Paramount Theatre Presents LES MISERABLES, Thru 4/26

Aurora's Paramount Theatre, wower of audiences and critics this season with consecutive smash hits CATS, Mary Poppins and The Who's Tommy, is closing its 2014-15 Broadway Series with LES MISERABLES, one of the greatest musicals of all time, March 18-April 26, 2015.

Previews start March 18. Press opening is Saturday, March 21 at 8 p.m. Regular performances continue through April 26. Show times are Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.; Thursday at 7 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $41 to $54. The Paramount Theatre is located at 23 E. Galena Blvd., in the heart of downtown Aurora.

For tickets and information, go to ParamountAurora.com, call (630) 896-6666, or visit the Paramount box office Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and two hours prior to evening performances. LES MISERABLES is rated PG.

Uplifting, Heartbreaking, Beautiful: Paramount's LES MISERABLES

Paramount's creative team is infusing exciting new life into Victor Hugo's monumental novel, the unforgettable story of an ex-convict, Jean Valjean, and his journey for redemption. On the heels of his current hit production, The Who's Tommy, Paramount Artistic Director Jim Corti also directs Les Mis, with Tom Vendafreddo likewise following up Tommy as Paramount Theatre Orchestra music director and conductor.

Last week on his blog, Corti revealed his "formidable, all-star cast" writing, "Ricky Falbo, currently a knock out on our stage as 10-year-old Tommy, is mighty street rebel Gavroche. Little Eponine is Savannah Groh who matures into the Eponine of fantastic, soulful Lillie Cummings, featured as Sally Simpson in Tommy. Little Cosette is Nicole Scimeca, Gretl in Lyric Opera's The Sound of Music. Golden voiced Erica Stephan is Cosette, and her Marius is Devin DeSantis, who is currently thrilling and rocking audiences as Tommy himself!"

"Nicholas Foster richly voices the humble, ardent Bishop of Digne. Lancelot of Drury Lane's recent Camelot, terrific Travis Taylor makes his Paramount debut as handsome, fiery Enjolras, galvanizing the students of The June Rebellion in Paris of 1832. George Keating returns and Marya Grandy makes her Paramount debut to create an evil portrait of The Thenardiers. In gorgeous, raven-haired Hannah Corneau, seen in our Fiddler on the Roof, is a leading lady of remarkable vocal beauty, Fantine. Our handsome, brooding Javert, Rod Thomas, will stun with his powerful baritone as a black-hearted and very human soul, at once righteous and lost.

"Naperville native, New York actor, Robert Wilde is our leading man in the impossible role of Jean Valjean. A supremely gifted and compelling singer of extraordinary range and actor of staggering prowess and vulnerability; this is a very exciting occasion for Robert's return to Chicago Theatre. He is in a word, superb."

The cast also features singers/actors/dancers Aubrey Adams, Ben Barker, Victoria Blade, Nathan Gardner, Jesse Grider, Sophie Grimm, Jason Kraack, Molly Kral, Elizabeth Lanza, Russell Mernagh, Jeff Meyer, Brandon Moorhead, Chelsea Morgan, Rob Riddle, Patrick Rooney, Steve Russell and Patrick Tierney. Young actors include Shane Frantz, Madeline Hotham and Gianna Groh.

In true Paramount tradition, the 14-member Paramount Orchestra, conducted by Tom Vendafreddo, will play the full, original Broadway orchestrations for LES MISERABLES.

The design team includes Trent Stork, assistant director; Kevin Depinet and Jeff Kmiec, set; Theresa Ham, costumes; Jesse Klug, lights; Nick Belley, assistant lights; Adam Rosenthal, sound; Ethan Deppe, assistant sound; Sarah Ross, props; Lauren Cecil and Katie Cordts, wigs; and Rick Gilbert and Victor Bayona, R&D Choreography, violence design. Rose Marie Packer is Stage Manager and Rebecca Louise Fischer is Assistant Stage Manager.

Nominated for 12 Tony Awards, taking home eight including Best Score and Best Musical, Les Mis is an enthralling spectacle with brilliant imagery, magnificent orchestrations, stirring lyrics and a story of heroic human commitment that audiences will not soon forget.

Based on the novel LES MISERABLES by French poet and novelist Victor Hugo, LES MISERABLES is set in early 19th century France, where Jean Valjean, a French peasant, is on a quest for redemption after being jailed for 19 years for having stolen a loaf of bread for his sister's starving child. Valjean decides to break his parole and start his life anew after a kindly bishop inspires him with a tremendous act of mercy, but he is relentlessly tracked down by a police inspector named Javert. Along the way, Valjean and a slew of characters are swept into the French Revolution, where a group of young idealists make their last stand at a street barricade.
LES MISERABLES, a sung-through musical, is by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, adapted and originally directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird, and orchestrations by John Cameron.

Paramount's 2014-15 Broadway Series is sponsored by the Dunham Fund, BMO Harris Bank and Paramount Arts Centre Endowment (PACE). Broadway Series Lighting Sponsor is ComEd. Broadway Series Costume Sponsor is Gerald Auto Group. LES MISERABLES is also sponsored by Kevin Fitzpatrick.

More about Paramount's 2014-15 Season

In just three seasons, the Paramount Theatre's bold new Broadway musical series has wowed critics, audiences and skeptics alike. To date, 25,000 subscribers have signed up to take advantage of Paramount's 2014-15 subscription offer. They already were amply rewarded with amazing productions of CATS, Mary Poppins and The Who's Tommy and are about to experience Paramount's blockbuster spring season finale, LES MISERABLES.

In addition to its popular Broadway series, Paramount's 2014-15 season also boasts Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two Woman Show (Feb. 22), Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe winner John Lithgow in his one-man show Stories by Heart (Mar. 7), Defending the Caveman (Mar. 13-29, in the Copley Theatre), An Evening with David Sedaris, one of the top humorists of our time (Apr. 28), the internationally acclaimed, shape-shifting dance troupe Pilobolus (Apr. 30) and gal pal favorite Menopause the Musical (May 6-Jun. 28, in the Copley Theatre). Classic Movie Mondays are back in 2015 too, with $1 screenings of everyone's favorite flicks most Monday nights. For tickets and information, go to ParamountAurora.com or call (630) 896-6666.

The Paramount Theatre is the center for performing arts, entertainment and arts education in Aurora, the second largest city in Illinois. Named "One of Chicago's Top 10 Attended Theatres" by the League of Chicago Theatres, the 1,888-seat Paramount Theatre, located in the heart of downtown Aurora at 23 E. Galena Blvd., is nationally renowned for the quality and caliber of its presentations, superb acoustics and historic beauty.

The Paramount opened on September 3, 1931. Designed by renowned architects C.W. and George L. Rapp, the theater captures a unique Venetian setting in the art deco influence of the 1930s. The first air-conditioned building in Illinois outside of Chicago, the Paramount offered the public a variety of entertainment, including "talking pictures," vaudeville, concerts and circus performances for more than 40 years.

In 1976, Aurora Civic Center Authority purchased the Paramount and closed the theater for restoration. The $1.5 million project restored the Paramount to its original grandeur. On April 29, 1978, the Paramount Arts Center opened, offering a variety of theatrical, musical, comedy, dance and family programming. In 2006, a 12,000-square-foot, two-story Grand Gallery lobby was added, with a new, state-of-the-art box office, café and art gallery. Today, the Paramount produces its own, self-produced Broadway Musical series and presents an eclectic array of comedy, music, dance and family shows. For tickets and information, go to ParamountAurora.com or call (630) 896-6666.

The Paramount Theatre is one of three live performance venues programmed and managed by the Aurora Civic Center Authority (ACCA). ACCA also oversees the Paramount's "sister" stage, the intimate, 216-seat Copley Theatre located directly across the street from the Paramount at 8 E. Galena Blvd., as well as RiverEdge Park, downtown Aurora's new summer outdoor concert venue.

The Paramount Theatre continues to expand its artistic and institutional boundaries under the guidance of Tim Rater, President and CEO, Aurora Civic Center Authority; Jim Corti, Artistic Director, Paramount Theatre; a dedicated Board of Trustees and a devoted staff of live theater and music professionals. For more information, visit ParamountAurora.com.

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