With our thanks to Howard Sherman for providing the video, LES MISERABLES' home, Broadway's Imperial Theatre dimmed their lights last night, September 1, in honor of Kyle Jean-Baptiste.
Scroll down for video of the tribute, and for photos and our social media roundup, click here.
Jean-Baptiste died on Friday, August 28 at the age of 21 after an accident at home, in which he fell off his mother's fire escape. After the news of Kyle's death, many of Jean-Baptiste's fans and colleagues began using the Twitter hashtag #Dim4Kyle in an effort to encourage the Broadway League to dim the district's lights in his honor.
Kyle made history on July 23 when he became the first African American actor, and the youngest person ever, to play the lead role of 'Jean Valjean' in LES MISERABLES on Broadway.
A native of Brooklyn and a graduate of the Fiorello LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts, Kyle Jean-Baptiste attended Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio where he starred in numerous productions. He also took the stage at Playhouse Square before his big Broadway break. The day after his graduation, he was hired to join the ensemble of Les Miserables and understudy the role of 'Jean Valjean'. Kyle was scheduled to depart Les Miserables on September 6th to join the new Broadway production of THE COLOR PURPLE.
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