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Casting is complete for the leads of the upcoming 2014 Broadway revival of Les Miserables, and Cameron Mackintosh announced today that acclaimed Canadian actor Cliff Saunders (The 39 Steps) and Tony Award-nominee Keala Settle (Hands on a Hardbody), will play the Thenardiers in his new production of Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg's Tony Award-winning musical.
The show returns to Broadway beginning Saturday, March 1 at the Imperial Theatre (249 West 45th Street). Saunders is currently performing the role of Thenardier in the Toronto production of the musical, for which he has received critical acclaim. Also joining the cast of LES MISERABLES is Kyle Scatliffe, currently co-starring in the West End production of The Scottsboro Boys, as the revolutionary Enjolras. Saunders, Settle and Scatliffe join recently announced cast members Ramin Karimloo (Jean Valjean); Will Swenson (Javert); Caissie Levy (Fantine), Nikki M. James (Eponine), Andy Mientus (Marius) and Charlotte Maltby (Cosette). The official opening night for LES MISERABLES is Sunday, March 23. The complete ensemble will be announced next month.
This newly re-imagined LES MISERABLES, which grossed over $160 million in its recent two and a half year American tour, is currently breaking box office records, receiving rave reviews and capacity crowds with the Canadian production at the Princess of Wales in Toronto starring Ramin Karimloo, who will play Jean Valjean on Broadway. International productions of the new LES MISERABLES have been met with equal success and acclaim in the U.K., France, Spain, Japan and Korea and will open soon in Australia. This new version of LES MISERABLES, which premiered in the U.K. in 2009, inspired filmmakers to make last year's Oscar/Golden Globe/BAFTA winning-movie. The score 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 production of LES MISERABLES is written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg and is based on the novel by Victor Hugo. It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, original adaption by Trevor Nunn and John Caird and additional material by James Fenton. The original LES MISERABLES orchestrations are by John Cameron with new orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke and additional orchestrations by Stephen Metcalfe and Stephen Brooker.
The new 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 Christine Rowland, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Mick Potter and projections by Fifty-Nine Productions.
The original New York production of LES MISERABLES premiered first at the Broadway Theatre on March 12, 1987, later moving to the Imperial on October 17, 1990, where it played until May 18, 2003, for a total Broadway run of 6680 performances.
There have been four U.S. national touring companies of LES MISERABLES that have played more than 200 cities. Broadway audiences welcomed LES MISERABLES back to New York on November 9, 2006 where the show played the Broadhurst Theatre until its final performance on January 6, 2008. LES MISERABLES is the 4th longest-running Broadway production of all time.
Cliff Saunders (Thenardier) has received critical acclaim for his current portrayal of Thenardier in the Toronto production of LES MISERABLES. On Broadway he co-starred in the critically-acclaimed, Tony Award-nominated hit The 39 Steps (Roundabout Theatre, Cort Theatre, and Huntington Theatre in Boston.) (IRNE Award -Best Supporting Actor). Other theater credits include - Spamalot (Citadel Theatre), The Real World? (Tarragon), Lord of the Rings, Beauty and The Beast (Princess of Wales Theatre), two seasons at the Stratford Festival, as well as working at Soulpepper, Canstage, Elgin, Winter Garden, The Grand, Aquarius, Royal Alexandra, YPT, Crows Videocab, Blythe and many more. Film and TV credits include - Louis Cyr, Lost Girl, Murdoch Mysteries, Cracked, Outlander, Please Kill Mr Know It All, Roxy Hunter, Open Range, Midwives, Joan of Arc, Monk, Ron James Show, to name just a few.
Keala Settle (Madame Thenardier) received a 2013 Tony Award nomination for her performance in
Hands On A Hardbody on Broadway. Her portrayal of Norma Valverde also garnered her Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations and a Theatre World Award. Other Broadway/New York: Priscilla: Queen of the Desert; Violet (Encores). National Tours: South Pacific (Bloody Mary), Hairspray (Tracy
Turnblad). She is currently appearing as the Fortune Teller in Side Show at the La Jolla Playhouse and recently played the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Ogunquit Playhouse. Television: "The Big C."
Kyle Scatliffe (Enjolras) was born in Washington, D.C. and trained at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NY. His theater credits include Ragtime (Zach Theatre), Oklahoma (5th Avenue Theatre), A Christmas Carol: The Concert (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/PBS), 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Alabama Shakespeare Festival) and Haywood Patterson in the London premiere of The Scottsboro Boys.
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