With yesterday's announcement of the completion of casting for the upcoming big screen adaptation of Les Miserables, theatre lovers are left wondering if country songstress Taylor Swift has got the acting and singing chops to take on beloved, street urchin Eponine. BroadwayWorld has been equally curious, so we bring you the closest thing we found so far to a preview of what to expect from Swift in a Broadway role. In the video below, she sings West Side Story's 'Tonight' as a part of a promo for the 2009 Video Music Awards. Click below to check it out!
Casting for the upcoming film adaptation of LES MISÉRABLES is just about complete, with Hugh Jackman taking on the role of Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe squaring off as Javert. Also announced in recent weeks have been Sacha Baron Cohen as Thernardier, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Aaron Tveit as Enjolras, Anne Hathaway as Fantine and Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thenardier. The opera-trained Mamma Mia! film star Amanda Seyfried will play Cosette.
As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Broadway veteran and GLEE star Lea Michele, Tony winner Scarlett Johansson, and film veteran Evan Rachel Wood were all also vying for the role of Eponine; official cast announcements should be forthcoming, as the film begins rehearsals at the end of this month.
Les Miserables originally opened in London at the Barbican Theatre on 8 October 1985, transferred to the Palace Theatre on 4 December 1985 and moved to its current home at the Queen's Theatre on 3 April 2004. When LES MISÉRABLES celebrated its 21st London birthday on 8 October 2006, it became the World's Longest Running Musical, surpassing the record previously held by "Cats" in London's West End. In January 2010, the West End production broke another record by celebrating its historic 10,000th performance.
The film will begin filming in March under the direction of Tom Hooper. All cast members will be singing live on film and the release date is currently set for December 7, 2012.
