Richard Vida Joins LES MIS Tour as 'Thenardier' in Denver Tonight, 8/30

Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables welcomes Richard Vida to the role of Monsieur Thénardier beginning in Denver, CO, at The Buell Theatre August 30 - September 10, 2011. The all new production of Les Misérables features glorious new staging and spectacular re-imagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo.  

Richard Vida will portray the "Master of the House" Monsieur Thénardier. He joins a company that features J. Mark McVey as Jean Valjean, Andrew Varela as Javert, Betsy Morgan as Fantine, Shawna M. Hamic as Madame Thénardier, Jeremy Hays as Enjolras, Chasten Harmon as Éponine, Justin Scott Brown as Marius and Jenny Latimer as Cosette. Maya Jade Frank and Juliana Simone alternate in the role of Little Cosette/Young Éponine. Colin DePaula and Ethan Paul Khusidman alternate in the role of Gavroche.

The ensemble includes Richard Todd Adams, Richard Barth, Natalie Beck, Cole Burden, Casey Erin Clark, Jason Forbach, Lucia Giannetta, Ian Patrick Gibb, Ben Gunderson, Siri Howard, Beth Kirkpatrick, Cornelia Luna, Kylie McVey, Jason Ostrowski, Max Quinlan, John Rapson, Rachel Rincione, Sarah Shahinian, Hannah Shankman, Alan Shaw, Joseph Spieldenner, Joe Tokarz, Eric Van Tielen, Natalie Weiss and James Zannelli.

Tickets to the Denver engagement are available at www.denvercenter.org, by calling 303-893-4100 or by visiting the Denver Center Ticket Office. For more information on the production, and for a video preview, visit www.LesMis.com.

Richard Vida (Thénardier). Broadway: Les Misérables, The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public, Play Ball (LCT). National Tours: The Drowsy Chaperone, Busker Alley, 42nd Street, Anything Goes, Singin' in the Rain. Off-Broadway: Langston Hughes's Little Ham. TV: "Sex and the City," "Law and Order," "Now and Again." Film: The Stepford Wives, Little Manhattan, Geppetto. One of the Emmy-winning production team that created: The Mole People: Life in the World Below (Discovery), The New Sideshow (TLC) and Repoman (USA).

J. Mark McVey (Jean Valjean), a Helen Hayes Award-winning actor/singer, made his Broadway debut as Jean Valjean and happily returns to add to his 2900+ performances in Les Misérables. Broadway/Notable: The Who's Tommy, Stairway To Paradise, Hey Love, Show Boat, Chess, Carousel, My Fair Lady. Concerts/ Recordings: "Broadway and Beyond," "If You Really Knew Me," TSO -"Lost Christmas Eve" (Gold Record).

Andrew Varela (Javert) was last seen on Broadway in Sondheim's Sunday In The Park With George (Jules). Other Broadway/National Tours: Little Women (Prof Bhaer); Les Misérables (Jean Valjean); The Phantom of the Opera (Phantom); Cats (Gus/Growltiger); Evita; Disney's King David. Other roles: The Pirate King in Pirates!; Sky in Guys and Dolls; Jud in Oklahoma!; The Prince in The Student Prince.

Betsy Morgan (Fantine). Broadway: Original casts of A Little Night Music (Revival), Little Mermaid, High Fidelity. NY Theatre/Readings/Workshops: Tales of the City, Dangerous Beauty, Addams Family, Prairie, Leap of Faith, Memphis, The Fantasticks, Bernarda Alba (Lincoln Center). TV: "Flight of the Conchords." Originated the role of Leslie Benedict in the Premiere of Giant at Signature Theatre.

Shawna M. Hamic (Madame Thénardier). NY Workshops: The Toymaker, Screams of Kitty Genovese, Glen or Glenda. Regional: Twist (Directed / Choreographed by Debbie Allen), Les Misérables, Ragtime, Hello Dolly, The Molly Maguires, Genesis, My Fair Lady, Mame, Kismet, Once Upon..., H2$, Guys and Dolls (in Macao, China).

Jeremy Hays (Enjolras). Broadway: Les Misérables. National Tour: Cats (Rum Tum Tugger). Regional: Hair (Berger) (American Stage), Les Misérables (TUTS), Camelot (Lancelot) (PA Center Stage).

Chasten Harmon (Éponine). Broadway: Hair. Off-Broadway: Iphigenia 2.0 (dir. by Tina Landau), Signature Theatre; Grind (Clementine), The York Theatre. Regional: Once on this Island (Ti Moune) and All Shook Up (Lorraine), Marriott Theatre; Leader of the Pack, Cape Playhouse. Training from NYU, TSOA.

Justin Scott Brown (Marius) is thrilled to be a part of the new 25th Anniversary production of Les Misérables! National tour: Spring Awakening (1st National). Regional: The Sound of Music, Titanic, Miss Saigon, Les Misérables and others at The MUNY. Favorite roles include Finch/How to Succeed... and Giorgio/Passion. CCM (BFA-2009).

Jenny Latimer (Cosette). National tour debut! Regional credits include: She Loves Me at Westport Country Playhouse, Maury Yeston's Phantom (Christine), The Fantasticks (Luisa), Hamlet (Ophelia), Rabbit Hole (Izzy) and My Fair Lady (Eliza). She studied acting at Brigham Young University and while there received a scholarship to study with the Steppenwolf Theater Company.

The New York Times calls this Les Misérables "an unquestionably spectacular production from start to finish." The London Times hails the new show "a five star hit, astonishingly powerful and as good as the original." The Star-Ledger says "a dynamically re-imagined hit. This Les Misérables has improved with age" and NY1-TV proclaims "this new production actually exceeds the original. The storytelling is clearer, the perspective grittier and the motivations more honest. Musical theatre fans can rejoice: Les Miz is born again."

Based on Victor Hugo's classic novel, Les Misérables is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit. The magnificent score of Les Misérables 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 new production of Boublil and Schönberg's Les Misérables has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer from the original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, additional material by James Fenton and original adaptation by Trevor Nunn and John Caird. The original Les Misérables orchestrations are by John Cameron with new orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke and additional orchestrations by Stephen Metcalfe and Stephen Brooker. The 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 additional costumes by Christine Rowlands, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Mick Potter, musical staging by Michael Ashcroft and projections by Fifty-Nine Productions.

Les Misérables originally opened in London at the Barbican Theatre on October 8, 1985, transferred to the Palace Theatre on December 4, 1985 and moved to its current home at the Queen's Theatre on April 3, 2004 where it continues to play to packed houses. When Les Misérables celebrated its 21st London birthday on October 8, 2006, it became the World's Longest-Running Musical, surpassing the record previously held by Cats in London's West End.

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the legendary musical Les Misérables made theatrical history with an international first - three different productions in London at the same time. The Original Production (still playing to packed houses at the Queen's Theatre), the acclaimed New 25th Anniversary Production at the Barbican (where the show originally premiered) and a celebratory concert at The O2 Arena. The O2 Concert was presented in over 500 cinemas throughout the United States on November 17, 2010 and is now available on Blu-ray DVD through Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

The Broadway production of Les Misérables originally opened at the Broadway Theatre on March 12, 1987 and transferred to the Imperial Theatre on October 17, 1990 running for 6,680 performances. The US National Tour began in November 1987 and visited over 150 cities before closing in St. Louis, MO in 2006. Broadway audiences welcomed Les Miz back to New York on November 9, 2006 where the show played the Broadhurst Theatre until its final performance on January 6, 2008. To date, Les Misérables remains the 3rd longest-running Broadway production of all time.

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 live recording of the New 25th Anniversary Production. Cameron Mackintosh is currently developing a film of Les Misérables with Working Title and Universal.

The New 25th Anniversary Production has recently been featured on NBC's "America's Got Talent" and as part of a national campaign for Acuvue Brand Contact Lenses.

Upcoming tour stops include:

Denver, CO Buell Theatre August 30-September 10, 2011
Memphis, TN Orpheum Theatre September 13-18, 2011
Birmingham, AL Birmingham-Jefferson September 20-25, 2011
Washington, DC Kennedy Center September 28-October 30, 2011
Providence, RI PPAC November 1-6, 2011
Toledo, OH Stranahan Theatre November 8-13, 2011
Appleton, WI Fox Cities PAC November 15-20, 2011
Dayton, OH Schuster Center November 22-27, 2011
Grand Rapids, MI DeVos Hall November 29-December 4, 2011
Minneapolis, MN Orpheum Theatre December 6-18, 2011
Dallas, TX AT&T PAC December 20, 2011-January 1, 2012
San Antonio, TX Majestic Theatre January 3-8, 2012
Knoxville, TN Tennessee Theater January 11-15, 2012
Orlando, FL Bob Carr PAC January 17-22, 2012
Naples, FL Philharmonic January 24-29, 2012
Tampa, FL Straz Center January 31-February 12, 2012
Raleigh, NC Memorial Auditorium February 14-19, 2012

For more information and tour cities, visit www.LesMis.com.

 

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