Confirming the news previously posted on BroadwayWorld, Cameron Mackintosh has formally announced that his hugely acclaimed new 25th anniversary production of the World's Longest-Running Musical, Les Misérables, will tour North America beginning in fall 2010, visiting many cities on a multi-year tour. The production will feature new staging and reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo and will make its United States premiere this November at the iconic Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ for a multi-week engagement.
The new 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables will play the following cities and theatres:
Millburn, NJ Paper Mill Playhouse November 19-December 19, 2010
Philadelphia, PA Kimmel Center January 4-16, 2011
Fort Lauderdale, FL Broward Center January 18-30, 2011
Baltimore, MD Hippodrome March 1-6, 2011
Louisville, KY Kentucky Center March 8-13, 2011
Columbus, OH Ohio Theatre March 15-20, 2011
Detroit, MI Fisher Theatre March 22-April 3, 2011
Cleveland, OH Palace Theatre/PlayhouseSquare April 5-17, 2011
Fayetteville, AR Walton Center May 3-8, 2011
Salt Lake City, UT Capitol Theatre May 24-June 5, 2011
Additional cities and casting will be announced at a later date. For more information on the production, visit www.lesmis.com.
The London Times hails the new production "a five star hit, astonishingly powerful and as good as the original." The Western Mail says "an outstanding success - the best version yet." The South Wales Echo proclaims "such an experience, lavish and impressive - a guaranteed crowd pleaser." Musical Stages says "the new orchestrations, direction, staging and lighting tell the story in a stimulating and refreshing new way that enables us all to dream a new dream and take us on a new adventure that we cannot fail to enjoy" and the South Wales Argos says "dream the dream - it is worth all of the hype. A magnificent production of one of the greatest musicals of them all."
"I'm delighted that 25 years after Les Miz originally opened in London there is still a huge audience to see this marvelous show," said producer Cameron Mackintosh. "Over the years I have seen many successful but visually different productions, so it has been exciting to develop this new design which draws inspiration from the brilliant drawings and paintings of Victor Hugo himself. Integrated into spectacular modern projections, the new Les Miz is a magnificent mix of dazzling images and epic staging, driving one of the greatest musical stories ever told."
Based on Victor Hugo's classic novel, Les Misérables is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit. The magnificent score of Les Misérables includes the classic songs "I Dreamed a Dream," "On My Own," "Stars," "Bring Him Home," "Do You Hear the People Sing?," "One Day More," "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables," "Master Of The House" and many more.
Cameron Mackintosh's new production of Boublil and Schönberg's Les Misérables has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer from the original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel and additional material by James Fenton. The production is directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, designed by Matt Kinley inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo with costumes by Andreane Neofitou and additional costumes by Christine Rowlands, lighting by Paule Constable and sound by Mick Potter.
Les Misérables is currently on an international tour, visiting Norwich, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bristol, Salford, Southampton, London and Paris and has already sold out in most cities with extra performances being added.
Les Misérables originally opened in London at the Barbican Theatre on October 8, 1985, transferred to the Palace Theatre on December 4, 1985 and moved to its current home at the Queen's Theatre on April 3, 2004 where it continues to play to packed houses. When Les Misérables celebrated its 21st London birthday on October 8, 2006, it became the World's Longest-Running Musical, surpassing the record previously held by Cats in London's West End.
The Broadway production of Les Misérables originally opened at the Broadway Theatre on March 12, 1987 and transferred to the Imperial Theatre on October 17, 1990 running for 6,680 performances. The US National Tour began in November 1987 and visited over 150 cities before closing in St. Louis, MO in 2006. Broadway audiences welcomed Les Miz back to New York on November 9, 2006 where the show played the Broadhurst Theatre until its final performance on January 6, 2008. To date, Les Misérables remains the 3rd longest-running Broadway production of all time.
Seen by over 56 million people worldwide in 42 countries and in 21 languages, Les Misérables is undisputedly one of the world's most popular musicals ever written, with new productions continually opening around the globe. There have been 34 cast recordings of Les Misérables, including the multi-platinum London cast recording and the Grammy Award-winning Broadway cast and complete symphonic albums. The video of the 10th Anniversary Royal Albert Hall Gala Concert has sold millions of copies worldwide and is one of the best-selling musical videos ever in the UK. There are over 2,000 productions of the Les Misérables School's Edition scheduled or being performed by over 100,000 school children in the UK, US and Australia, making it the most successful musical ever produced in schools.
