Ramin Karimloo Will Not Perform Thursday Evenings in Broadway's LES MISERABLES, Begin. 4/3

It was announced today that Ramin Karmiloo, now starring as Jean Valjean in Cameron Mackintosh's acclaimed new production of Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg's Tony Award-winning musical Les Miserables on Broadway, will not perform on Thursday evenings starting April 3 for vocal rest. Prior to that, Karimloo will not perform Wednesday matinees on March 19 and 26. In addition, he will not perform from May 19-22 due to pre-existing obligations. During Karimloo's absences, Jean Valjean will be played by Aaron Walpole or Nathaniel Hackmann.

In addition, it was confirmed this afternoon that LES MISERABLES will offer a limited number of $37 rush tickets for each performance, available beginning 10 a.m. daily (and noon on Sundays as of March 30) at the Imperial Theatre box-office only (249 West 45th Street). Now in previews, the official opening night for Les Miserables is Sunday, March 23.

The cast of the new LES MIZ features Ramin Karimloo (West End and Toronto star of Les Miserables, and The Phantom of the Opera and Love Never Dies in London) as Jean Valjean; Will Swenson (Tony Award-nominated star of Broadway's Hair and Priscilla Queen of the Desert) as Javert; Caissie Levy (West End and Broadway star of Ghost and Hair and Elphaba in Broadway's Wicked) as Fantine; Nikki M. James (Tony Award winner for The Book of Mormon) as Eponine; Andy Mientus (who captured the hearts of TV viewers with his portrayal of Kyle Bishop on the NBC series "Smash") as Marius; Samantha Hill (Christine in The Phantom of the Opera) as Cosette; acclaimed Canadian actor Cliff Saunders (The 39 Steps) as Thenardier; Tony Award-nominee Keala Settle (Hands on a Hardbody) as Madame Thenardier and Kyle Scatliffe, (the West End production of The Scottsboro Boys) as the revolutionary Enjolras.

This newly re-imagined Les Miserables, which grossed over $160 million in its recent two and a half year American tour, and recently broke box office records, receiving rave reviews and capacity crowds with the Canadian production at the Princess of Wales in Toronto starring Ramin Karimloo.

International productions of the new Les Miserables have 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 the immensely successful Oscar/Golden Globe/BAFTA-winning movie.

Based on Victor Hugo's classic novel, Les Miserables is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit. The magnificent 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, Stephen Metcalfe and Stephen Brooker.

The new production is directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, with set and image design by Matt Kinley inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo, costumes by Andreane Neofitou and Christine Rowland, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Mick Potter and projections realized by Fifty-Nine Productions. Musical staging is by Michael Ashcroft and Geoffrey Garratt. Musical supervision is by Stephen Brooker and musical direction by James Lowe.

Seen by nearly 65 million people worldwide in 42 countries and in 22 languages, Les Miserables 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. The worldwide gross for Les Miserables is $2.5 billion. There have been 47 cast recordings of Les Miserables, including the multi-platinum London cast recording, the Grammy Award-winning Broadway cast and complete symphonic albums and live recording of the New 25th Anniversary Production and the motion picture

soundtrack which sold close to 2 million copies and topped the Billboard and iTunes charts. The DVD's of the 10th Anniversary at the Royal Albert Hall and the 25th Anniversary at The O2 have sold millions of copies worldwide.

For tickets and information for Les Miserables visit www.telecharge.com or call (212) 239-6200 or (800) 447-7400. Regular ticket prices range from $57 - $147. Regular box-office hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 12 pm to 6 pm (starting March 23).

Photo by Matthew Murphy