Adding Oscar-Nominated Song 'Suddenly' to LES MIS Stage Remains Uncertain

In between his visits to his orphanage and Leyte, he also took time to meet with a small group of reporters, including BroadwayWorld.com, at the Theatre at Solaire Resort and Casino, where the Australian production of the newly reimagined "Les Mis" will transfer for nearly a month, starting in March 2016, when the show has completed its four-city tour (Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, and Brisbane) next year in early January.

In the Manila run, which will serve as a kick-off point for the new Asian tour for "Les Mis," at least two company members from the Australian production have been announced to trade places with actors on Broadway and in London's West End: Kiwi actor Hayden Tee, who plays Valjean's nemesis, Javert, will succeed English actor Earl Carpenter, Javert on Broadway. Australian actress Patrice Tipoki, who plays Cosette's desperate mother, Fantine, will swap places with Filipino actress Rachelle Ann Go, Fantine in London's West End.

Carpenter and Go will open "Les Mis" in Manila, together with Helpmann Award winner Simon Gleeson (Jean Valjean), Helpmann Award winner Kerrie Anne Greenland (Eponine), Emily Langridge (Cosette), and Chris Durling (Enjolras).

Amazing, Clever Rachelle Ann

Prior to making her London's West End debut as Vietnamese prostitute Gigi van Tranh in the 25th-anniversary revival of "Miss Saigon," whose musical score is also written by Schönberg, Go has been a fixture on pop concert stages in the Philippines, with a double platinum self-titled album under her belt.

Resisting the call of musical theater at first, she went on to star in her first stage outing in the all-Asian production of Disney's "The Little Mermaid," playing the title role, in 2011. This was followed by another role in a Disney musical, Jane Porter, opposite Broadway star Dan Domenech's Tarzan in Disney's "Tarzan" in 2013.

"The first time I worked with Rachelle was at the fundraising concert for the survivors of typhoon Haiyan. During that time, she was not cast yet in 'Miss Saigon.' But we knew then that she was a very strong contender because what we heard at the concert was amazing. She's an amazing and clever singer," said Schönberg.

"When she finished her contract to play Gigi, we wanted to have a new Fantine in the 30th-anniversary production of 'Les Mis.' The casting director and my son, Thomas, who's working for the show's producer Cameron Mackintosh, asked me, "So what do you think, can Rachelle sing Fantine?" I said, 'Let's work; let's try'."

Schönberg recalled, "I had a session with Rachelle and everybody was talking, and she asked, 'Which way can I sing 'I Dreamed A Dream'?' I told her, 'Fantine and Gigi, they're both the same. They're two women in the middle of exploitation by men. So you should remember that feeling you had when you were singing 'Movie In My Mind.' That song and 'I Dreamed A Dream,' they're exactly the same because when you say 'Movie In My Mind,' it's what you're dreaming of."

Looking Back Beyond 30 Years Ago

It was in the late '70s when Schönberg and now longtime writing partner, French lyricist Alain Boublil, began writing the first draft of "Les Mis" in French, which took them two years to finish.

Prior to working on 'Les Mis,' they collaborated on the song cycle "La Revolution Francaise" (The French Revolution) in 1973.

Born out of the frustration with their previous jobs as pop songwriters for mostly mainstream recording artists, they turned their attention to writing their first two-act musical with no prior training in the field of musical theater.

Schönberg shared, "We were educated in the French system in France, which didn't have any musical theater tradition. Unlike in America or in England, where they teach about musicals in schools, and where you get to see musicals--that didn't exist in France. But for strange reasons, Alain was so in love with musicals and American movie musicals. I was also in love with musicals. I can still remember the first time I saw 'West Side Story.' I was struck by the beauty of it. And then we realized we could write an operatic version of a contemporary story.

"One day, when we were fed up as [pop] songwriters--after 200 or 300 songs, you'd get tired to write about the same thing--we decided to write a musical. As we didn't have any traditions or any rules, we had to invent our own rules. Since I was a big fan of the opera, and Alain and I both love the novel 'Les Miserables' by Victor Hugo, we did it very simply, which was the only thing that we could have done.

"At that time, we didn't know that it was something brand new in the musical theater industry."

In a nutshell,"When we were doing 'Les Mis,' we wanted to do some kind of an operatic musical," said Schönberg, "'Les Mis' from beginning to end, we wanted its structure to be operatic."

At Present, Mashing-Up "I Dreamed On My Own"

Making a rare appearance, Broadway legend Patti LuPone, the original actress who played Fantine in "Les Mis" delighted fans when she stepped on stage to perform a mashup of two of the most popular songs from the musical, "I Dreamed A Dream" and "On My Own," alongside current Fantine, Rachelle Ann Go; original Eponine (Cosette's rival for the affection of young student Marius), Frances Ruffelle, and current Eponine, Carrie Hope Fletcher at the 30th anniversary gala of "Les Mis" held at its current home in London, the Queen's Theatre, earlier last month.

Schönberg fondly shared, "That was the first time I did a mashup of 'I Dreamed A Dream' and 'On My Own.' I knew that Patti was ready to come. When Cameron [Mackintosh] approached me and asked, "Can you try to do something special?" I told him, "Yes, I'm trying to write 'I Dreamed On My Own.' Two girls sing "On My Own" and the two others sing "I Dreamed A Dream." We tried to bring the two songs together."

"It was an unforgettable evening! We raised £ 103,000, which was a lot of dollars in one night for the children in Syria," he added.

"To celebrate 30 years was surreal."

Revamped Orchestrations

The current "Les Mis" production playing the Imperial Theatre on Broadway, which is similar to the one that's opening in Brisbane, Australia next week, November 10, 2015, and in Manila, March 11, 2016, has been reimagined five years ago in time for the show's 25th anniversary in London. Besides the shorter running time and the set and image design by Matt Kinley, which was inspired by the art of "Les Miserables" author Victor Hugo, theatergoers can also expect more updated orchestrations of the show's well-loved lavish score.

"Christopher Jahnke, Stephen Metcalfe, Stephen Brooker and myself took four years to update the orchestrations of 'Les Mis,' which was originally orchestrated by John Cameron back in 1979 when we did the original French version," said Schönberg.

"We had to update the orchestrations, first of all, because we don't have 26 musicians in the theatre anymore. We have fewer musicians nowadays. In those days, in the late '70s, we had synthesizers and those old 'poppy' sound. We didn't want to use those synthesizers anymore. We wanted to update all of those things, at the same time, saving the best of what John did--the very brilliant moments; having a more contemporary sound, and using the technology of today."

'Les Mis' originally opened at the Barbican Theatre in London's West End on October 8, 1985. In less than two months, it transferred to the Palace Theatre, where it played for 19 years before moving to Queen's Theatre on April 3, 2004. In late 2006, the show became the longest-running musical in the West End, which surpassed the record previously held by Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats."

It has music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, 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. Original orchestrations are by John Cameron, with new orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke, Stephen Metcalfe, and Stephen Brooker.

The reimagined production of 'Les Mis,' on the other hand, 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 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 70 million people worldwide in 43 countries and in 22 languages, "Les Mis" is one of the world's most popular musicals. Its worldwide gross is currently pegged at $2.5 billion.

For tickets to "Les Mis" in Brisbane, Australia, visit LesMis.com.au.

For tickets to "Les Mis" in Manila, Philippines, visit LesMis.com/manila/

Photos: Rafaella Louisa Leano