother of an illegitimate child, and the Factory Girl shows it to the Foreman, insisting that Fantine be fired. The Foreman complies. |
| Fantine | lyric mezzo-soprano | A poor worker who loses her job and, as a result, turns to prostitution in order to continue paying the Thénardiers to care for her illegitimate daughter, Cosette. As Fantine dies of consumption, she asks Valjean to look after her child. Ultimately she appears as a spirit and escorts the dying Valjean to Heaven. |
| Old Woman | contralto | Affectionately called “The Hair Hag” in many of the original US companies, the Old Woman is the character who talks Fantine into selling her hair before Fantine becomes a prostitute. |
| Crone | soprano | Also called “The Locket Crone,” this character is the woman who talks Fantine into selling her precious locket for much less than it is worth. |
| Bamatabois | baritone or tenor | An upper-class “fop” who tries to buy Fantine’s services. He treats her abusively so she refuses him. When Javert enters the scene, Bamatabois tries to cover the fact that he was soliciting a prostitute by having her arrested for attacking him. |
| Fauchelevent | baritone or tenor | In a role reduced from the novel, Fauchelevent appears only in the Cart Crash scene, where he is trapped under the cart and rescued by Valjean. He is an elderly man who has fallen upon hard times. |
| Champmathieu | silent | A man who is arrested and on trial because he is believed to be Jean Valjean. Valjean, still under the name Madeleine, confesses his true identity at the trial in order to save the man. |
| Young Cosette | treble | The eight-year-old daughter of Fantine. Cosette is in the care of the Thénardiers who are paid by Fantine to take care of her child. Unknown to Fantine, the Thénardiers force Cosette to work, and they use Fantine’s money for their own needs. |
| Madame Thénardier | contralto | Thénardier’s unscrupulous wife. |
| Young Éponine | silent | Eight-year-old Éponine is the pampered daughter of the Thénardiers. She grows up with Cosette and is unkind to her. |
| Thénardier | comic baritone | A second-rate thief, Thénardier runs a small inn. |
| Gavroche | boy soprano | Gavroche is a streetwise urchin who dies on the barricade helping the revolutionaries. He is actually the abandoned son of the Thénardiers, though this is not mentioned in the musical. |
| Enjolras | baritone or tenor | Enjolras is the leader of the student revolutionaries and a friend of Marius. |
| Marius Pontmercy | baritone or tenor | Marius, a student revolutionary, is friends with Éponine, but falls in love with Cosette, and she with him. He is later rescued from the barricades by Valjean, who ultimately gives Marius and Cosette his blessing, allowing them to be married. |
| Éponine | mezzo-soprano | Daughter of the Thénardiers, Éponine, now ragged and a waif, secretly loves Marius. She is killed while returning to the barricades to see Marius. In the end she appears as a spirit alongside Fantine and they guide the dying Valjean to Heaven. |
| Brujon | baritone or tenor | The brutish and cowardly but dissatisfied member of Thénardier’s Gang, Brujon’s role in the musical expands to cover Gueulemer. |
| Babet | baritone or tenor | A foreboding member of Thénardier’s Gang. |
| Claquesous | baritone or tenor | Quiet and masked, expert at evading the police, Claquesous might in fact be working for the law. |
| Montparnasse | baritone or tenor | A young member of Thénardier’s Gang, Montparnasse a handsome man appears to be close to Éponine. |
| Cosette | soprano | Cosette, the daughter of Fantine, has grown-up to become a beautiful young woman of culture and privilege under Valjean’s adoptive and loving fatherly care and protection. She falls in love with Marius, and he returns her equally strong and pure romantic feelings. She marries him at the end of the musical. |
| Friends of the ABC | baritone or tenor | Student revolutionaries who lead a revolution and die in the process, the Friends of the ABC become martyrs for the rights of citizens. (See Members listed below) |
| Combeferre | baritone or tenor | Combeferre is the philosopher of the ABC group. Enjolras’ second-in-command. He is described as the guide of the Friends of the ABC. |
| Feuilly | baritone or tenor | Feuilly is the only member of the Friends of the ABC who is not a student; he is a workingman. An optimist who stands as a sort of ambassador for the “outside,” while the rest of the men stand for France. He loves Poland very much. |
| Courfeyrac | baritone or tenor | Friendly and open, Courfeyrac introduces Marius to the ABC society in the novel. He always has many mistresses, and is described as the centre of the Friends of the ABC, always giving off warmth. |
| Joly | baritone or tenor | A medical student and a hypochondriac; best friends with Lesgles. |
| Grantaire | baritone or tenor | Grantaire is a member of the Friends of the ABC. Though he in love with Enjolras and is one of his truest friends, Grantaire often opposes Enjolras’ fierce determination and occasionally acts as a voice of reason. Grantaire is also very close to Gavroche and attempts to act as his protector. Grantaire has a weakness for spirits of the alcoholic kind and is often tipsy throughout the musical, carrying a bottle of wine wherever he goes. |
| Jean Prouvaire | baritone or tenor | Prouvaire is the youngest student member of the Friends. He is a poet and embodies the Romantic Era. He affects the medieval spelling “Jehan” and grows flowers. Jean Prouvaire has the honor of waving the giant red flag during “One Day More” at the end of Act One. |
| Lesgles | baritone or tenor | Best friends with Joly. A very unlucky man, but also a very happy one. |
Character Differences: Novel vs. Musical Versions
Several discrepancies between the novel and musical exist, probably due to time issues. The Bishop had a much bigger role in the novel, taking up many pages of discussion in the beginning. He only appears in one scene at the start of the show. There is also more time granted in the novel describing Valjean’s time in Toulon and what it did to his spirit.
Javert’s background is described quite a bit as well in the novel. The only hint to his back-story in the show is during “The Confrontation” where he sings “I was born inside a jail, I was raised with scum like you, I am from the gutter too.” Javert’s mother was a gypsy prostitute, and his father a thief. Javert faced discrimination as a child, and saw a life’s devotion to justice and the law as the only means by which to redeem himself in God’s eyes. In the novel, however, Javert was an atheist.
Monsieur and Madame Thénardier are not the humorous, curmudgeony husband-and-wife they appear to be in “Master of the House”. In the novel, they are portrayed as vile, scum-of-the-earth, selfish people. Madame Thénardier is referred to as the “Thénardiess”, a term more suitable for a hideous female giant. In both versions, however, the Thénardiers’ complete lack of morals is obvious.
In the musical, Éponine, while still ragged, has a moderately more approachable look and personality, is more ethical, more romanticized, and has been given a more sympathetic depiction. She has a younger sister named Azelma, who is not in the musical. In the epilogue of the novel, Azelma travels with M. Thénardier to America where he becomes a slave owner/trader while his wife has long since died when the two were in prison. In the musical, both Thénardiers survive while their only mentioned daughter, Éponine, (and presumably, their legacy) dies. However, in the French Concept album and the original French musical, Azelma is present.
In the novel, the young boy Gavroche is Éponine and Azelma’s much ignored younger brother and the Thénardiers’ eldest son. Although Gavroche does appear in the musical, he speaks about the Thénardiers as if he is not related to them at all and it can be assumed, rather, that he lives on the streets, seemingly an orphan.
Also in the novel, the Thénardiers have two other sons, whom they also abandoned. Like Azelma, they are cut from the musical.
In the novel, M. Thénardier did fight in the Battle of Waterloo. He was picking gold and bullets off bodies when a still barely conscious man believed Monsieur Thénardier had saved his life. This man was Colonel Georges Pontmercy, Marius’ father. Marius always spoke of the great man Thénardier who saved his father’s life. All this is omitted from the musical.
Marius lived with his grandfather, Monsieur Gillenormand, who has a small role in the French Concept version but was later removed. Monsieur Gillenormand, in the novel, was Marius’ grandfather and surrogate father.
The Friends of the ABC were an intellectual society, as in the musical. However, some of the boys had love, admiration, and attraction for each other as well as Socratic feelings for their leader Enjolras, most notably Grantaire. Grantaire only attended their meetings because of Enjolras, and ends up being executed alongside his hero when the barricade falls. Bahorel, also a member of the ABC society in the novel, is cut from the musical.
Musical Numbers
| Song | Performer(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Prologue: Work Song” | Chain Gang, Javert and Valjean |
| 2 | “Prologue: On Parole” | Valjean, Farmer, Labourer, Innkeeper’s Wife, Innkeeper and Bishop of Digne |
| 3 | “Prologue: Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven” | Policemen and Bishop of Digne |
| 4 | “Prologue: What Have I Done?” | Valjean |
| 5 | “At the End of the Day” | Poor, Foreman, Workers, Factory Girls, Fantine and Valjean |
| 6 | “I Dreamed a Dream” | Fantine |
| 7 | “Lovely Ladies” | Sailors, Old Woman, Fantine, Crone, Whores and Pimp |
| 8 | “Fantine’s Arrest” | Bamatabois, Fantine, Javert and Valjean |
| 9 | “‘The Runaway Cart” | Townspeople, Valjean, Fauchelevant and Javert |
| 10 | “Who Am I? / The Trial” | Valjean |
| 11 | “Fantine’s Death: Come to Me” | Fantine and Valjean |
| 12 | “The Confrontation” | Javert and Valjean |
| 13 | “Castle on a Cloud” | Young Cosette and Madame Thénardier |
| 14 | “Master of the House” | Thénardier, Madame Thénardier and Customers |
| 15 | “The Well Scene” | Valjean and Young Cosette |
| 16 | “The Bargain / The Thénardier Waltz of Treachery” | Thénardier, Valjean, Madame Thénardier and Young Cosette |
| 17 | “Look Down” | Gavroche, Beggars, Old Woman, Prostitute, Pimp, Enjolras, and Marius |
| 18 | “The Robbery” | Thénardier, Madame Thénardier, Marius, Éponine and Valjean |
| 19 | “Javert’s Intervention” | Javert and Thénardier |
| 20 | “Stars” | Javert |
| 21 | “Éponine’s Errand” | Éponine and Marius |
| 22 | “ABC Café / Red and Black” | Students, Enjolras, Marius, Grantaire and Gavroche |
| 23 | “Do You Hear the People Sing?” | Enjolras, Grantaire, Students and Beggars |
| 24 | “Rue Plumet – In My Life” | Cosette, Valjean, Marius and Éponine |
| 25 | “A Heart Full of Love” | Marius, Cosette and Éponine |
| 26 | “The Attack on the Rue Plumet” | Thénardier, Thieves, Éponine, Marius, Valjean and Cosette |
| 27 | “One Day More” | Valjean, Marius, Cosette, Éponine, Enjolras, Javert, Thénardier, Madame Thénardier, Gavroche and Company |
| Song | Performer(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | “Building the Barricade (Upon These Stones)” | Enjolras, Javert, Marius, Éponine and Valjean |
| 29 | “On My Own“ | Éponine |
| 30 | “At the Barricade (Upon These Stones)” | Enjolras, Students and Army Officer |
| 31 | “Javert’s Arrival” | Javert and Enjolras |
| 32 | “Little People” | Gavroche, Students, Enjolras and Javert |
| 33 | “A Little Fall of Rain” (Éponine’s Death) | Éponine and Marius |
| 34 | “Night of Anguish” | Enjolras, Marius, Valjean and Students |
| 35 | “The First Attack” | Enjolras, Grantaire, Students, Valjean and Javert |
| 36 | “Drink with Me” | Grantaire, Students, Women and Marius |
| 37 | “Bring Him Home” | Valjean |
| 38 | “Dawn of Anguish” | Enjolras and Students |
| 39 | “The Second Attack (Death of Gavroche)” | Gavroche, Enjolras, Marius, Valjean, Feuilly and Students |
| 40 | “The Final Battle” | Army Officer, Enjolras, Grantaire and Students |
| 41 | “Dog Eats Dog (The Sewers)” | Thénardier |
| 42 | “Soliloquy (Javert’s Suicide)” | Javert and Valjean |
| 43 | “Turning” | Women of Paris |
| 44 | “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” | Marius |
| 45 | “Every Day” | Cosette, Marius and Valjean |
| 46 | “Valjean’s Confession” | Marius and Valjean |
| 47 | “Wedding Chorale” | Guests, Thénardier, Marius and Madame Thénardier |
| 48 | “Beggars at the Feast” | Thénardier and Madame Thénardier |
| 49 | “Valjean’s Death” | Valjean, Fantine, Cosette, Marius and Éponine |
| 50 | “Do You Hear The People Sing? (Reprise) / [Finale]” | Full Company |
Casts
| Character | Original French Stage Cast (1980) | Original London Cast (1985) | Original Broadway Cast (1987) | Current London Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Valjean | Maurice Barrier | Colm Wilkinson | Geronimo Rauch | |
| Javert | Jean Vallée | Roger Allam | Terrence Mann | Tam Mutu |
| Fantine | Rose Laurens | Patti LuPone | Randy Graff | Na-Young Jeon |
| Éponine | Marianne Mille | Frances Ruffelle | Carrie Hope Fletcher | |
| Thénardier | Yvan Dautin | Alun Armstrong | Leo Burmester | Cameron Blakely |
| Madame Thénardier | Marie-France Roussel | Susan Jane Tanner | Jennifer Butt | Vicky Entwistle |
| Marius | Gilles Buhlmann | Michael Ball | David Bryant | Jamie Ward |
| Cosette | Fabienne Guyon | Rebecca Caine | Judy Kuhn | Samantha Dorsey |
| Enjolras | Christian Ratellin | David Burt | Michael Maguire | Christopher Jacobsen |
| Gavroche | Florence Davis Cyrille Dupont Fabrice Ploquin |
Ian Tucker Oliver Spencer Liza Hayden |
Braden Danner RD Robb |
Jack Kelly Jake Poolman Archie Stevens |
References
1. BBC News/Entertainment-Arts
2. “LES MISÉRABLES on Broadway”. Lesmis.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
3. “Elaine Page“. BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
4. “BBC News – Bon anniversaire! 25 facts about Les Mis”. BBC Online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11437196. Retrieved 1 October 2010.
5. “Les Misérables“. Stage Agent. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
6. Behr, Edward (1989). “The Complete Book of Les Misérables“. Arcade Publishing. http://books.google.ca/books?id=qiCO4XZ2K6IC&pg=PA50#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
7. Vermette, Margaret (2006). “The musical world of Boublil & Schönberg: the creators of Les misérables, Miss Saigon, Martin Guerre, and The pirate queen”. Hal Leonard Corporation. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
8. “Les Misérables Show History“. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
9. “Wallnut Street Theatre – Les Misérables: Creation of the Musical”. http://www.walnutstreettheatre.org/season/lesmis-creation.php. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
10. Dans l’attente des Misérables du Châtelet, souvenons nous de la création en 1980 – Retrieved May 22 2010
11. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ppd66UURg – Retrieved 19 May 2010
12. http://members.tripod.com/Leonora_Christine/paris.html – Retrieved 19 May 2010
13. The Official Roger Allam Fan Site
14. http://johncaird.com/musicals/les_miserables_rsc.html
15. Les Miserables now in its 25th year plays its 10,000th performance in West End on 5 Jan 2010
16. The Committee Office, House of Commons. “House of Commons – Culture, Media and Sport – Minutes of Evidence”. Publications.parliament.uk.
17. Richards, David. “Les Miserables’;The Musical: Heavy on the Spectacular;Beneath the Dazzle, Few Insights”, The Washington Post, December 29, 1986, p. D1
18. “Listing, ‘Les Miserables, 1987″ Internet Broadway Database, retrieved August 27, 2010
19. Bennetts, Leslie. “‘Les Miserables’ Ready For Its American Debut”, The New York Times, December 6, 1986, p. 11
20. Behr, Edward. The Complete Book of Les Miserables. Arcade Publishing, 1993. ISBN 1559701560. p. 144
21. Kwiatkowski, Jane. “Musical Chairs”, Buffalo News, March 23, 2003, p. F1
22. Cox, David. “Broadway Curtain Closes On Les Mis”, The Scotsman, May 20, 2003, p. 7
23. Kuchwara, Michael. “Broadway says au revoir to ‘Les Miz'”, AP Online, May 19, 2003 (no page number)
24. Playbill Staff.”Long Runs on Broadway” playbill.com, August 26, 2010
25. Andress, Nigel. “The Arts: Bloodless ‘American Psycho’ on the loose”, Financial Times, April 20, 2000
26. Brantley, Ben (November 10, 2006). “Didn’t We Just See This Revolution?”. The New York Times.
27. “Arroyo goes to Broadway, watches Lea Salonga in Les Miz”. Showbiz and Style. Archived from the original on 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
28. Les Misérables Sets 1/6 Closing Date , Broadway.com Buzz[dead link]
29. “Facts and Figures from LesMis.com“. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
30. “Roadside Theater LES MIS callbacks”. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
31. “Roadside produces American world premiere of Les Mis”. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
32. “EISENHOWER HALL THEATRE 09-10″. Ikehall.com. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
33. “Theater of the Stars Announces Full ‘Les Misérables’ Casting 2008/08/11″. Broadwayworld.com. http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Theater_of_the_Stars_Announces_Full_Les_Miserables_Casting_20080811. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
34. Jones, Kenneth. “Signature’s “Black Box” Les Miz Will Put Audience in Middle of the Action; Cast Announced”, September 14, 2008.
35. Jones, Kenneth.”Another Day, Another Destiny: “Intimate” Les Miz Opens in VA Dec. 14″, playbill.com, December 14, 2008
36. Jones, Kenneth.”Intimate Les Miz Gets Good Reviews in DC and Extends” playbill.com, December 18, 2008
37. http://www.lesmis.com/about/general-information/
38. “ew.com“. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,315865,00.html. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
39. “LesMis.com“. Archived from the original on 2006-10-23. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
40. “ContactMusic.com“. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
41. “angelfire.com“. . Retrieved 2007-07-07.
42. “Les Misérables [Relativity Complete Symphonic Recording].” Popular Albums. All Media Guide, 2006. Answers.com 24 March 2007.
43. “Tour Dates and Venues”. lesmis.com. Retrieved 2011-11-02. [dead link]
44. “‘LesMiserables’ tour”. broadwayacrossamerica.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
45. Voris, Robert (25 June 2011). “‘Six boost road grosses”. Variety. Retrieved 2011-06-26.
46. “Facts and Figures from LesMis.com”. Retrieved 2007-07-07. [dead link]
47. Winters, Dane (January 2001). “Heidelberg’s Roadside Theater to Premiere “Les Mis””. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
48. “Les Misérables Heidelberg”. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
49. “Eisenhower Hall Theatre 09-10”. Ikehall.com. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
50. “Theater of the Stars Announces Full ‘Les Misérables’ Casting”. broadwayworld.com. 11 Auguast 2008. Retrieved 2010-01-23.
51. Jones, Kenneth (14 September 2008). “Signature’s “Black Box” Les Miz Will Put Audience in Middle of the Action; Cast Announced”. Playbill. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
52. Jones, Kenneth (14 December 2008). “Another Day, Another Destiny: ‘Intimate’ Les Miz Opens in VA Dec. 14”. Playbill. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
53. Jones, Kenneth (18 December 2008). “Intimate Les Miz Gets Good Reviews in DC and Extends”. Playbill. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
54. “Les Mis Concert for St Michael’s Cave”. Gibraltar Chronicle. 19 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
55. “Cumberland County Playhouse Announces 2013 Season”. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
56. Hadley, Brittany (13 March 2013). “Theatre students have ‘Dreamed a Dream’ come true”. Belmont Vision. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
57. “Les Misérables School Edition”. Music Theatre International. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
58. “About the Show – General Information”. lesmis.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12. [dead link]
59. Schaefer, Stephen (18 October 1991). “Musical Chairs”. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
60. “Cameron Mackintosh’s Production of Les Misérables Celebrates Its 2,000th Performance on Thursday, March 5 and Its Fifth Anniversary” (Press release). lesmis.com. 12 February 1992. Archived from the original on 23 October 2006. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
61. “Les Miserables Hits Hollywood”. contactmusic.com. 2 October 2005. Retrieved 2011-03-06.
62. Les Misérables in Concert: The 25th Anniversary (Blu-Ray). London, England: Universal Pictures. 29 November 2010. “Coming Soon – Universal Pictures proudly announce the musical motion picture of Les Misérables: A Working Title-Cameron Mackintosh Film”
63. “Hooper to direct ‘Les Miserables'”. The Times Of India. [dead link]
64. Bamigboye, Baz (16 June 2011). “Miss Daisy hits the West End”. The Daily Mail (London). Retrieved 2012-11-04.
65. Jones, Kenneth (Christmas 2012). “Hugh Jackman Is Russell Crowe’s Quarry in Les Miserables Film”. Playbill. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
66. “Cameron Mackintosh Confirms Anne Hathaway for Les MIsérables Film”. Broadway World. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
67. MacKenzie, Carina Adly (3 January 2012). “Taylor Swift, Amanda Seyfried get ‘Les Misérables’ gigs over Lea Michele”. Zap2it. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
68. Labrecque, Jeff (1 November 2011). “Eddie Redmayne lands ‘Les Miserables’ role”. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
69. Dunn, Carrie (31 January 2012). “Breaking News: Samantha Barks To Play Eponine In Les Miserables Movie”. Broadway World. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
70. Jones, Kenneth (9 February 2012). “Mistress of the House: Helena Bonham Carter Will Be Madame Thénardier in Les Miz Movie”. Playbill. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
71. Jones, Kenneth (16 March 2012). “Sacha Baron Cohen, Daniel Evans, Linzi Hateley and More Confirmed for “Les Miz” Film”. Playbill. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
72. “Miz Film: It’s official! Aaron Tveit is confirmed to join the cast…”. lesmis.com.
73. Paul Grein (January 9, 2012). “Week Ending Jan. 6, 2013. Albums: Les Miz Takes Broadway To The Top”. Yahoo Music (Chart Watch).
74. “Complete Symphonic Recording”. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
75 . “Les Misérables [Relativity Complete Symphonic Recording]”. Answers.com. 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-24. [unreliable source?]
76. Shenton, Mark (15 April 2012). “Matilda – the Musical Sweeps Olivier Awards; Benedict Cumberbatch, Jonny Lee Miller Are Also Winners”. Playbill. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
External Links
- Les Misérables at the Internet Broadway Database
- Cameron Mackintosh: Les Misérables (Worldwide)
- Cameron Mackintosh: Les Misérables (Broadway)
- An Archive of Performers from the Original Broadway Run of Les Mis
- An Archive of Performers from the London Run of Les Mis
- Les Miserables London
- Les Mis 25th Anniversary Production running in Barcelona, 2011
Memorabilia Available
Les Misérables
by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil
Les Misérables, colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz /leɪ ˈmɪz/, is a musical composed in 1980 by French composer Claude-Michel Schönberg, with a French-language libretto by Alain Boublil.
The English-language adaptation, with libretto by Herbert Kretzmer, opened at London’s Barbican Centre on 8 October 1985. It is the worlds longest-running musical, now in its 26th year, and the third longest-running show in Broadway history. In January 2010 it played its 10,000th performance in London’s West End.[1] The production continues at London’s Queen’s Theatre.
On October 3, 2010, the show became the first musical in history to have three productions running in the same city, with the original show running in London’s West End, a 25th Anniversary touring production running at the original home of the show, London’s Barbican Centre, and a special concert version at London’s O2 Arena.
Based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel of the same name, set in early nineteenth-century France, the plot follows the stories of the characters as they struggle for redemption and revolution. An ensemble that includes prostitutes, student revolutionaries, factory workers, and others joins the lead characters.
The Tony Award-winning score features the song “I Dreamed a Dream”, sung as a solo by the character Fantine during the first act. Numerous professional artists have recorded cover versions of this song since the musical’s premiere in October 1985, including Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin, David Essex, Susan Boyle, Michael Crawford, Lea Salonga and most recently as a duet between Idina Menzel and Lea Michele on the television show Glee.
Video 2014 Broadway Production
Background
Originally released as a French-language concept album, the first musical stage adaptation of Les Misérables was presented at a Paris sports arena in 1980. However, the first production closed three months later when the booking contract expired.
In 1982, about six months after he had opened Cats in London, producer Cameron Mackintosh received a copy of the French concept album by director Peter Farago. Farago had been impressed by the work, and asked Mackintosh to produce an English version of the show. Initially reluctant, Mackintosh eventually agreed.
Mackintosh assembled a production team to adapt the French musical for a British audience. After two years in development, the English language version opened in London on October 8, 1985, at the Barbican Arts Centre. Critical reviews were negative, and literary scholars condemned the show for converting classical French literature to a musical. Public opinion differed from the press, with the box office receiving record ticket orders. The limited three-month Barbican engagement eventually sold-out and reviews improved
Reception
The Broadway production opened on March 12, 1987, and ran until May 18, 2003, closing after 6,680 performances. It is the third longest-running Broadway show in history.[2] A fully re-orchestrated Broadway revival opened on November 9, 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre.
The show was nominated for twelve Tony Awards, winning eight, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Les Misérables placed first in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the “Nation’s Number One Essential Musicals” in June 2005, receiving more than 40% of the votes cast.[3]
Les Misérables was one of the British musicals on Broadway in the 1980s as well as Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon.
Emblem
The musical’s emblem is a picture of the waif Cosette sweeping the Thénardier’s Inn, usually shown cropped to a head-and-shoulders portrait with the French national flag superimposed. The picture is based on the illustration by mr.hugo Émile Bayard that appeared in the original edition of the novel in 1862.
Production History
Original French Production
French songwriter Alain Boublil had the idea to adapt Victor Hugo’s novel into a musical while at a performance of the musical Oliver! in London:
As soon as the Artful Dodger came onstage, Gavroche came to mind. It was like a blow to the solar plexus. I started seeing all the characters of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables—Valjean, Javert, Gavroche, Cosette, Marius, and Éponine—in my mind’s eye, laughing, crying, and singing onstage.[6]
He pitched the idea to French composer Claude-Michel Schönberg, and developed a rough synopsis of what they believed would work in a musical. They worked up an analysis of each character’s mental and emotional state, as well as that of an audience watching the show. Schönberg then began to write the music, while Alain Boublil began work on the text. According to Alain Boublil in the piano/vocal selections book published by Alain Boublil Music Ltd. and exclusively distributed by Hal Leonard, “…I could begin work on the words. This I did – after myself deciding on the subject and title of every song – in collaboration with my friend, poet Jean-Marc Natel.” Two years later, a two-hour demo tape with Schönberg accompanying himself on the piano and singing every role was finally completed. An album of this collaboration was recorded at CTS Studios in Wembley and was released in 1980, selling 260,000 copies.
The concept album includes Maurice Barrier as Jean Valjean, Jacques Mercier as Javert, Rose Laurens as Fantine, Yvan Dautin as Thénardier, Marie-France Roussel as Mme. Thénardier, Richard Dewitte as Marius, Fabienne Guyon as Cosette, Marie as Éponine, Michel Sardou as Enjolras, Fabrice Bernard as Gavroche, Maryse Cédolin as Young Cosette, Claude-Michel Schönberg as Courfeyrac, Salvatore Adamo as Combeferre, Michel Delpech as Feuilly, Dominique Tirmont as M. Gillenormand, and Mireille as the hair buyer.
That year, in September 1980, a stage version directed by veteran French film director Robert Hossein was produced at the Palais des Sports in Paris. The show was a success, with 100 performances seen by over 500,000 people.[7][8][9]
Most of the cast from the concept album performed in the production.[7][10] The cast included Maurice Barrier as Valjean, Jean Vallée as Javert, Rose Laurens as Fantine, Maryse Cédolin and Sylvie Camacho and Priscilla Patron as Young Cosette, Marie-France Roussel as Mme. Thénardier, Yvan Dautin as M. Thénardier, Florence Davis and Fabrice Ploquin and Cyrille Dupont as Gavroche, Marianne Mille as Éponine, Gilles Buhlmann as Marius, Christian Ratellin as Enjolras, Fabienne Guyon as Cosette, René-Louis Baron as Combeferre, Dominique Tirmont as M. Gillenormand, and Anne Forrez as Mlle. Gillenormand.[7][10][11][12]
London Production
The English language version, with lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and additional material by James Fenton, was substantially expanded and reworked from a literal translation by Siobhan Bracke of the original Paris version, in particular adding a prologue to tell Jean Valjean’s back story. Kretzmer’s work is not a direct “translation” of the French, a term that Kretzmer refuses to use. A third of the English lyrics were a rough translation, another third were adapted from the French lyrics and the final third consisted of new material.
The first production in English, produced by Cameron Mackintosh and adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird, opened on 8 October 1985 (five years after the original production) at the Barbican Arts Centre, London. It was billed in the RSC Barbican Theatre programme as “The Royal Shakespeare Company presentation of the RSC/Cameron Mackintosh production”, and played to preview performances beginning on September 28, 1985.
The set was designed by John Napier, costumes by Andreane Neofitou and lighting by David Hersey. Musical supervision and orchestrations were by John Cameron, who had been involved with the show since Claude-Michel and Alain hired him to orchestrate the original French concept album. Musical staging was by Kate Flatt with musical direction by Martin Koch.
The original London cast included Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, Roger Allam as the persistent Inspector Javert, Ken Caswell as the Bishop of Digne, Patti LuPone as Fantine, Zoë Hart and Jayne O’Mahony and Joanne Woodcock as Young Cosette, Danielle Akers and Gillian Brander and Juliette Caton as Young Éponine, Susan Jane Tanner as Madame Thénardier, Alun Armstrong as the villainous but funny rogue Thénardier, Frances Ruffelle as Éponine, Rebecca Caine as Cosette, Michael Ball as Marius, David Burt as Enjolras, and Ian Tucker and Oliver Spencer and Liza Hayden as Gavroche.[13][14]
On December 4, 1985, the show transferred to the Palace Theatre, London and moved again on April 3, 2004, to a much more intimate Queen’s Theatre, with some revisions of staging, where it is still playing. It celebrated its ten-thousandth performance on 5 January 2010. The drummer from the original cast album, Peter Boita, is still with the show – the only musician still associated with the show that was there from the beginning.[15]
The co-production has generated valuable income for the Royal Shakespeare Company.[16]
Broadway Production
The musical had its out-of-town tryout at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House in Washington D.C., in December 1986 for eight weeks, through February 14, 1987.[17]
The musical then premiered on Broadway on March 12, 1987 at The Broadway Theatre. Colm Wilkinson and Frances Ruffelle reprised their roles from the London production.[18] The $4.5 million production had a more than $4 million advance sale prior to its New York opening.[19]
The show underwent further tightening of plot, and an improved sewer lighting and Javert suicide scene effect was incorporated into the staging.[20] In an interview with Boublil, the changes were explained: “The transfer from London to the United States has prompted further modifications. ‘We are taking this opportunity to rethink and perfect, to rewrite some details which probably no one else will see, but which for us are still long nights of work,’ Mr. Boublil says. ‘There are things that nobody had time to do in London, and here we have a wonderful opportunity to fix a few things. No one will notice, perhaps, but for us, it will make us so happy if we can better this show. We would like this to be the final version.'”[19] In addition, two songs were deleted – the complete version of Gavroche’s song “Little People” and the adult Cosette’s “I Saw Him Once.” A short section at the beginning of “In My Life” replaced “I Saw Him Once”. The lyrics in Javert’s “Stars” have been changed. It now ends with the line, “This I swear by the stars!”, while the London production and cast recording ended with the repeated line, “Keeping watch in the night.”
The original Broadway cast included Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, David Bryant as Marius, Judy Kuhn as Cosette, Michael Maguire as Enjolras, Frances Ruffelle as Éponine, Braden Danner as Gavroche, Donna Vivino as Young Cosette, Jennifer Butt as Madame Thénardier, Leo Burmester as Thénardier, Randy Graff as Fantine, Terrence Mann as Javert, Chrissie McDonald as Young Éponine, and Norman Large as the Bishop of Digne.[18]
Other members of the original Broadway cast included: Kevin Marcum, Paul Harman, Anthony Crivello, John Dewar, Joseph Kolinski, Alex Santoriello, Jesse Corti, Susan Goodman, John Norman, Norman Large, Marcus Lovett, Steve Shocket, Cindy Benson, Marcie Shaw, Jane Bodle, Joanna Glushak, Ann Crumb, Kelli James, Gretchen Kingsley-Weihe, Chrissie McDonald. Michael Hinton was the original drummer and credited on the cast album.[18]
The musical ran at the Broadway Theatre through October 10, 1990, when it moved to the Imperial Theatre.[18] It was scheduled to close on March 15, 2003, but the closing was postponed by a surge in public interest.[21] According to an article in The Scotsman, “Sales picked up last October, when Sir Cameron made the announcement that the show would be closing on 15 March…its closure postponed to 18 May because of an unexpected increase in business.” [22] After 6,680 performances in sixteen years,[22] when it closed on May 18, 2003,[18] it was the second-longest-running Broadway musical after Cats.[23] 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.[24]
This Broadway production of Les Misérables and its advertising in New York City is a reoccurring themes in = Behr | first = Edward | titl American Psycho. The reviewer for the Financial Times wrote that Les Miserables is “the book’s hilarious main cultural compass-point”.[25]
2006 Broadway revival
Only three years after the original run closed, Les Misérables began a limited return to Broadway on November 9, 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre. On December 19, 2006, it was announced that Les Misérables would extend its run until September 1, 2007. It was subsequently announced that the show would have an open-ended run rather than a set closing date.
Using the set, costumes, performers, and other resources from the recently closed third U.S. national touring production, the production was only slightly altered. Minor changes included a y friend, poet Jean-Marc Natel.” of colourful projections blended into its existing lighting design, and a proscenium that extended out into the first two boxes on either side of the stage.
Some cuts previously made to the show during its original Broadway run were restored, new lyrics were penned for Gavroche’s death scene (known in the revival as “Ten Little Bullets”), and much of the show was re-orchestrated by Christopher Janke, introducing a snare and timpani heavy sound played by a 14 member band, a reduction of about 10 musicians from the original score’s requirement of 23–25.
The original 2006 Broadway revival cast included Alexander Gemignani as Jean Valjean, Norm Lewis as Javert, Daphne Rubin-Vega as Fantine, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Éponine, Aaron Lazar as Enjolras, Adam Jacobs as Marius, Ali Ewoldt as Cosette, Gary Beach as Thénardier, Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier, Brian D’Addario and Jacob Levine and Austyn Myers as Gavroche, James Chip Leonard as The Bishop of Digne, Drew Sarich as Grantaire, and Tess Adams and Kylie Liya Goldstein and Carly Rose Sonenclar as Young Cosette/Young Éponine.[26]
Fantine was played by Lea Salonga beginning on March 2, 2007. Ann Harada replaced Jenny Galloway as Mme. Thénardier on April 24, 2007. Ben Davis joined playing Javert, and Max von Essen playing Enjolras. Ben Crawford and Mandy Bruno joined the cast that day too, playing Brujon and Éponine respectively. On July 23, 2007, Drew Sarich took over the role of Jean Valjean, following Alexander Gemignani’s departure. On September 5, 2007, it was announced that John Owen-Jones (who played Valjean in London) was to join the Broadway cast. In return, Drew Sarich (the Valjean on Broadway) was joining the London cast in Owen-Jones’ place. Judy Kuhn, who originated the role of Cosette returned to the show after 20 years as Fantine, succeeding Lea Salonga, who previously played the role of Éponine.
On September 27, 2007, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo attended the Broadhurst Theatre to watch Lea Salonga in her role as Fantine in Les Misérables. Salonga’s cast included Adam Jacobs as Marius and Ali Ewoldt as Cosette.[27] Later that year, the show went temporarily dark because of the Broadway stagehands’ strike.
The revival closed on January 6, 2008. Combined with the original production’s 6,680 performances, Les Misérables has played 7,176 performances on Broadway.[28]
2014 Broadway Revival
The show returned to Broadway in March 2014 at the Imperial Theatre with previews beginning March 1, 2014 and had an official opening on March 23, 2014. The creative team includes the direction of Laurence Connor and James Powell, the set design by Matt Kinley, costumes by Andreane Neofitou and Christine Rowlands, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Mick Potter and projections by Fifty-Nine Productions. Cameron Mackintosh once again produced the show.
Cast
Jean Valjean – Ramin Karimloo (Bway Debut)
Javert – Will Swenson
Fantine – Caissie Levy
Eponine – Nikki M James
Marius – Andy Mientus
Cosette – Samantha Hill
Madame Thenardier – Keala Settle
Monsieur Thenardier – Cliff Saunders
Enjolras – Kyle Scatliffe
Costume Designer – Andreane Neofitou
New Orchestrations – Christopher Jahnke, Stephen Metcalfe & Stephen Booker
Musical Staging – Michael Ashcroft & Geoffrey Garratt
Sound – Mick Potter
Lighting – Paule Constable
Costume Design – Andreane Neofitou & Christine Rowland
Set & Image Design – Matt Kinley inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo
Directed by Laurence Connor & James Powell
Tenth Anniversary London Concert
On October 8, 1995, the show celebrated its tenth anniversary with a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. This Tenth Anniversary Concert is nearly “complete,” missing only a handful of scenes, including “The Death of Gavroche” and the confrontation between Marius and the Thénardiers at the wedding feast. Sir Cameron Mackintosh hand-selected the cast, which has come to be called the Les Misérables Dream Cast, assembling cast members from around the world. The concert concluded with seventeen Valjeans from various international productions singing “Do You Hear the People Sing?” in their native languages.
The concert cast included Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, Philip Quast as Javert, Paul Monaghan as the Bishop of Digne, Ruthie Henshall as Fantine, Hannah Chick as Young Cosette, Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier, Alun Armstrong as Thénardier, Adam Searles as Gavroche, Michael Maguire as Enjolras, Michael Ball as Marius, Judy Kuhn as Cosette, Lea Salonga as Éponine, and Anthony Crivello as Grantaire.
25th Anniversary Concert
The 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Misérables was held at The 02 Arena in North Greenwich on Sunday 3 October 2010 at 1:30pm and 7pm. The star-studded concert featured Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean, Norm Lewis as Javert, Lea Salonga as Fantine, Nick Jonas as Marius, Katie Hall as Cosette, Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier, Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras, Samantha Barks as Eponine and Matt Lucas as Thénardier. Casts of the current London production, current international Tour production and Original 1985 London production took part, making up an ensemble of 300 performers and musicians.
For the encore four Jean Valjeans sung Bring Him Home, Colm Wilkinson from the original London cast, John Owen-Jones from the 25th Anniversary touring production, Simon Bowman from the current London cast and Alfie Boe who sang the role in the Concert. The original 1985 cast then led the ensemble in a performance of One Day More
After speeches from Cameron Mackintosh, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg the concert concluded with students from some school productions of Les Misérables coming down through the audience and joining the casts for the Finale song.
The evening concert was shown live in cinemas across the UK, Ireland, and around the world. A Blu-ray and DVD version of the O2 broadcast is due to be released on November 29th in the UK (Region 2, PAL DVD and Bluray)with a future release to be determined in North America.
Other Concert Performances
The musical has also been performed in concert at Cardiff Castle and several venues in southern England, produced by Earl Carpenter Concerts. A concert version starring Jeff Leyton was also performed at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast. In 1989, a one-night concert performance was performed at SkyDome in Toronto, and the largest concert production attracted an audience of approximately 125,000 as part of the Australia day celebrations in Sydney’s Domain Park. The Scandinavian concert tour, produced by Cameron Mackintosh in association with Noble Art, starred Danish musical icon Stig Rossen in the leading role and commemorated author Victor Hugo’s 200th birthday. Venues on the tour included the Stockholm Globen, Oslo Spektrum, the Helsinki Hartwell Areena, and the Gothenburg Scandinavium, with audiences totalling over 150,000 for the complete tour.
In February 2008, Les Misérables was performed at the BIC in Bournemouth, England with a cast of West End stars accompanied by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. In August 2008, a concert version,directed by Richard Jay-Alexander, was performed at the Hollywood Bowl. The cast included veteran Les Misérables star J. Mark McVey as Valjean, The Office star Melora Hardin as Fantine, Broadway star and Bowl veteran Brian Stokes Mitchell as Javert, Spring Awakening star Lea Michele as Éponine, Tony winning Jersey Boys star John Lloyd Young as Marius, West End star Tom Lowe as Enjolras, Michael McCormick as Thénardier, Ruth Williamson as Madame Thénardier, Michele Maika as Cosette, Maddie Levy as Young Cosette, and Sage Ryan as Gavroche.
In September 2008, it was performed at the St John Loveridge Hall in Guernsey with a cast of West End performers—the first time that it had been professionally performed on the Island where Victor Hugo wrote the novel. Former London Valjean Phil Cavill reprised his role alongside Les Misérables veteran Michael McCarthy as Javert. In March 2009, the Guernsey production was remounted at Fort Regent in Jersey; and in July 2009, the musical was performed in concert at Osborne House on the Isle Of Wight.
National U.S. Broadway Tours
The show had three national touring productions in the U.S., all of which shared the Broadway producer and manager, cast, creative teams, sets, costumes, and lighting. While the touring production and the New York production were running simultaneously, the staff, cast members, crew, and musicians of the two productions interchanged often, which contributed to keeping both companies of the show in form. When the New York production closed in 2003, the Third National Tour continued for another three years, and enjoyed the influx of many members from the original and subsequent New York companies.
The First National Tour opened at Boston’s Shubert Theatre on December 12, 1987, and continued to play until late 1991. The Second National Tour opened at Los Angeles’ Shubert Theatre on June 1, 1988. The production played for 14 months then transferred to San Francisco’s Curran Theatre where it enjoyed a similar run. The Third National Tour of Les Misérables (called “The Marius Company”) was one of the longest running American touring musicals. Opening on 28 November 1988 at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in Florida and closing on July 23, 2006, at the Fox Theatre in Saint Louis, Missouri, the tour ran for seventeen years and seven thousand sixty-one performances. The tour played in one hundred forty-five cities in forty-three states. The same touring company also frequently performed in Canada, and made a diversion in 2002 to visit Shanghai, China for three weeks.
The final company of the Third National Broadway Tour included Randal Keith as Valjean (Keith also played Valjean in the final company of the original Broadway engagement), Robert Hunt as Javert, Joan Almedilla as Fantine, Daniel Bogart as Marius, Norman Large (from Original Broadway Cast) as Monsieur Thénardier, Jennifer Butt (from Original Broadway Cast) as Madame Thénardier, Melissa Lyons as Éponine, Ali Ewoldt as Cosette, Victor Wallace as Enjolras, Meg Guzulescu and Rachel Schier alternating as Young Cosette and Young Éponine, Austyn Myers and Anthony Skillman alternating as Gavroche.
25th Anniversary International Tour
A new tour to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the show began performances on December 12, 2009, at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. Differences from the original production included a new set, new costumes, new direction and alterations to the original orchestrations. The new tour also didn’t use a revolving stage and the scenery was insprired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. Locations have included Manchester, Norwich, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol, Salford, and Southhampton.
The tour also played a special engagement in Paris. From September through October, the show returned to the Barbican Centre, London, where the original 1985 production commenced. The tour cast features John Owen-Jones as Valjean, Earl Carpenter as Javert, Gareth Gates as Marius, Ashley Artus as Thénardier, Lynne Wilmot as Madame Thénardier, Madalena Alberto as Fantine, Rosalind James as Éponine, Jon Robyns as Enjolras, Katie Hall as Cosette, and David Lawrence as the Bishop of Digne. The tour ended October 2, 2010, at the Barbican.
International Productions
1980
Palais des Sports, Paris. Opened 17 September. Closed 14 December. (NR)
1985
Barbican Theatre, London. Opened 8 October. Production transferred to the Palace Theatre on 4 December. In April 2004, production moved to the Queen’s Theatre, where it is currently running.
1986
Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington D.C. American premiere/out-of-town tryout. Opened December 27. Closed February 14, 1987.
1987
Broadway Theatre, New York. Opened March 12. Production moved to the Imperial Theatre in October 1990. Closed May 18, 2003.
Imperial Theatre: Tokyo, Japan. Opened June 17. Closed November 30. Production has toured Japan ever since with stops in Nagoya; Osaka; Sendai; Sapporo; and Tokyo. In repertory since ’87.
Cameri Theatre: Tel Aviv, Israel. Opened August 9. Closed March 31, 1989. (NR)
Rock Theatre: Szeged, Hungary. Opened August 14. Closed August 21. (NR)
Vigszinhaz Theatre: Budapest, Hungary. Opened September 14. Closed September 21. In repertory. (NR)
Theatre Royal, Sydney, Australia. Opened November 27. Closed July 15, 1989. Production then toured Australia and New Zealand with stops in Perth; Melbourne; Adelaide; Brisbane; and Auckland.
Shubert Theatre: Boston, MA. Opened December 15. Closed June 26, 1988. First U.S. national tour launched with stops in Washington D.C.; Philadelphia; Chicago; Detroit; Baltimore; and Los Angeles. Tour closed in Chicago on September 29, 1991.
National Theatre of Iceland: Reykjavik, Iceland. Opened December 26. Closed June 5, 1988. (NR)
1988
Det Norske Teatret: Oslo, Norway. Opened March 17. Closed December 31.
Shubert Theatre: Los Angeles, CA. Opened 1 June. Closed July 23, 1989. Second U.S. national tour launched with stops in San Francisco. Tour closed in San Francisco on January 27, 1991.
Raimund Theatre: Vienna, Austria. Opened September 15. Closed March 31, 1990.
Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center: Tampa, FL. Opened November 28. Closed December 11.
Third U.S. national tour launched with stops in 145 cities, in 43 states, including engagements in Canada, Singapore, and China. Tour closed in St. Louis, MO on July 23, 2006.
1989
Royal Alexandra Theatre: Toronto, Canada. Opened March 15. Closed May 26, 1992. Production then toured Canada with stops in Calgary; Vancouver; Montreal (bilingual cast); Winnipeg; Ottawa; Edmonton; Hamilton; Honolulu, HI; and Regina.
Teatr Muzyczny: Gdynia, Poland. Opened June 30. In repertory to date. (NR)
1990
Cirkus Theatre: Stockholm, Sweden. Opened October 12. Closed December 14, 1991.
1991
Carre Theatre: Amsterdam, Netherlands. Opened February 28. Closed October 20. Production then transferred to the Cirkustheater in Scheveningen and closed March 8, 1992.
Odense Teater: Odense, Denmark. Opened April 20. Closed June 22. (NR)
Mogador Theatre: Paris, France. Opened October 23. Closed May 24, 1992.
1992
Palace Theatre: Manchester, England. Opened 14 April. Closed 1 May 1993. Production went on to play Dublin; and Edinburgh.
Vinorhady Theatre: Prague, Czech Republic. Opened 25 June. Closed 13 September. (NR)
Teatro Nuevo Apolo: Madrid, Spain. Opened 16 September. Closed 29 May 1994.
Ostre Gasvaerk Teater: Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened 27 December. Closed 31 December 1993. (NR)
1993
Point Theatre: Dublin, Ireland. Opened 30 June. Closed September.
Edinburgh Playhouse: Edinburgh, Scotland. Opened 23 September. Closed 19 February 1994.
Meralco Theatre: Manila, Philippines. Opened 7 October. Closed 31 October. (NR)
1994
Kallang Theatre: U.S. third national tour makes special trip to Singapore. Opened 3 February. Closed 17 April.
1996
Music Hall/Theater am Marientor: Duisburg, Germany. Opened 26 January. Closed 28 November 1999.
Kallang Theatre: Asian/African tour launched in Singapore. Opened 28 February. Closed 31 March. Production continued on to Hong Kong, Seoul, and Cape Town, South Africa.
Karlstads Teater: Karlstad, Sweden. Opened 15 October. Closed 27 April 1997. (NR)
Aalborg Teater: Aalborg, Denmark. Opened 14 November. Closed 4 January 1997. (NR)
1997
Imperial Theatre, Broadway. 12 March. Special 10th anniversary performance and first look at slightly revamped production.
Theatre Royal, Sydney, Australia. Opened 29 November. Closed 13, June, 1998. Launch of the 10th anniversary Australian tour, with stops in Melbourne; Auckland, New Zealand; Perth; and Brisbane.
1998
Music Hall: Antwerp, Belgium. Opened 24 May. Closed 25 April 1999. This production was performed in both French and Flemish.
Aarhus Theatre: Aarhus, Denmark. Opened 4 September. Closed 31 December. (NR)
City Hall: Hamilton, Bermuda. Opened 5 October. Closed 17 October. (NR)
1999
City Theatre: Helsinki, Finland. Opened 25 February. Closed 13 May 2000. (NR)
Kongrescenter: Herning, Denmark. Opened 15 April. Closed 30 May. (NR)
Municipal Theatre: Mahebourg, Mauritius. Opened 12 June. Closed 28 June. (NR)
Performing Arts Center: Tel Aviv, Israel. Opened 20 July. Closed 4 September. (NR)
Madach Theatre: Budapest, Hungary. Opened 20 November. In repertory to date. (NR)
2000
Teatro Opera: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Opened 22 March. Closed 15 October.
Opera House: Gothenburg, Sweden. Opened 22 April. Closed 23 September. (NR)
2001
Opera Bonn: Bonn, Germany. Opened 8 April. Closed 7 July. (NR)
Teatro Abril: São Paulo, Brazil. Opened 25 April. Closed –
Roadside Theatre: Heidelberg, Patton Barracks, Germany. Opened 11 May. Closed 10 June (14 perf.). (NR)
Opernhaus: Chemnitz, Germany. Opened 21 October. In repertory to date. (NR)
City Hall Theatre: Tallinn, Estonia. Opened 1 November. Closed 25 November. (NR)
Holy Trinity Diocesan High School: Hicksville, New York. World’s first high school production.
2002
Shanghai Grand Theater Shanghai, China. Opened 22 June. Closed 7 July.
Centro Cultural Telmex: Mexico City, Mexico. Opened 14 November. Closed 30 August 2004.
Staatstheater: Saarbrücken, Germany. Opened 7 December. In repertory to date. (NR)
2003
Anhalitisches Theatre: Dessau, Germany. Opened 21 March. Closed 27 June. (NR)
Moster Amfi: Bolmo, Norway. Opened 8 August. Closed 16 August. (NR)
Goja Music Hall: Prague, Czech Republic. Opened 16 September. In repertory to date. (NR)
Theater des Westens: Berlin, Germany. Opened 26 September. Closed 31 December 2004.
2006
Trøndelag Teater: Trondheim, Norway. Opened 25 February and closed 14 October 2005.
2007
Madlenianum Opera and Theatre: Belgrade, Serbia. Opened 18 October. In repertory to date. (NR)
Akershus Teater: Lillestrøm, Norway. Opened 29 January 2007 for a limited run. (NR)
2008
Theatre Du Capitole: Quebec, Canada. (NR)
Den Nasjonale Scene: Bergen, Norway. (NR)
Luxor Theatre: Rotterdam, Netherlands. Opened 20 April. Closed 4 January 2009
.
2009
Carré Theatre: Amsterdam, Netherlands. Opened 17 January 2009. Closed 22 February 2009.
Oslo Nye Teater: Oslo, Norway. Opened 4 February 2009. Closed 20 June 2009. (NR)
Det Ny Teater: Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened 17 September 2009. Ending 31 December 2009. (NR)
Wales Millennium Centre: *Cardiff, UK. Ran from 12 December 2009 – 16 January 2010. The tour will commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the show with stops in Manchester; Norwich; Birmingham; Edinburgh, Paris & London. This production features rethought designs and staging.
Productions opening after December, 2009 will be denoted by “NR” only if they differ from both the original London/Broadway AND new 25th anniversary staging since they are both official Cameron Mackintosh productions. It is assumed that new Cameron Mackintosh productions after this date will feature the all-new 25th anniversary staging, making the London (currently at the Queens) and Japanese (in repertory since ’87) the last remaining of the original designs and staging. And the Dutch production, which last played Amsterdam in 2009, to be the most recently produced of the original staging.
2010
Palace Theatre, Manchester: UK. Ran from 19 January – 13 February 2010.
Theatre Royal, Norwich: UK. Ran from 16 February – 20 March 2010.
Birmingham Hippodrome: Birmingham, UK. Ran from 23 March – 17 April 2010.
Harbour View High School: Saint John, NB, CAN. Ran from April 14–17, 2010.
Edinburgh Playhouse: Edinburgh, UK. Ran from 20 April – 15 May 2010.
Théâtre du Châtelet: Paris, France. Ran from 26 May – 4 July 2010.
Bristol Hippodrome: Bristol, UK. Will run from 13 July – 7 August 2010.
The Lowry: Salford: UK. Will run from 10 August – 21 August.
The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton: UK. Will run from 24 August – 11 September 2010.
Barbican Centre: London, UK. Will run from 14 September – 2 October 2010.
Teatr Muzyczny Roma: Warsaw. Runs from 25 September 2010. (NR)
Ã…bo Svenska Teater, Finland: Will run from 23 September 2010 (NR)
Teatro Lope de Vega, Madrid: Will run from 18 November 2010
North American Regional Productions
With the approval of the Cameron Mackintosh organization, Music Theatre International selected the USAREUR Roadside Theater in Heidelberg, Germany for the American Community Theater World Premiere of Les Misérables.[30] The premiere took place May 11, 2001, with the production closing June 10, 2001.[31] This production was also one of the first uses of the Sinfonia system by MTI in collaboration with Realtime Music Solutions, later used in the London production.
Beginning in 2007, a limited number of regional productions (five in the US, two in Canada) of Les Misérables licensed by Cameron Mackintosh have been staged.
The California Musical Theatre (CMT) (Sacramento, California) in its Music Circus summer series (production ran from July 10 thru July 22, 2007) staged the show as theater in the round. Glenn Casale, choreographed by Bob Richard, with music directed by Andrew Bryan, directed the production that featured Ivan Rutherford who gave over one thousand eight hundred performances as Jean Valjean on Broadway as well as performing in the Tenth Anniversary Company.
Other regional productions of Les Misérables include the Pioneer Theatre Company (PTC) of Salt Lake City which was honoured to be the first company to present a regional production. This production ran from April 27, 2007, to July 7, 2007, making it the longest running production in PTC’s history. It was directed by PTC Artistic Director Charles Morey and brought both William Solo as Jean Valjean and Merwin Foard as Inspector Javert to the PTC re-enacting roles both men played previously on Broadway.
The first independent regional theatre production of “Les Misérables” in Canada was directed by Linda Moore at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax Nova Scotia, starring Frank Mackay as Jean Valjean in 1994. The Thousand Islands Playhouse in Gananoque Canada staged a production, which opened July 4, 2008, featured Lee B.Siegel as Valjean, Shane Carty as Javert, Kevin Power as Thénardier, Marcia Tratt as Madame Thénardier, Ramona Gilmour-Darling as Éponine, Ashley Taylor as Cosette, Shannon Barnett as Fantine, Dale R. Miller as Marius, Gabriel Burrafato as Enjolras, and Derrick Paul Miller as the Bishop of Digne. Derrick Paul Miller played the role of Valjean on July 22, July 23 (matinee), July 24, and July 26 (matinee). It is directed by Greg Wanless, and musical director Sandy Thorburn.
An outdoor production played at The Muny, the nation’s oldest and largest outdoor theatre, which seats 12,000 people. The theatre is located in Saint Louis, MO. Directed by Fred Hanson, Les Misérables was the final production of the Muny’s 89th season, playing August 6–15, 2007. Ivan Rutherford, who was a Valjean in the original Broadway production, reprised his role in the production. Kevin Kern and Diana Kaarina, who played Marius and Éponine in the closing cast of the original Broadway production, reprised their roles.
Another outdoor production has been staged at Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Ivins, UT and runs June through mid-October, 2008.
In September 2008, a mini tour produced by Atlanta’s Theater of the Stars played Eisenhower Hall at the United States Military Academy,[32] in West Point, NY; the Filene Center at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, VA; Kansas City Starlight Theater; and The Fox Theater in Atlanta. The show featured a new set of original pictures painted by Victor Hugo himself. Robert Evan played Valjean, returning to the role he played in the mid-nineties on Broadway. Also featured were Nikki Rene Daniels as Fantine and Robert Hunt as Javert, both reprising their roles from the Broadway revival. Fred Hanson directed the production. The creative team included Matt Kinley as Scenic Designer, Ken Billington as Lighting Designer, Peter Fitzgerald and Erich Bechtel as Sound Designers, Zachary Borovay as Projection Designer, and Dan Riddle as Musical Director and Conductor.[33]
In 2008, the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia staged a small venue “black box” version of the play. Signature was honored to receive Mackintosh’s special permission for the production: “One of the great pleasures of being involved with the creation of Les Misérables is seeing this marvelous musical being done in a completely different and original way. Having seen many shows brilliantly reimagined at Signature I have no doubt that Eric and his team will come up with a revolutionary new take on Les Miz unlike anything anyone has seen before. Viva la différence!”[34] This production, coupled with years of imaginative productions, earned Signature the 2009 Regional Theater Tony Award. The production officially opened on December 14, 2008 (after previews from December 2), and ran through February 22, 2009 (extended from January 25, 2009).[35][36]
Northern Stage, a regional theatre company in White River Junction, Vermont, also staged a production on a small stage, in December 2008; in their case, it was a three-quarter-thrust stage in a 245-seat house. This production featured Timothy Shew as Jean Valjean, Mary Gutzi as Madame Thénardier and Kevin David Thomas as Marius, all of whom appeared in the Broadway production (where Shew starred as Valjean, Gutzi as Fantine and Thomas as Marius). The production also featured Broadway veterans Dan Sharkey (The Music Man) and David DeWitt (Phantom of the Opera). The production was directed by Northern Stage Artistic Director Brooke Ciardelli.
In July 2009, the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO) staged Les Misérables as part of their summer show collection.
Les Misérables School Edition
The School Edition cuts a considerable amount of material from the original show. It is divided into thirty scenes and, although no “critical” scenes or songs have been removed, it runs twenty-five–thirty minutes shorter than the “official” version. A few subtle changes of vocal pitch have been made: “What Have I Done?”, Valjean’s Soliloquy, “Stars” by Javert, “A Little Fall of Rain” by Éponine and Marius, “Turning” by the women of the Revolution, and “Castle on a Cloud” lose a verse each. The song “Fantine’s Death/Confrontation” is edited, removing the signature counter-point duel between Valjean and Javert. “Dog Eats Dog” by Thénardier is truncated, as is as “Beggars at the Feast”, with the song before it, “Wedding Chorale” being excluded entirely.
After The King’s Theatre, The King’s School and Tara Anglican School for Girls, in Sydney, Australia, gained rights for the full production in late 2000 from Cameron Mackintosh to perform the show, Music Theatre International developed a school version, available only to productions with an entirely amateur cast aged under 19. Hundreds of schools worldwide have purchased the rights and staged performances, and it was the best selling play for high schools in the year 2006.
Holy Trinity Diocesan High School located in Hicksville, New York marked the world’s first school edition premiere.[37]
Films
Although numerous films of the Les Misérables story have been made, no film adaptation of the stage musical was produced for many years. A film adaptation has been in development several times since the late 1980s. Alan Parker was reported to be connected to an adaptation at an early stage.[59] In 1992 Mackintosh announced planning for a film to be directed by Bruce Beresford and co-produced by Tri-Star Pictures,[60] but the project was later abandoned.[61]
The 2010 DVD/Blu-ray release of Les Misérables: 25th Anniversary Concert included an announcement of revised plans for a film adaptation[62] which was later confirmed by Mackintosh. Tom Hooper signed on in March 2011 to direct the Mackintosh-produced film from a screenplay by William Nicholson.[63] In June 2011, Working Title Films and Mackintosh announced that the film would begin principal photography in early 2012 for a tentative December release date. The film was given its general US release on Christmas Day 2012.[64] Principal cast members include Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert,[65] Anne Hathaway as Fantine,[66] Amanda Seyfried as Cosette,[67] Eddie Redmayne as Marius Pontmercy,[68] Samantha Barks as Éponine,[69] and Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thénardiers.[70][71] Other notable actors who played roles in the film include Aaron Tveit as Enjolras, Bertie Carvel as Bamatabois, Colm Wilkinson as the Bishop of Digne and Frances Ruffelle as prostitute.[72]
Movie Update
Les Misérables premiered in London on 5 December 2012, and was released on 25 December 2012 in the United States, on 26 December 2012 in Australia, and on 11 January 2013 in the UK.[3][8][10] The film received divided, but generally favourable[11] reviews, with many critics praising the cast, with Jackman, Hathaway, Redmayne, and Barks being the most often singled out for praise. Crowe’s and Seyfried’s performances were less favorably received, however. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Jackman and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for Hathaway. It has also won four BAFTA Awards, including the Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Hathaway). It received eight Academy Award nominations including Best Picture (the first musical nominated since 2002’s winner Chicago) and Best Actor for Jackman, and won three, for Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Supporting Actress for Hathaway.[12] With over $430 million made at the box office, the film is the highest grossing movie musical worldwide.
Cast Recordings
The following recordings of Les Misérables are available in the English: the Original London Cast, the Original Broadway Cast, the Complete Symphonic Recording, and the Tenth Anniversary London Concert.
The Musical Event of A Lifetime
Original London Cast Recording
The Original London Cast recording was the first English language album of the musical. Recorded in 1985, when the show premiered, it is closest to the original French concept album. For example, “Stars” appears before “Look Down” and shortly after, the original version of “Little People” plays, which was later incorporated into the revealing of Javert. It also features a song entitled “I Saw Him Once”, sung by Cosette, which was later incorporated into the first part of “In My Life”.
The cast includes Colm Wilkinson as Valjean, Roger Allam as Javert, Patti LuPone as Fantine, Alun Armstrong as Thénardier, Susan Jane Tanner as Mme. Thénardier, Frances Ruffelle as Éponine, Ian Tucker as Gavroche, Michael Ball as Marius, David Burt as Enjolras, and Rebecca Caine as Cosette.
Les Miserables 1985 Original Cast BUY NOW
Buy The Original 1985 London Cast Michael Ball, Frances Ruffelle, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil, Patti LuPone, Colm Wilkinson
Original Broadway Cast Recording
The Original Broadway Cast recording was produced in 1987. It included several changes to the songs that are still evident in today’s performances. As with its predecessor, it is incomplete, and leaves out songs or parts that are more important narratively than musically (e.g., “Fantine’s Arrest”, “The Runaway Cart”, “The Final Battle”).
The cast includes Colm Wilkinson as Valjean, Terrence Mann as Javert, Randy Graff as Fantine, Leo Burmester as Thénardier, Jennifer Butt as Madame Thénardier, Frances Ruffelle as Éponine, Braden Danner as Gavroche, David Bryant as Marius, Michael Maguire as Enjolras, and Judy Kuhn as Cosette.
Les Miserables (1987 Original Broadway Cast) Buy Your Copy NOW !
Buy Your Copy Now Les Miserables (1987 Original Broadway Cast) by Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schonberg, Frances Rufelle and Colm Wilkinson(1989) –
Complete Symphonic Recording
Recorded in 1988 and released in 1989, the Complete Symphonic Recording features the entire score. (The Czech Revival Recording is the only other album, in any language, to feature the entire score.) Cameron Mackintosh’s original plan was to use the Australian cast,[41] but the scope was expanded to create an international cast featuring performers from the major performances of the musical. The cast was recorded in three different places.[42]
The album, produced by David Caddick and conducted by Martin Koch, won the Best Musical Cast Show Album Grammy Award in 1991. The cast includes Gary Morris as Valjean, Philip Quast as Javert, Debra Byrne as Fantine, Gay Soper as Mme. Thénardier, Barry James as Thénardier, Kaho Shimada as Éponine, Michael Ball as Marius, Anthony Warlow as Enjolras, and Tracy Shayne as Cosette.
Les Miserables Complete Symphonic Recording BUY NOW !
Les Miserables Complete Symphonic Recording by Claude-Michel Schoenberg, Martin Koch, Philharmonia Pit Orchestra
10th Anniversary Concert
The Tenth Anniversary recording was of a concert version of Les Misérables, performed at the Royal Albert Hall in October 1995, featuring full orchestra and choir. All the parts were sung live, giving the performance a different mood from other recordings. The score was recorded consecutively without pauses or multiple recordings. The concert’s encores are also included. As with the original recordings, this edition omitted certain parts; however, they differed from those missing from the original (e.g., those vital to plot such as “Fantine’s Arrest” and “The Runaway Cart” were kept, while unnecessary or complex songs, such as “At the Barricade”, were left out).
The cast includes Colm Wilkinson as Valjean, Philip Quast as Javert, Ruthie Henshall as Fantine, Alun Armstrong as Thénardier, Jenny Galloway as Mme. Thénardier, Lea Salonga as Éponine, Adam Searles as Gavroche, Hannah Chick as Young Cosette, Michael Ball as Marius, Michael Maguire as Enjolras, Judy Kuhn as Cosette and Anthony Crivello as Grantaire.
Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert BUY NOW !
Manchester Highlights
A five-track album featuring members of the U.K. national tour was released in 1992 and includes “I Dreamed a Dream” (Ria Jones); “Stars” (Philip Quast); “On My Own” (Meredith Braun); “Bring Him Home” (Jeff Leyton); and “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” (Mike Sterling). The version of “Stars” is the same as that on the Complete Symphonic Recording.
Manchester HighLights Cast BUY NOW
Buy Today Manchester Cast by Les Miserables Highlights (2008) – Import
Twenty-fifth Anniversary Cast Recording
The 2010 New 25th Anniversary Cast Recording will be released on Tuesday 12 October 2010 with the caption “Dream the Dream.” It will be titled “Les Misérables: 2010 Cast.”
The cast includes John Owen-Jones as Valjean; Earl Carpenter as Javert; Gareth Gates as Marius, Jon Robyns as Enjolras, Ashley Artus as Thénardier, Rosalind James as Éponine, Madalena Alberto as Fantine, Lynne Wilmot as Madame Thénardier and Katie Hall as Cosette.
Les Miserables 2010 The 25th Anniversary Concert Cast CD BUY NOW !
Les Miserables: The 25th Anniversary Concert [Blu-ray]
Les Miserables: The 25th Anniversary Concert [Blu-ray] Starring Roger Allam, Alun Armstrong, Samantha Barks and Alfie Boe(2010)
Other Languages
There are also various non-English language cast albums of the musical.
1980 Original French Concept Album
1987 Original Israeli Cast
1988 Original Hungarian Cast
1988 Original Vienna Cast
1990 Original Swedish Cast
1991 Original Dutch Cast
1991 Paris Revival Cast
1992 Original Danish Cast
1992 Original Czech Cast
1993 Original Madrid Cast
1994 Japanese “Blue” Cast
1994 Japanese “Red” Cast
1996 Original Duisburg Cast
1996 Swedish Värmland Cast
1998 Original Antwerp Cast
2003 Japanese “Orange” Cast
2003 Japanese “Green” Cast
2003 Japanese “Light Blue” Cast
2003 Japanese “Violet” Cast
2003 Czech Revival Cast
2008 Dutch Revival Cast
2008 Quebec Cast
Video
Awards and Nominations
Original West End Production
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best New Musical | Nominated | |
| Best Actor in a Musical | Colm Wilkinson | Nominated | ||
| Alun Armstrong | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress in a Musical | Patti LuPone | Won | ||
| 2012 | Laurence Olivier Award[76] | Audience Award for Most Popular Show | Won | |
Original Broadway Production
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Tony Award | Best Musical | Won | |
| Best Book of a Musical | Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg | Won | ||
| Best Original Score | Claude-Michel Schönberg and Herbert Kretzmer | Won | ||
| Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical | Colm Wilkinson | Nominated | ||
| Terrence Mann | Nominated | |||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical | Michael Maguire | Won | ||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical | Judy Kuhn | Nominated | ||
| Frances Ruffelle | Won | |||
| Best Direction of a Musical | Trevor Nunn and John Caird | Won | ||
| Best Scenic Design | John Napier | Won | ||
| Best Costume Design | Andreane Neofitou | Nominated | ||
| Best Lighting Design | David Hersey | Won | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Musical | Won | ||
| Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Colm Wilkinson | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Michael Maguire | Won | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Judy Kuhn | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Orchestrations | John Cameron | Won | ||
| Outstanding Music | Claude-Michel Schönberg | Won | ||
| Outstanding Set Design | John Napier | Won | ||
Plot
Act 1
Sung through, Les Misérables opens in a prison in Toulon, France in 1815, where the prisoners work at hard labour (“Work Song”). After nineteen years of imprisonment (five for stealing bread for his starving sister and her family, and the rest for trying to escape) Jean Valjean, prisoner 24601, is released on parole by the policeman Javert. By law, Valjean must display a yellow ticket-of-leave, which condemns him as an outcast (“On Parole”). He then meets the Bishop of Digne, who offers him food and shelter. Valjean steals silver from the bishop and the police catch him shortly. The bishop, however, lies to save Valjean and helps him begin a new life (“Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven”). Humbled by the bishop’s mercy and kindness, Valjean decides to follow the bishop’s advice and breaks his parole. (“Valjean Soliloquy” / “What Have I Done?”).
Eight years later, Valjean, having assumed a new identity as Monsieur Madeleine, is a wealthy factory owner and mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer. One of his workers, Fantine, has a fight when the other workers discover she is sending money to her secret illegitimate child who is living with an innkeeper and his wife (“At the End of the Day”). The Mayor breaks up the conflict, but asks his factory foreman to resolve it. The other women demand Fantine’s dismissal, and because she had previously rejected his advances, the foreman agrees and throws Fantine out.
Fantine sings about her broken dreams and about the father of her daughter who abandoned her (“I Dreamed a Dream”). Desperate for money, she sells her locket and her hair, before becoming a prostitute (“Lovely Ladies”). When she fights back against an abusive customer, Javert, now stationed in Montreuil-sur-Mer, arrests her (“Fantine’s Arrest”). “Madeleine” soon arrives, and realising his part in the ruination of Fantine, he orders Javert to let her go and takes her to a hospital.
Soon after, when the Mayor rescues Fauchelevant, who is pinned by a runaway cart (“The Runaway Cart”), Javert is reminded of Jean Valjean (who was abnormally strong), whom he has sought for years for breaking parole. However, Javert assures the mayor that Valjean has been arrested recently and will be in court later in the day. Unwilling to see an innocent man go to prison in his place, Valjean confesses his identity to the court—that he is the prisoner 24601—revealing the convict’s brand on his chest as proof (“Who Am I? – The Trial”).
Before returning to prison, Valjean visits the dying Fantine and promises to find and look after her daughter Cosette. (“Come to Me” / “Fantine’s Death”). When Javert arrives to arrest him, Valjean asks for three more days to fetch Cosette, but Javert refuses to believe his honest intentions (“The Confrontation”). Valjean eventually knocks Javert out and escapes.
The next scene occurs in an inn at Montfermeil run by the Thénardiers, where Cosette has been living. The Thénardiers have been abusing the little girl, while indulging their own daughter, Éponine. Cosette dreams of a better life (“Castle on a Cloud”) before Madame Thénardier sends her to fetch water in the dark. As the inn fills for the evening, the Thénardiers use numerous methods to cheat their customers (“Master of the House”). Valjean finds Cosette fetching water (“The Bargain”) and pays the Thénardiers fifteen hundred Francs to let him take Cosette away (“The Waltz of Treachery”).
Nine years later, Paris is in upheaval because General Lamarque, the only man in the government who shows mercy to the poor, is ill and may soon die. The young street urchin Gavroche mingles with the prostitutes and beggars on the street, while students Marius Pontmercy and Enjolras discuss the likely demise of the general (“Look Down”).
A street gang led by the Thénardiers prepares to ambush Valjean, whom Thénardier recognizes as the man who took Cosette (“The Robbery”). Éponine sees Marius, whom she secretly loves, and warns him to stay away, but Marius accidentally bumps into Cosette and immediately falls in love. The Thénardiers’ attempt to rob Valjean and Cosette fails, as the result of Javert, who does not recognise Valjean until after he makes his escape (“Javert’s Intervention”). Javert gazes at the night sky, comparing his hunt of Valjean and justice to the order of the stars (“Stars”). Meanwhile, Marius, although he does not know Cosette’s name, persuades a reluctant Éponine to help to find her (“Éponine’s Errand”).
The scene shifts to a political meeting in a small café where a group of idealistic students led by Enjolras gathers to prepare for a revolution that they believe will materialise after General Lamarque’s death, (“The ABC Café – Red and Black”). Marius arrives late and when Gavroche brings the news of the General’s death, the students march out into the streets (“Do You Hear the People Sing?”)
Cosette is infatuated with Marius, and although Valjean realises that his daughter has grown up, he refuses to tell her about his past or her mother. (“Rue Plumet – In My Life”). In spite of her own feelings, Éponine leads Marius to Cosette (“A Heart Full of Love”), and then prevents her father’s gang from robbing Valjean’s house (“The Attack on Rue Plumet”). Valjean, convinced that Javert was lurking outside his house, tells Cosette that they must prepare to flee the country.
On the eve of the Paris Uprising, Valjean prepares to go into exile; Cosette and Marius part in despair of ever meeting again; Éponine mourns the loss of Marius; Marius decides to join the other students as they prepare for the upcoming conflict; Javert plans to spy on the students and learn their secrets; and the Thénardiers look forward to stealing from the corpses of those who will be killed during the battle to come (“One Day More”).[4]
Act 2
As the students begin a barricade (“At the Barricade – Upon These Stones”), Javert, disguised as one of the rebels, volunteers to “spy” on the government troops. Marius notices that Éponine has disguised herself as a boy and has joined the revolutionaries. He sends her with a letter to deliver to Cosette, which will also serve to get Éponine to safety. Valjean intercepts the letter, promising Éponine he will tell Cosette about the letter. After Éponine leaves, Valjean reads the letter, learning about Marius and Cosette’s relationship. While walking the streets of Paris, Éponine decides, despite what he has said to her, to rejoin Marius at the barricade (“On My Own”).
“At the Barricade” the students defy an army warning them to surrender or die. Javert returns and tells the students that the government will attack (“Javert’s Arrival”), but Gavroche exposes him as a spy (“Little People”). Éponine is shot as she returns to the barricades and dies in Marius’s arms (“A Little Fall of Rain”). Valjean arrives at the barricades in search of Marius as the first battle erupts, and he saves Enjolras by shooting a sniper (“The First Attack”). As a reward, he asks to be the one to kill Javert, but instead he releases him and even gives him his address. The students settle down for a night (“Drink with Me”), while Valjean prays to God to save Marius from the onslaught that is to come (“Bring Him Home”).
As dawn approaches, Enjolras realises that the people have abandoned them. He sends away women and fathers of children, but resolves to continue to fight (“Dawn of Anguish”). With ammunition running low during the second attack, Gavroche moves in front of the barricade to collect more cartridges. As he collects bullets and runs back behind the barricade, he is shot three times. He dies as he returns behind the barricade (“The Second Attack / Death of Gavroche”). Enjolras and the students realise that they will likely die. The army gives a final warning for surrender, but the rebels refuse, and as they continue to fight, they are all killed except Valjean and Marius (“The Final Battle”).
Carrying a wounded Marius on his back, Valjean escapes through the sewers. Meanwhile, Thénardier is also in the sewers, stealing valuables from bodies, laughing that he is performing a “service to the town” (“Dog Eats Dog”). Thénardier takes a ring off Marius’s hand as Valjean is resting, and then escapes when he sees Valjean getting up. When Valjean reaches the sewer’s issue, he runs into Javert, who has been waiting for him. Valjean begs Javert to give him one more hour to bring Marius to a doctor, and Javert reluctantly agrees. After Valjean leaves, Javert, unable to bear the gift of Valjean’s mercy to him, commits suicide by throwing himself in the Seine (“Javert’s Suicide”).
Back on the streets, several women mourn the deaths of the young students (“Turning”). Marius also mourns for his friends (“Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”). As he wonders who saved him from the barricades, Cosette comforts him, and she tells him that she will never go away (“Every Day”) and they reaffirm their love. Valjean then confesses to Marius that he is an escaped convict and tells him that he must go away because his presence puts Cosette in danger (“Valjean’s Confession”). Valjean makes Marius promise never to tell Cosette, and Marius makes only a half-hearted attempt to hold him back.
Marius and Cosette are married (“Wedding Chorale”). The Thénardiers crash the wedding reception in disguise as “The Baron and Baroness du Thénard” and tell Marius that Valjean is a murderer, saying that they saw him carrying a corpse in the sewers after the barricades fell. When Thénardier shows him the ring that he took from the corpse, Marius realises that he was the “corpse” and that Valjean saved his life. Marius punches Thénardier, the newlyweds leave, and the Thénardiers enjoy the party and celebrate their survival (“Beggars at the Feast”).
Meanwhile, Valjean prepares for his death, having nothing left for which to live. Just as the ghosts of Fantine and Éponine arrive to take him to heaven, Cosette and Marius rush in, in time to bid farewell to Valjean and for Marius to thank him for saving his life (“Valjean’s Death”). Valjean gives Cosette his confession to read, and as he sleeps the souls of Fantine and Éponine guide him to Paradise, his long struggle over. The entire cast of characters, living and dead, asks once more, “Do You Hear the People Sing?” (“Finale”).
Principal Characters
| Character[9] | Voice[10] | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Jean Valjean | dramatic tenor | Prisoner 24601. After being released from imprisonment for serving nineteen years (five for stealing a loaf of bread and fourteen for multiple escape attempts), he decides to break his parole and turns his life around, proving that the corrupt can make themselves virtuous and selfless once more. He changes his identity, becoming the wealthy mayor of a small town. He later adopts Cosette, the only daughter of Fantine. At the end, he eventually dies and the spirit of Fantine thanks him for raising her child. |
| Inspector Javert | baritone or bass-baritone | Respects the law above all else and relentlessly pursues Valjean, hoping to bring the escaped convict to justice. He firmly believes that humans cannot change for the better. In the end he commits suicide. |
| The Bishop of Digne | baritone | Houses Valjean after his release from jail and gives him gifts of silver and absolution. His acts of kindness inspire Valjean to improve himself and escape the label of “criminal.” |
| The Factory Foreman | baritone or tenor | Foreman of Valjean’s (Valjean has assumed the name Madeleine) jet bead factory in Montreuil-sur-Mer which employs Fantine and other workers. The Foreman fires Fantine from the factory when she persists in resisting his overt sexual advances and because it is discovered that she is the mother of an illegitimate child (Cosette) living elsewhere. |
| The Factory Girl | lyric mezzo-soprano | In the original Broadway and London versions of the musical, the Factory Girl is mistress to the Factory Foreman. The Factory Girl discovers that the Foreman has his eyes set on bedding Fantine, so she does what she believes is necessary to see to it that Fantine gets fired. At the factory (in “At the End of the Day”), the Factory Girl intercepts a letter that the Thénardiers have sent to Fantine requesting that Fantine send them more money to care for Cosette who is ill (a lie). The letter exposes Fantine as the mother of an illegitimate child, and the Factory Girl shows it to the Foreman, insisting that Fantine be fired. The Foreman complies. |
| Fantine | lyric mezzo-soprano | A poor worker who loses her job and, as a result, turns to prostitution in order to continue paying the Thénardiers to care for her illegitimate daughter, Cosette. As Fantine dies of consumption, she asks Valjean to look after her child. Ultimately she appears as a spirit and escorts the dying Valjean to Heaven. |
| Old Woman | contralto | Affectionately called “The Hair Hag” in many of the original US companies, the Old Woman is the character who talks Fantine into selling her hair before Fantine becomes a prostitute. |
| Crone | soprano | Also called “The Locket Crone,” this character is the woman who talks Fantine into selling her precious locket for much less than it is worth. |
| Bamatabois | baritone or tenor | An upper-class “fop” who tries to buy Fantine’s services. He treats her abusively so she refuses him. When Javert enters the scene, Bamatabois tries to cover the fact that he was soliciting a prostitute by having her arrested for attacking him. |
| Fauchelevent | baritone or tenor | In a role reduced from the novel, Fauchelevent appears only in the Cart Crash scene, where he is trapped under the cart and rescued by Valjean. He is an elderly man who has fallen upon hard times. |
| Champmathieu | silent | A man who is arrested and on trial because he is believed to be Jean Valjean. Valjean, still under the name Madeleine, confesses his true identity at the trial in order to save the man. |
| Young Cosette | treble | The eight-year-old daughter of Fantine. Cosette is in the care of the Thénardiers who are paid by Fantine to take care of her child. Unknown to Fantine, the Thénardiers force Cosette to work, and they use Fantine’s money for their own needs. |
| Madame Thénardier | contralto | Thénardier’s unscrupulous wife. |
| Young Éponine | silent | Eight-year-old Éponine is the pampered daughter of the Thénardiers. She grows up with Cosette and is unkind to her. |
| Thénardier | comic baritone | A second-rate thief, Thénardier runs a small inn. |
| Gavroche | boy soprano | Gavroche is a streetwise urchin who dies on the barricade helping the revolutionaries. He is actually the abandoned son of the Thénardiers, though this is not mentioned in the musical. |
| Enjolras | baritone or tenor | Enjolras is the leader of the student revolutionaries and a friend of Marius. |
| Marius Pontmercy | baritone or tenor | Marius, a student revolutionary, is friends with Éponine, but falls in love with Cosette, and she with him. He is later rescued from the barricades by Valjean, who ultimately gives Marius and Cosette his blessing, allowing them to be married. |
| Éponine | mezzo-soprano | Daughter of the Thénardiers, Éponine, now ragged and a waif, secretly loves Marius. She is killed while returning to the barricades to see Marius. In the end she appears as a spirit alongside Fantine and they guide the dying Valjean to Heaven. |
| Brujon | baritone or tenor | The brutish and cowardly but dissatisfied member of Thénardier’s Gang, Brujon’s role in the musical expands to cover Gueulemer. |
| Babet | baritone or tenor | A foreboding member of Thénardier’s Gang. |
| Claquesous | baritone or tenor | Quiet and masked, expert at evading the police, Claquesous might in fact be working for the law. |
| Montparnasse | baritone or tenor | A young member of Thénardier’s Gang, Montparnasse a handsome man appears to be close to Éponine. |
| Cosette | soprano | Cosette, the daughter of Fantine, has grown-up to become a beautiful young woman of culture and privilege under Valjean’s adoptive and loving fatherly care and protection. She falls in love with Marius, and he returns her equally strong and pure romantic feelings. She marries him at the end of the musical. |
| Friends of the ABC | baritone or tenor | Student revolutionaries who lead a revolution and die in the process, the Friends of the ABC become martyrs for the rights of citizens. (See Members listed below) |
| Combeferre | baritone or tenor | Combeferre is the philosopher of the ABC group. Enjolras’ second-in-command. He is described as the guide of the Friends of the ABC. |
| Feuilly | baritone or tenor | Feuilly is the only member of the Friends of the ABC who is not a student; he is a workingman. An optimist who stands as a sort of ambassador for the “outside,” while the rest of the men stand for France. He loves Poland very much. |
| Courfeyrac | baritone or tenor | Friendly and open, Courfeyrac introduces Marius to the ABC society in the novel. He always has many mistresses, and is described as the centre of the Friends of the ABC, always giving off warmth. |
| Joly | baritone or tenor | A medical student and a hypochondriac; best friends with Lesgles. |
| Grantaire | baritone or tenor | Grantaire is a member of the Friends of the ABC. Though he in love with Enjolras and is one of his truest friends, Grantaire often opposes Enjolras’ fierce determination and occasionally acts as a voice of reason. Grantaire is also very close to Gavroche and attempts to act as his protector. Grantaire has a weakness for spirits of the alcoholic kind and is often tipsy throughout the musical, carrying a bottle of wine wherever he goes. |
| Jean Prouvaire | baritone or tenor | Prouvaire is the youngest student member of the Friends. He is a poet and embodies the Romantic Era. He affects the medieval spelling “Jehan” and grows flowers. Jean Prouvaire has the honor of waving the giant red flag during “One Day More” at the end of Act One. |
| Lesgles | baritone or tenor | Best friends with Joly. A very unlucky man, but also a very happy one. |
Character Differences: Novel vs. Musical Versions
Several discrepancies between the novel and musical exist, probably due to time issues. The Bishop had a much bigger role in the novel, taking up many pages of discussion in the beginning. He only appears in one scene at the start of the show. There is also more time granted in the novel describing Valjean’s time in Toulon and what it did to his spirit.
Javert’s background is described quite a bit as well in the novel. The only hint to his back-story in the show is during “The Confrontation” where he sings “I was born inside a jail, I was raised with scum like you, I am from the gutter too.” Javert’s mother was a gypsy prostitute, and his father a thief. Javert faced discrimination as a child, and saw a life’s devotion to justice and the law as the only means by which to redeem himself in God’s eyes. In the novel, however, Javert was an atheist.
Monsieur and Madame Thénardier are not the humorous, curmudgeony husband-and-wife they appear to be in “Master of the House”. In the novel, they are portrayed as vile, scum-of-the-earth, selfish people. Madame Thénardier is referred to as the “Thénardiess”, a term more suitable for a hideous female giant. In both versions, however, the Thénardiers’ complete lack of morals is obvious.
In the musical, Éponine, while still ragged, has a moderately more approachable look and personality, is more ethical, more romanticized, and has been given a more sympathetic depiction. She has a younger sister named Azelma, who is not in the musical. In the epilogue of the novel, Azelma travels with M. Thénardier to America where he becomes a slave owner/trader while his wife has long since died when the two were in prison. In the musical, both Thénardiers survive while their only mentioned daughter, Éponine, (and presumably, their legacy) dies. However, in the French Concept album and the original French musical, Azelma is present.
In the novel, the young boy Gavroche is Éponine and Azelma’s much ignored younger brother and the Thénardiers’ eldest son. Although Gavroche does appear in the musical, he speaks about the Thénardiers as if he is not related to them at all and it can be assumed, rather, that he lives on the streets, seemingly an orphan.
Also in the novel, the Thénardiers have two other sons, whom they also abandoned. Like Azelma, they are cut from the musical.
In the novel, M. Thénardier did fight in the Battle of Waterloo. He was picking gold and bullets off bodies when a still barely conscious man believed Monsieur Thénardier had saved his life. This man was Colonel Georges Pontmercy, Marius’ father. Marius always spoke of the great man Thénardier who saved his father’s life. All this is omitted from the musical.
Marius lived with his grandfather, Monsieur Gillenormand, who has a small role in the French Concept version but was later removed. Monsieur Gillenormand, in the novel, was Marius’ grandfather and surrogate father.
The Friends of the ABC were an intellectual society, as in the musical. However, some of the boys had love, admiration, and attraction for each other as well as Socratic feelings for their leader Enjolras, most notably Grantaire. Grantaire only attended their meetings because of Enjolras, and ends up being executed alongside his hero when the barricade falls. Bahorel, also a member of the ABC society in the novel, is cut from the musical.
Musical Numbers
| Song | Performer(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Prologue: Work Song” | Chain Gang, Javert and Valjean |
| 2 | “Prologue: On Parole” | Valjean, Farmer, Labourer, Innkeeper’s Wife, Innkeeper and Bishop of Digne |
| 3 | “Prologue: Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven” | Policemen and Bishop of Digne |
| 4 | “Prologue: What Have I Done?” | Valjean |
| 5 | “At the End of the Day” | Poor, Foreman, Workers, Factory Girls, Fantine and Valjean |
| 6 | “I Dreamed a Dream” | Fantine |
| 7 | “Lovely Ladies” | Sailors, Old Woman, Fantine, Crone, Whores and Pimp |
| 8 | “Fantine’s Arrest” | Bamatabois, Fantine, Javert and Valjean |
| 9 | “‘The Runaway Cart” | Townspeople, Valjean, Fauchelevant and Javert |
| 10 | “Who Am I? / The Trial” | Valjean |
| 11 | “Fantine’s Death: Come to Me” | Fantine and Valjean |
| 12 | “The Confrontation” | Javert and Valjean |
| 13 | “Castle on a Cloud” | Young Cosette and Madame Thénardier |
| 14 | “Master of the House” | Thénardier, Madame Thénardier and Customers |
| 15 | “The Well Scene” | Valjean and Young Cosette |
| 16 | “The Bargain / The Thénardier Waltz of Treachery” | Thénardier, Valjean, Madame Thénardier and Young Cosette |
| 17 | “Look Down” | Gavroche, Beggars, Old Woman, Prostitute, Pimp, Enjolras, and Marius |
| 18 | “The Robbery” | Thénardier, Madame Thénardier, Marius, Éponine and Valjean |
| 19 | “Javert’s Intervention” | Javert and Thénardier |
| 20 | “Stars” | Javert |
| 21 | “Éponine’s Errand” | Éponine and Marius |
| 22 | “ABC Café / Red and Black” | Students, Enjolras, Marius, Grantaire and Gavroche |
| 23 | “Do You Hear the People Sing?” | Enjolras, Grantaire, Students and Beggars |
| 24 | “Rue Plumet – In My Life” | Cosette, Valjean, Marius and Éponine |
| 25 | “A Heart Full of Love” | Marius, Cosette and Éponine |
| 26 | “The Attack on the Rue Plumet” | Thénardier, Thieves, Éponine, Marius, Valjean and Cosette |
| 27 | “One Day More” | Valjean, Marius, Cosette, Éponine, Enjolras, Javert, Thénardier, Madame Thénardier, Gavroche and Company |
| Song | Performer(s) | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | “Building the Barricade (Upon These Stones)” | Enjolras, Javert, Marius, Éponine and Valjean |
| 29 | “On My Own“ | Éponine |
| 30 | “At the Barricade (Upon These Stones)” | Enjolras, Students and Army Officer |
| 31 | “Javert’s Arrival” | Javert and Enjolras |
| 32 | “Little People” | Gavroche, Students, Enjolras and Javert |
| 33 | “A Little Fall of Rain” (Éponine’s Death) | Éponine and Marius |
| 34 | “Night of Anguish” | Enjolras, Marius, Valjean and Students |
| 35 | “The First Attack” | Enjolras, Grantaire, Students, Valjean and Javert |
| 36 | “Drink with Me” | Grantaire, Students, Women and Marius |
| 37 | “Bring Him Home” | Valjean |
| 38 | “Dawn of Anguish” | Enjolras and Students |
| 39 | “The Second Attack (Death of Gavroche)” | Gavroche, Enjolras, Marius, Valjean, Feuilly and Students |
| 40 | “The Final Battle” | Army Officer, Enjolras, Grantaire and Students |
| 41 | “Dog Eats Dog (The Sewers)” | Thénardier |
| 42 | “Soliloquy (Javert’s Suicide)” | Javert and Valjean |
| 43 | “Turning” | Women of Paris |
| 44 | “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” | Marius |
| 45 | “Every Day” | Cosette, Marius and Valjean |
| 46 | “Valjean’s Confession” | Marius and Valjean |
| 47 | “Wedding Chorale” | Guests, Thénardier, Marius and Madame Thénardier |
| 48 | “Beggars at the Feast” | Thénardier and Madame Thénardier |
| 49 | “Valjean’s Death” | Valjean, Fantine, Cosette, Marius and Éponine |
| 50 | “Do You Hear The People Sing? (Reprise) / [Finale]” | Full Company |
Casts
| Character | Original French Stage Cast (1980) | Original London Cast (1985) | Original Broadway Cast (1987) | Current London Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Valjean | Maurice Barrier | Colm Wilkinson | Geronimo Rauch | |
| Javert | Jean Vallée | Roger Allam | Terrence Mann | Tam Mutu |
| Fantine | Rose Laurens | Patti LuPone | Randy Graff | Na-Young Jeon |
| Éponine | Marianne Mille | Frances Ruffelle | Carrie Hope Fletcher | |
| Thénardier | Yvan Dautin | Alun Armstrong | Leo Burmester | Cameron Blakely |
| Madame Thénardier | Marie-France Roussel | Susan Jane Tanner | Jennifer Butt | Vicky Entwistle |
| Marius | Gilles Buhlmann | Michael Ball | David Bryant | Jamie Ward |
| Cosette | Fabienne Guyon | Rebecca Caine | Judy Kuhn | Samantha Dorsey |
| Enjolras | Christian Ratellin | David Burt | Michael Maguire | Christopher Jacobsen |
| Gavroche | Florence Davis Cyrille Dupont Fabrice Ploquin |
Ian Tucker Oliver Spencer Liza Hayden |
Braden Danner RD Robb |
Jack Kelly Jake Poolman Archie Stevens |
References
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External Links
- Les Misérables at the Internet Broadway Database
- Cameron Mackintosh: Les Misérables (Worldwide)
- Cameron Mackintosh: Les Misérables (Broadway)
- An Archive of Performers from the Original Broadway Run of Les Mis
- An Archive of Performers from the London Run of Les Mis
- Les Miserables London
- Les Mis 25th Anniversary Production running in Barcelona, 2011
