Cameron Mackintosh and Broadway Grand Rapids are delighted to announce that the hugely acclaimed new 25th anniversary production of the World's Longest-Running Musical, Les Miserables, will premiere at DeVos Performance Hall on Tuesday, November 29 through Sunday, December 4, 2011. The production features glorious new staging and spectacular reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. For more information on the production and for a video preview, please visit http://www.lesmis.com/.
Tickets go on sale to the public Sunday, September 11 at 9 a.m. with tickets starting at $34.50. Presale tickets are available Tuesday, September 6 at 9 a.m. to members of the Broadway Grand Rapids Eclub. To join the Eclub and receive exclusive presale offers to upcoming shows visit BroadwayGrandRapids.com/eclub.
The New York Times calls this Les Miserables "an unquestionably spectacular production from start to finish." The London Times hails the show "a five star hit, astonishingly powerful and as good as the original." The Star-Ledger says "a dynamically re-imagined hit. This Les Miserables 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. Music theatre fans can rejoice: Les Miz is born again."
"I'm delighted that 25 years after Les Miz originally opened in London the audience for this marvelous show is bigger and younger than ever before," said producer Cameron Mackintosh. "Over the years I have seen many successful but visually different productions, so it has been exciting to draw inspiration from the brilliant drawings and paintings of Victor Hugo himself, integrated with spectacular projections. The new Les Miz is a magnificent mix of dazzling images and epic staging, driving one of the greatest musical stories ever told."
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 of Les Miserables 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 Boubil and Schonberg's Les Miserables has music by Claude-Michael Schonberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer from the original French text by Alain Boubil and Jean-Marc Natel and additional material by James Fenton. 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, and sound by Mick Potter.
Les Miserables 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 Miserables 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 Miserables 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 Miserables 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 Miserables 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 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. There have been 36 cast recordings of Les Miserables, including the multi-platinum London cast recording, the Grammy Award-winning Broadway cast and complete symphonic albums and the soon to be released live recording of the New 25th Anniversary Production. Cameron Mackintosh is currently developing a film of Les Miserables with Working Title and Universal.
Les Miserables will be performed at DeVos Performance Hall on the following schedule:
Tuesday, November 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, December 1 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, December 2 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 3 at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, December 4 at 1:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m.
Les Miserables is affordably priced from $34.50 and will perform 8 shows at DeVos Performance Hall from November 29-December 4, 2011. Tickets are available at the DeVos Place box office, all Ticketmaster locations, ticketmaster.com or via phone at 1-800-745-3000. Group discounts are available by calling 616-742-6185 or e-mail groupsales@smggr.com.
For more information on the 2011-2012 Fifth Third Bank Broadway Grand Rapids Series visit BroadwayGrandRapids.com.
Les Miserables is a co-presentation of Broadway Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Ballet Company.
Grand Rapids engagement is welcomed by Barnes & Thornburg, LLP, Crowe Horwath, LLP, Steelcase, Inc., and The Sharpe Collection
