LES MIS Headed Back to Toronto; Mackintosh Wants Justin Bieber?

According to the Toronto Star, Ontario native and teen superstar Justin Bieber is being considered to star in an upcoming Toronto production of Les Miserables. Producer Cameron Mackintosh revealed to The Star: "you're going to have a completely new, all-Canadian production opening at the Royal Alex in July, 2012."

When asked how he would follow-up Nick Jonas (who was featured in the London production), he responded: "I would love to hear Justin Bieber sing ‘Empty Chairs at Empty Tables.' Please spread the word that he'd be more than welcome in the show."

Mackintosh continued, "I think the main reason people keep finding the show so popular is that the material stays so current. The characters are as alive today as they were when they were created. Victor Hugo had an amazing grasp of human nature and the themes of the story are being reiterated around the world."

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Bieber's debut single, "One Time", was released in 2009 and peaked in the top ten in Canada and charted in the top thirty in several international markets.  Bieber's first full studio release, My World 2.0, was released on March 23, 2010 and debuted at number one and within the top ten of several countries, and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the worldwide top-ten single, "Baby", in January 2010.

Bieber followed-up the release of his debut album with his first headlining tour, the My World Tour, the remix albums My Worlds Acoustic and Never Say Never - The Remixes, and the 3D biopic-concert film Justin Bieber: Never Say Never - which had an opening weekend gross that nearly matched the record for the biggest opening weekend for a concert-film.

As well as celebrating its 25th Birthday in October 2010, the legendary musical "LES MISÉRABLES" made theatrical history with an international first - three different productions playing in London simultaneously. The Original Production at the Queen's Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, the acclaimed New 25th Anniversary Production at the Barbican (where the show originally premiered in 1985) and the celebratory concert at The O2.

The magnificent score of "LES MISÉRABLES" includes the 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.

"LES MISÉRABLES" 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.

Seen by nearly 60 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, with seven more currently scheduled. There have been 36 cast recordings of "LES MISÉRABLES", including the multi-platinum London cast recording, the Grammy Award-winning Broadway cast and complete symphonic albums and the recently released live recording of the New 25th Anniversary Production. The video of the 10th Anniversary Royal Albert Hall Gala Concert has sold millions of copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling musical videos ever in the UK. There are over 2,500 productions of the Les Misérables School's Edition scheduled or being performed by over 125,000 school children in the UK, US and Australia, making it the most successful musical ever produced in schools. Cameron Mackintosh is currently developing a film of "LES MISÉRABLES" with Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan of Working Title and Universal Studios.

Cameron Mackintosh's production of "LES MISÉRABLES" 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 and additional material by James Fenton. The original London 1985 production of "LES MISÉRABLES" was adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird