Les Misérables: The Musical | Les Misérables Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Les Misérables: The Musical This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia ( view authors) . Les Misérables, or popularly referred to as Les Mis, Les Miz, is a musical based on the novel of the same name by French poet and playwright, Victor Hugo . The music was composed by Claude-Michel Schönberg, and the lyrics were written by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, with an English-language libretto by Herbert Kretzmer . Set in early 19th-century France, the plot follows the stories of many characters as they struggle for redemption and revolution. An ensemble that includes prostitutes, student revolutionaries, factory workers, and others joins the lead characters. The musical opened at the Barbican Centre in London, England on 8 October 1985. It is the second longest-running musical in the world after The Fantasticks, the longest-running show in the West End, and the fifth longest-running show in Broadway history. In January 2010, it played its ten-thousandth performance in London, at Queen's Theatre in London's West End.

On 3 October 2010, the show celebrated its 25th anniversary with three productions running in the same city: the original show at the Queen's Theatre in London's West End; the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary touring production at the original home of the show, the Barbican Centre; and the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary concert at London's O2 Arena. Contents Edit The Broadway production opened on March 12, 1987, and ran until May 18, 2003, closing after 6,680 performances. It is the fifth longest-running Broadway show in history. A fully re-orchestrated Broadway revival opened on November 9, 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre. The show was nominated for twelve Tony Awards, winning eight, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. Les Misérables placed first in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals" in June 2005, receiving more than 40% of the votes cast.

Les Misérables was one of a slew of the British musicals running on Broadway in the 1980s alongside Evita, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, and Miss Saigon. Emblem Edit The musical's emblem is a picture of the waif Cosette sweeping the Thénardier's Inn, usually shown cropped to a head-and-shoulders portrait with the French national flag superimposed. The picture is based on the illustration by Émile Bayard that appeared in the original edition of the novel in 1862. Characters Edit Jean Valjean , a paroled convict, prisoner 24601, and the protagonist. Failing to find work with his yellow parole note and redeemed by the Bishop of Digne's mercy, he tears his passport up and conceals his identity (under the alias "Monsieur Madeleine") in order to live his life again as an honest man. However, Javert constantly pursues him. Fantine , a single mother who is forced into prostitution in order to pay for her child's well-being.

Javert , a police inspector, originally a prison-guard, who becomes obsessed with hunting down Valjean to whom he refers as "Prisoner 24601." Éponine , the young daughter of the sinister Thénardiers who was pampered and spoiled as a child but grows up to be ragged in Paris. She secretly loves Marius. Cosette , Fantine's daughter, who is abused and mistreated by the Thénardiers but whom Valjean later adopts - she soon grows into a beautiful young woman. Marius Pontmercy , a French student and revolutionary who falls in love with Cosette. Monsieur and Madame Thénardier , a crooked couple who own an inn and exploit their customers. They later become a feared band of thieves in the streets of Paris. Enjolras , leader of the student revolutionaries who seek to free the oppressed lower class of France. Gavroche , a hotheaded young boy who is adored by the people and aligns himself with their revolution—he is a true symbol of the youth and boldness of the rebellion. Songs The following are songs featured in the English version of the musical. The lyrics were written by Herbert Kretzmer.

Act I Edit French songwriter Alain Boublil had the idea to adapt Victor Hugo's novel into a musical while at a performance of the musical Oliver! in London: "As soon as the Artful Dodger came onstage, Gavroche came to mind. It was like a blow to the solar plexus. I started seeing all the characters of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables— Valjean, Javert, Gavroche, Cosette, Marius, and Éponine — in my mind's eye, laughing, crying, and singing onstage." He pitched the idea to French composer Claude-Michel Schönberg, and developed a rough synopsis of what they believed would work in a musical. They worked up an analysis of each character's mental and emotional state, as well as that of an audience watching the show. Schönberg then began to write the music. Two years later, a two-hour demo tape with Schönberg accompanying himself on the piano and singing every role was finally completed. An album of this collaboration was recorded at CTS Studios in Wembley and was released in 1980, selling 260,000 copies.

The concept album includes Maurice Barrier as Jean Valjean, Jacques Mercier as Javert, Rose Laurens as Fantine, Yvan Dautin as Thénardier, Marie-France Roussel as Mme. Thénardier, Richard Dewitte as Marius, Fabienne Guyon as Cosette, Marie-France Dufour as Éponine, Michel Sardou as Enjolras, Fabrice Bernard as Gavroche, Maryse Cédolin as Young Cosette, Claude-Michel Schönberg as Courfeyrac, Salvatore Adamo as Combeferre, Michel Delpech as Feuilly, Dominique Tirmont as M. Gillenormand, and Mireille as the hair buyer. That year, in September 1980, a stage version directed by veteran French film director Robert Hossein was produced at the Palais des Sports in Paris. The show was a success, with 100 performances seen by over 500,000 people. Most of the cast from the concept album performed in the production.

The cast included Maurice Barrier as Valjean, Jean Vallée as Javert, Rose Laurens as Fantine, Maryse Cédolin and Sylvie Camacho and Priscilla Patron as Young Cosette, Marie-France Roussel as Mme. Thénardier, Yvan Dautin as M. Thénardier, Florence Davis and Fabrice Ploquin and Cyrille Dupont as Gavroche, Marianne Mille as Éponine, Gilles Buhlmann as Marius, Christian Ratellin as Enjolras, Fabienne Guyon as Cosette, René-Louis Baron as Combeferre, Dominique Tirmont as M. Gillenormand, and Anne Forrez as Mme. Gillenormand. London production Edit The English language version, with lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and additional material by James Fenton, was substantially expanded and reworked from a literal translation by Siobhan Bracke of the original Paris version, in particular adding a prologue to tell Jean Valjean's back story. Kretzmer's work is not a direct "translation" of the French, a term that Kretzmer refuses to use.

A third of the English lyrics were a rough translation, another third were adapted from the French lyrics and the final third consisted of new material. The first production in English, produced by Cameron Mackintosh and adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird, opened on 8 October 1985 (five years after the original production) at the Barbican Arts Centre, London. It was billed in the RSC Barbican Theatre programme as "The Royal Shakespeare Company presentation of the RSC/Cameron Mackintosh production", and played to preview performances beginning on September 28, 1985. The set was designed by John Napier, costumes by Andreane Neofitou and lighting by David Hersey. Musical supervision and orchestrations were by John Cameron, who had been involved with the show since Claude-Michel and Alain hired him to orchestrate the original French concept album. Musical staging was by Kate Flatt with musical direction by Martin Koch.

The production starred Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, Frances Ruffelle as Éponine, Rebecca Caine as Cosette, Patti LuPone as Fantine, Roger Allam as the persistent Inspector Javert, Michael Ball as Marius, Zoe Hart as young Cosette, Susan Jane Tanner as Madame Thénardier, David Burt as Enjolras, Ian Tucker and Oliver Spencer as Gavroche, and Alun Armstrong as the villainous, but funny rogue Thénardier. On December 4, 1985, the show transferred to the Palace Theatre, London and moved again on April 3, 2004, to a much more intimate Queen's Theatre, with some revisions of staging, where it is still playing. It celebrated its ten-thousandth performance on 5 January 2010. The drummer from the original cast album, Peter Boita, is still with the show – the only musician still associated with the show that was there from the beginning.[10] The co-production has generated valuable income for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Broadway production Edit After a highly successful out-of-town tryout at the Kennedy Center's Opera House in Washington D.C., the show had its Broadway début on March 12, 1987 at the Broadway Theatre. Colm Wilkinson and Frances Ruffelle reprised their roles from the London production. With record advance ticket sales, the New York production recouped its entire $4.5 million investment before the first performance. The show underwent further tightening of plot, and an improved sewer lighting effect was incorporated into the staging. In addition, two songs were deleted – the complete version of Gavroche's song "Little People" and the adult Cosette's "I Saw Him Once." A short section at the beginning of "In My Life" replaced "I Saw Him Once". The lyrics in Javert's "Stars" have been changed.

It now ends with the line, "This I swear by the stars!", while the London production and cast recording ended with the repeated line, "Keeping watch in the night." The original Broadway cast included Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, David Bryant as Marius, Judy Kuhn as Cosette, Michael Maguire as Enjolras, Frances Ruffelle as Éponine, Braden Danner as Gavroche, Donna Vivino as Young Cosette, Jennifer Butt as Madame Thénardier, Leo Burmester as Thénardier, Randy Graff as Fantine and Terrence Mann as Javert. Other members of the original Broadway cast included: Kevin Marcum, Paul Harman, Anthony Crivello, John Dewar, Joseph Kolinski, Alex Santoriello, Jesse Corti, Susan Goodman, John Norman, Norman Large, Marcus Lovett, Steve Shocket, Cindy Benson, Marcie Shaw, Jane Bodle, Joanna Glushak, Ann Crumb, Kelli James, Gretchen Kingsley-Weihe, Chrissie McDonald. Michael Hinton was the original drummer and credited on the cast album.

The musical ran at the Broadway Theatre through October 10, 1990, when it moved to the Imperial Theatre. It was scheduled to close on March 15, 2003, but the closing was postponed by a surge in public interest. After 6,680 performances in sixteen years, when it closed on May 18, 2003, it was the second-longest-running Broadway musical after Cats. More recently, its position has fallen to the third-longest-running Broadway musical after The Phantom of the Opera ascended initially to the second and, in 2006, to the number one spot. This Broadway production of Les Misérables and its advertising in New York City is a reoccurring themes in Bret Easton Ellis' 1991 novel American Psycho. 2006 Broadway revival Edit Only three years after the original run closed, Les Misérables began a limited return to Broadway on November 9, 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre. On December 19, 2006, it was announced that Les Misérables would extend its run until September 1, 2007.

It was subsequently announced that the show would have an open-ended run rather than a set closing date. Using the set, costumes, performers, and other resources from the recently closed third U.S. national touring production, the production was only slightly altered. Minor changes included a new costume for Cosette, the use of colourful projections blended into its existing lighting design, and a proscenium that extended out into the first two boxes on either side of the stage. Some cuts previously made to the show during its original Broadway run were restored, new lyrics were penned for Gavroche's death scene (known in the revival as "Ten Little Bullets"), and much of the show was re-orchestrated by Christopher Janke, introducing a snare and timpani heavy sound played by a 14 member band, a reduction of about 10 musicians from the original score's requirement of 23–25.

The original 2006 Broadway revival cast included Alexander Gemignani as Jean Valjean, Norm Lewis as Javert, Daphne Rubin-Vega as Fantine, Celia Keenan-Bolger as Éponine, Aaron Lazar as Enjolras, Adam Jacobs as Marius Pontmercy, Ali Ewoldt as Cosette, Gary Beach as Thénardier, Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier, Austyn Myers as Gavroche, Steve LeFayt as The Bishop of Digne and Drew Sarich as Grantaire. Fantine was played by Lea Salonga beginning on March 2, 2007. Ann Harada replaced Jenny Galloway as Mme. Thénardier on April 24, 2007. Ben Davis joined playing Javert, and Max von Essen playing Enjolras. Ben Crawford and Mandy Bruno joined the cast that day too, playing Brujon and Éponine respectively. On July 23, 2007, Drew Sarich took over the role of Jean Valjean, following Alexander Gemignani's departure.

On September 5, 2007, it was announced that John Owen-Jones (who played Valjean in London) was to join the Broadway cast. In return, Drew Sarich (the Valjean on Broadway) was joining the London cast in Owen-Jones' place. Judy Kuhn, who originated the role of Cosette returned to the show after 20 years as Fantine, succeeding Lea Salonga, who previously played the role of Éponine. On September 27, 2007, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo attended the Broadhurst Theatre to watch Lea Salonga in her role as Fantine in Les Misérables. Salonga's cast included Adam Jacobs as Marius and Ali Ewoldt as Cosette. Later that year, the show went temporarily dark because of the Broadway stagehands' strike. The revival closed on January 6, 2008. Combined with the original production's 6,680 performances, Les Misérables has played 7,176 performances on Broadway.

Other concert performances Edit The musical has also been performed in concert at Cardiff Castle and several venues in southern England, produced by Earl Carpenter Concerts. A concert version starring Jeff Leyton was also performed at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast. In 1989, a one-night concert performance was performed at the Toronto Skydome, and the largest concert production attracted an audience of approximately 125,000 as part of the Australia day celebrations in Sydney's Domain Park. The Scandinavian concert tour, produced by Cameron Mackintosh in association with Noble Art, starred Danish musical icon Stig Rossen in the leading role and commemorated author Victor Hugo's 200th birthday. Venues on the tour included the Stockholm Globen, Oslo Spektrum, the Helsinki Hartwell Areena, and the Gothenburg Scandinavium, with audiences totalling over 150,000 for the complete tour. In February 2008, Les Misérables was performed at the BIC in Bournemouth, England with a cast of West End stars accompanied by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

In August 2008, a concert version,directed by Richard Jay-Alexander, was performed at the Hollywood Bowl. The cast included veteran Les Misérables star J. Mark McVey as Valjean, The Office star Melora Hardin as Fantine, Broadway star and Bowl veteran Brian Stokes Mitchell as Javert, Spring Awakening star Lea Michele as Éponine, Tony winning Jersey Boys star John Lloyd Young as Marius, West End star Tom Lowe as Enjolras, Michael McCormick as Thénardier, Ruth Williamson as Madame Thénardier, Michele Maika as Cosette, Maddie Levy as Young Cosette, and Sage Ryan as Gavroche. In September 2008, it was performed at the St John Loveridge Hall in Guernsey with a cast of West End performers—the first time that it had been professionally performed on the Island where Victor Hugo wrote the novel. Former London Valjean Phil Cavill reprised his role alongside Les Misérables veteran Michael McCarthy as Javert.

In March 2009, the Guernsey production was remounted at Fort Regent in Jersey; and in July 2009, the musical was performed in concert at Osborne House on the Isle Of Wight. National U.S. Broadway tours Edit The show had three national touring productions in the U.S., all of which shared the Broadway producer and manager, cast, creative teams, sets, costumes, and lighting. While the touring production and the New York production were running simultaneously, the staff, cast members, crew, and musicians of the two productions interchanged often, which contributed to keeping both companies of the show in form. When the New York production closed in 2003, the Third National Tour continued for another three years, and enjoyed the influx of many members from the original and subsequent New York companies. The First National Tour opened at Boston's Shubert Theatre on December 12, 1987, and continued to play until late 1991. The Second National Tour opened at Los Angeles' Shubert Theatre on June 1, 1988. The production played for 14 months then closed.

The 2nd, Second National Company (Fantine #2) was assembled for San Francisco. The company rehearsed for 3 weeks at Theatre Artaud in San Francisco and Opened as a sit down Company at San Francisco's Curran Theatre. Delays caused from the damages the city suffered from the Loma Prieta Earthquake, the orginal opening date was delayed till Nov. 1st. It played till Spring 1991. The Cast included members from the Broadway, 1st, 2nd & 3rd National and Austrailian Companies. Jean Valjean: Rich Hebert, Javert: Richard Kinsey, Fantine: Kelly Ground, Tenardier: Gary Beach, Madame Tenardier: Gina Ferrall, Marius: Matthew Porretta, Cosette: Jacquelyn Piro, Eponine: Michele Maika, Enjolras: Craig Oldfather, Gavroche: Rider Strong, Ian Werkheiser, Young Cossette-Eponine: Larisa Oleynik, Sabrina Harris The Third National Tour of Les Misérables (called "The Marius Company") was one of the longest running American touring musicals.

Opening on 28 November 1988 at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in Florida and closing on July 23, 2006, at the Fox Theatre in Saint Louis, Missouri, the tour ran for seventeen years and seven thousand sixty-one performances. The tour played in one hundred forty-five cities in forty-three states. The same touring company also frequently performed in Canada, and made a diversion in 2002 to visit Shanghai, China for three weeks.

The final company of the Third National Broadway Tour included Randal Keith as Valjean (Keith also played Valjean in the final company of the original Broadway engagement), Robert Hunt as Javert, Joan Almedilla as Fantine, Daniel Bogart as Marius, Norman Large (from Original Broadway Cast) as Monsieur Thénardier, Jennifer Butt (from Original Broadway Cast) as Madame Thénardier, Melissa Lyons as Éponine, Ali Ewoldt as Cosette, Victor Wallace as Enjolras, Meg Guzulescu and Rachel Schier alternating as Young Cosette and Young Éponine, Austyn Myers and Anthony Skillman alternating as Gavroche 25th anniversary international tour Edit A new tour to commemorate the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the London Production began performances on December 12, 2009, at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, which was scheduled to run to January 16, 2010. The production has a new set, new direction and alterations to the original orchestrations.

The tour is scheduled to tour the UK with confirmed stops at the Palace Theatre, Manchester; Theatre Royal, Norwich; Birmingham Hippodrome; Edinburgh Playhouse & Bristol Hippodrome. The tour will also play a limited engagement at the Chatelet Theatre, Paris from May 26 – July 4, 2010; The Lowry Centre, Salford from 10–21 August 2010; the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton from 24 August-11 September and then onto a strictly limited engagement at the Barbican Centre, London from 14 September – 2 October 2010. The tour stars John Owen-Jones as Valjean; Earl Carpenter as Javert; Gareth Gates as Marius, Jon Robyns as Enjolras, Ashley Artus as Thénardier, Rosalind James as Éponine, Madalena Alberto as Fantine, Lynne Wilmot as Madame Thénardier and Katie Hall as Cosette.

International productions Edit The show has been produced in fourty-two countries and translated into twenty-two languages (English, French, German (two from Austria and Germany), Spanish (three from Spain, Argentinia and Mexico), Japanese, Korean, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian (two in Bokmål and Nynorsk), Polish, Swedish, Dutch (two from the Netherlands and Belgium), Danish, Finnish, Brazilian Portuguese, Estonian, Czech, Mauritian Creole, Basque, Catalan). Including singles and promos, there have been over fifty-five official recordings from worldwide productions. [1] Unless otherwise indicated by "NR" (denoting a non-replica production) productions listed here featured the full London/Broadway staging (revolving stage, automated barricades, etc.) 1980 Palais des Sports, Paris. Opened September 17. Closed December 14. (NR) 1985 Barbican Theatre, London. Opened October 8. Production transferred to the Palace Theatre on December 4. In April 2004, production moved to the Queen's Theatre, where it is currently running. 1986 Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington D.C.

American premiere/out-of-town tryout. Opened December 27. Closed February 14, 1987. 1987 Broadway Theatre, New York. Opened March 12. Production moved to the Imperial Theatre in October 1990. Closed May 18, 2003. Imperial Theatre: Tokyo, Japan. Opened June 17. Closed November 30. Production has toured Japan ever since with stops in Nagoya; Osaka; Sendai; Sapporo; and Tokyo. In repertory since '87. Cameri Theatre: Tel Aviv, Israel. Opened August 9. Closed March 31, 1989. (NR) Rock Theatre: Szeged, Hungary. Opened August 14. Closed August 21. (NR) Vigszinhaz Theatre: Budapest, Hungary. Opened September 14. Closed September 21. In repertory. (NR) Theatre Royal, Sydney, Australia. Opened November 27. Closed July 15, 1989. Production then toured Australia and New Zealand with stops in Perth; Melbourne; Adelaide; Brisbane; and Auckland.

Shubert Theatre: Boston, MA. Opened December 15. Closed June 26, 1988. First U.S. national tour launched with stops in Washington D.C.; Philadelphia; Chicago; Detroit; Baltimore; and Los Angeles. Tour closed in Chicago on September 29, 1991. National Theatre of Iceland: Reykjavik, Iceland. Opened December 26. Closed June 5, 1988. (NR) 1988 Det Norske Teatret: Oslo, Norway. Opened March 17. Closed December 31. Shubert Theatre: Los Angeles, CA. Opened 1 June. Closed July 23, 1989. Raimund Theatre: Vienna, Austria. Opened September 15. Closed March 31, 1990. Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center: Tampa, FL. Opened November 28. Closed December 11. Third U.S. national tour launched with stops in 145 cities, in 43 states, including engagements in Canada, Singapore, and China. Tour closed in St.

Louis, MO on July 23, 2006. 1989 Royal Alexandra Theatre: Toronto, Canada. Opened March 15. Closed May 26, 1992. Production then toured Canada with stops in Calgary; Vancouver; Montreal (bilingual cast); Winnipeg; Ottawa; Edmonton; Hamilton; Honolulu, HI; and Regina. Teatr Muzyczny: Gdynia, Poland. Opened June 30. In repertory to date. (NR) Curran Theatre: San Francisco, CA. Second National (Sit Down) Tour. Opened Nov. 1, Closed Januray 27, 1991 1990 Cirkus Theatre: Stockholm, Sweden. Opened October 12. Closed December 14, 1991. 1991 Carre Theatre: Amsterdam, Netherlands. Opened February 28. Closed October 20. Production then transferred to the Cirkustheater in Scheveningen and closed March 8, 1992. Odense Teater: Odense, Denmark. Opened April 20. Closed June 22. (NR) Mogador Theatre: Paris, France.

Opened October 23. Closed May 24, 1992. 1992 Palace Theatre: Manchester, England. Opened April 14. Closed May 1, 1993. Production went on to play Dublin; and Edinburgh. Vinorhady Theatre: Prague, Czech Republic. Opened June 25. Closed September 13. (NR) Teatro Nuevo Apolo: Madrid, Spain. Opened September 16. Closed May 29, 1994. Ostre Gasvaerk Teater: Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened December 27. Closed December 31, 1993. (NR) 1993 Point Theatre: Dublin, Ireland. Opened June 30. Closed in September. Edinburgh Playhouse: Edinburgh, Scotland. Opened September 23. Closed February 19, 1994. Meralco Theatre: Manila, Philippines. Opened October 7. Closed October 31. (NR) 1994 Kallang Theatre: U.S. third national tour makes a special trip to Singapore. Opened February 3. Closed April 17.

1996 Music Hall/Theater am Marientor: Duisburg, Germany. Opened January 26. Closed November 28, 1999. Kallang Theatre: Asian/African tour launched in Singapore. Opened February 28. Closed March 31. Production continued on to Hong Kong, Seoul, and Cape Town, South Africa. Karlstads Teater: Karlstad, Sweden. Opened October 15. Closed April 27, 1997. (NR) Aalborg Teater: Aalborg, Denmark. Opened 14 November. Closed 4 January 1997. (NR) 1997 Imperial Theatre, Broadway. Opened March 12. Special 10th anniversary performance and first look at slightly revamped production. Theatre Royal, Sydney, Australia. Opened November 29. Closed June 13, 1998. Launch of the 10th anniversary Australian tour, with stops in Melbourne; Auckland, New Zealand; Perth; and Brisbane. 1998 Music Hall: Antwerp, Belgium. Opened May 24. Closed April 25, 1999.

This production was performed in both French and Flemish. Aarhus Theatre: Aarhus, Denmark. Opened September 4. Closed December 31. (NR) City Hall: Hamilton, Bermuda. Opened October 5. Closed October 17. (NR) 1999 City Theatre: Helsinki, Finland. Opened February 25. Closed May 29. In repertory. (NR) Kongrescenter: Herning, Denmark. Opened April 15. Closed May 30. (NR) Municipal Theatre: Mahebourg, Mauritius. Opened June 12. Closed June 28. (NR) Performing Arts Center: Tel Aviv, Israel. Opened July 20. Closed September 4. (NR) Madach Theatre: Budapest, Hungary. Opened November 20. In repertory to date. (NR) 2000 Teatro Opera: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Opened March 22. Closed October 15. Opera House: Gothenburg, Sweden. Opened April 22. Closed September 23. (NR) 2001 Opera Bonn: Bonn, Germany. Opened April 8.

Closed July 7. (NR) Teatro Abril: São Paulo, Brazil. Opened April 25. Roadside Theatre: Heidelberg, Patton Barracks, Germany. Opened May 11. Closed June 10. (NR) Opernhaus: Chemnitz, Germany. Opened October 21. In repertory to date. (NR) City Hall Theatre: Tallinn, Estonia. Opened November 1. Closed November 25. (NR) 2002 Centro Cultural Telmex: Mexico City, Mexico. Opened November 14. Closed August 30, 2004. Staatstheater: Saarbrücken, Germany. Opened December 7. In repertory to date. (NR) 2003 Anhalitisches Theatre: Dessau, Germany. Opened March 21. Closed June 27. (NR) Moster Amfi: Bolmo, Norway. Opened August 8. Closed August 16. (NR) Goja Music Hall: Prague, Czech Republic. Opened September 16. In repertory to date. (NR) Theater des Westens: Berlin, Germany.

Opened September 26. Closed December 31, 2004. 2006 Trøndelag Teater: Trondheim, Norway. Opened February 25. Closed October 14, 2005. 2007 Madlenianum Opera and Theatre: Belgrade, Serbia. Opened October 18. In repertory to date. (NR) Akershus Teater: Lillestrøm, Norway. Opened January 29 for a limited run. (NR) 2008 Theatre Du Capitole: Quebec, Canada. (NR) Luxor Theatre: Rotterdam, Netherlands. Opened April 20. Closed January 4, 2009. 2009 Carré Theatre: Amsterdam, Netherlands. Opened January 17. Closed February 22. Oslo Nye Teater: Oslo, Norway. Opened February 4. Closed June 20. (NR) Det Ny Teater: Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened September 17. Closed December 31. (NR) Wales Millennium Centre: Cardiff, UK. Opened December 12. Closed January 16, 2010.

(NR). The tour will commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the show with stops in Manchester, Norwich, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Paris, and London. 2010 Palace Theatre, Manchester: UK. Opened January 19. Closed February 13. (NR)\ Theatre Royal, Norwich: UK. Opened February 16 . Closed March 20. (NR) Birmingham Hippodrome: Birmingham, UK. Opened March 23. Closed April 17. (NR) Edinburgh Playhouse: Edinburgh, UK. Opened April 20. Closed May 15. (NR) Théâtre du Châtelet: Paris, France. Opened May 26. Will close July 4. (NR) Bristol Hippodrome: Bristol, UK. Will open July 13. Will close August 7. (NR) The Lowry: Salford: UK. Will open August 10. Will close August 21. (NR) The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton: UK. Will open August 24. Will close September 11. (NR) Barbican Centre: London, UK. Will open September 14. Will close October 2.

(NR) Teatr Muzyczny Roma: Warsaw, Poland. Will open September 20. Teatro Lope de Vega: Madrid, Spain. Will open November 18. 2012 Poeun Art Hall,Yongin, Korea. Opened November 3. (NR) 2013 Blue Square’s Samsung Electronics Hall, Seoul, Korea. Opened April 26. Closed September 1.(NR) North American regional productions Edit With the approval of the Cameron Mackintosh organization, Music Theatre International selected the USAREUR Roadside Theater in Heidelberg, Germany for the American Community Theater World Premiere of Les Misérables. The premiere took place May 11, 2001, with the production closing June 10, 2001. This production was also one of the first uses of the Sinfonia system by MTI in collaboration with Realtime Music Solutions, later used in the London production. Beginning in 2007, a limited number of regional productions (five in the US, two in Canada) of Les Misérables licensed by Cameron Mackintosh have been staged.

The California Musical Theatre (CMT) (Sacramento, California) in its Music Circus summer series (production ran from July 10 thru July 22, 2007) staged the show as theater in the round. Glenn Casale, choreographed by Bob Richard, with music directed by Andrew Bryan, directed the production that featured Ivan Rutherford who gave over one thousand eight hundred performances as Jean Valjean on Broadway as well as performing in the 10th Anniversary Company. Other regional productions of Les Misérables include the Pioneer Theatre Company (PTC) of Salt Lake City which was honoured to be the first company to present a regional production. This production ran from April 27, 2007, to July 7, 2007, making it the longest running production in PTC's history. It was directed by PTC Artistic Director Charles Morey and brought both William Solo as Jean Valjean and Merwin Foard as Inspector Javert to the PTC re-enacting roles both men played previously on Broadway.

The first independent regional theatre production of "Les Misérables" in Canada was directed by Linda Moore at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax Nova Scotia, starring Frank Mackay as Jean Valjean in 1994. The Thousand Islands Playhouse in Gananoque Canada staged a production, which opened July 4, 2008, featured Lee B.Siegel as Valjean, Shane Carty as Javert, Kevin Power as Thénardier, Marcia Tratt as Madame Thénardier, Ramona Gilmour-Darling as Éponine, Ashley Taylor as Cosette, Shannon Barnett as Fantine, Dale R. Miller as Marius, Gabriel Burrafato as Enjolras, and Derrick Paul Miller as the Bishop of Digne. Derrick Paul Miller played the role of Valjean on July 22, July 23 (matinee), July 24, and July 26 (matinee). It is directed by Greg Wanless, and musical director Sandy Thorburn. An outdoor production played at The Muny, the nation's oldest and largest outdoor theatre, which seats 12,000 people. The theatre is located in Saint Louis, MO.

Directed by Fred Hanson, Les Misérables was the final production of the Muny's 89th season, playing August 6–15, 2007. Ivan Rutherford, who was a Valjean in the original Broadway production, reprised his role in the production. Kevin Kern and Diana Kaarina, who played Marius and Éponine in the closing cast of the original Broadway production, reprised their roles. Another outdoor production has been staged at Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Ivins, UT and runs June through mid-October, 2008. In September 2008, a mini tour produced by Atlanta's Theater of the Stars played Eisenhower Hall at the United States Military Academy, in West Point, NY; the Filene Center at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, VA; Kansas City Starlight Theater; and The Fox Theater in Atlanta. The show featured a new set of original pictures painted by Victor Hugo himself. Robert Evan played Valjean, returning to the role he played in the mid-nineties on Broadway.

Also featured were Nikki Rene Daniels as Fantine and Robert Hunt as Javert, both reprising their roles from the Broadway revival. Fred Hanson directed the production. The creative team included Matt Kinley as Scenic Designer, Ken Billington as Lighting Designer, Peter Fitzgerald and Erich Bechtel as Sound Designers, Zachary Borovay as Projection Designer, and Dan Riddle as Musical Director and Conductor. In 2008, the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia staged a small venue "black box" version of the play. Signature was honoured to receive Mackintosh's special permission for the production: "One of the great pleasures of being involved with the creation of Les Misérables is seeing this marvelous musical being done in a completely different and original way. Having seen many shows brilliantly reimagined at Signature I have no doubt that Eric and his team will come up with a revolutionary new take on Les Miz unlike anything anyone has seen before. Viva la différence!" This triumph, coupled with years of imaginative productions, earned Signature the 2009 Regional Theater Tony Award.

The production officially opened on December 14, 2008 (after previews from December 2), and runs through February 22, 2009 (extended from January 25, 2009). Northern Stage, a regional theatre company in White River Junction, VT, also staged a December 2008 production on a small stage; in their case, it was a three-quarter-thrust stage in a 245-seat house. This production featured Timothy Shew as Jean Valjean, Mary Gutzi as Madame Thénardier and Kevin David Thomas as Marius, all of whom appeared in the Broadway production (where Shew starred as Valjean, Gutzi as Fantine and Thomas as Marius). The production also featured Broadway veterans Dan Sharkey (The Music Man) and David DeWitt (Phantom of the Opera). The production was directed by Northern Stage Artistic Director Brooke Ciardelli. In July 2009, the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (CLO) staged Les Misérables as part of their summer show collection. Les Misérables school edition Edit The School Edition cuts a considerable amount of material from the original show.

It is divided into thirty scenes and, although no "critical" scenes or songs have been removed, it runs twenty-five–thirty minutes shorter than the "official" version. A few subtle changes of vocal pitch have been made: "What Have I Done?", Valjean's Soliloquy, "Stars" by Javert, "A Little Fall of Rain" by Éponine and Marius, "Turning" by the women of the Revolution, and "Castle on a Cloud" lose a verse each. The song "Fantine's Death/Confrontation" is edited, removing the signature counterpoint duel between Valjean and Javert. "Dog Eats Dog" by Thénardier is truncated, as is as "Beggars at the Feast", with the song before it, "Wedding Chorale" is considerably shortened. After The King's Theatre, The King's School and Tara Anglican School for Girls, in Sydney, Australia, gained rights for the full production in late 2000 from Cameron Mackintosh to perform the show, Music Theatre International developed a school version, available only to productions with an entirely amateur cast aged under 19.

Hundreds of schools worldwide have purchased the rights and staged performances, and it was the best selling play for high schools in the year 2006. The Helen Hayes Theatre Company in Nyack, New York marked the American premiere of the student edition in October 2001. From this version, Cameron Mackintosh and Music Theatre International produced the Les Misérables: School Edition Cast Recording in 2002. The album has recognition to hundreds of theatres housing the production worldwide. Concerts Edit On October 8, 1995, the show celebrated its tenth anniversary with a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. This Tenth Anniversary Concert is nearly 'complete', missing only a handful of scenes, including "The Death of Gavroche" and the confrontation between Marius and Thénardier at the wedding feast. Sir Cameron Mackintosh hand-selected the cast, which has come to be called the Les Misérables Dream Cast, assembling cast members from around the world. The concert concluded with Valjeans from various international productions singing, "Do You Hear the People Sing?" in their native languages.

The cast: Colm Wilkinson as Jean Valjean, Philip Quast as Javert, Michael Ball as Marius Pontmercy, Lea Salonga as Éponine, Judy Kahn as Cosette, Ruthie Henshall as Fantine, Michael Maguire as Enjolras, Alun Armstron as Thénardier and Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier. 25th Anniversary Concert Edit The 25th Anniversary Concert of Les Misérables was held at The O2 in North Greenwich on Sunday, 3 October 2010 at 1:30 pm and 7:00 pm. It featured Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean, Norm Lewis as Javert, Lea Salonga as Fantine, Nick Jonas as Marius, Katie Hall as Cosette, Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier, Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras, Samantha Barks as Éponine, Matt Lucas as Thénardier, Mia Jenkins as Young Cosette, Robert Madge as Gavroche and Earl Carpenter as the Bishop of Digne.

(Originally, Camilla Kerslake had been selected to perform as Cosette, however she was unable to attend. Katie Hall was selected in her place. Hall had previously acted the role at the Queen's Theatre from 2009 and in the 25th Anniversary Tour production at the Barbican.) Casts of the current London, international tour and original 1985 London productions took part, comprising an ensemble of three hundred performers and musicians. The concert was staged by Ken Caswell who had been an original cast member in 1985. The 25th Anniversary Concert was recorded live at The O2 (London) on 3 October 2010 and is available on DVD in the UK while the Blu-ray was released worldwide. It was shown in select US theaters via NCM Fathom Events. The release for the DVD in the United States was 22 February 2011.

A CD single of the 'Valjean Quartet' singing "Bring Him Home" was also recorded and released with proceeds going to the charity "Tickets For Troops." Films Edit Although numerous films of the Les Misérables story have been made, no film adaptation of the stage musical was produced for many years. A film adaptation has been in development several times since the late 1980s. Alan Parker was reported to be connected to an adaptation at an early stage. In 1992 Mackintosh announced planning for a film to be directed by Bruce Beresford and co-produced by Tri-Star Pictures, but the project was later abandoned. The 2010 DVD/Blu-ray release of Les Misérables: 25th Anniversary Concert included an announcement of revised plans for a film adaptation which was later confirmed by Mackintosh. Tom Hooper signed on in March 2011 to direct the Mackintosh-produced film from a screenplay by William Nicholson. In June 2011 Working Title and Mackintosh announced that the film would begin principal photography in early 2012 for a December release date.

The film, starring Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert, and Anne Hathaway as Fantine, opened on Christmas Day of 2012, and went on to win three Golden Globe Awards including Best Picture - Musical or Comedy, Best Actor (Jackman) and Best Supporting Actress (Hathaway). It was also nominated for eight Academy Awards. Cast Recordings Official Reviews (Spoiler Alert) | OZalots HQ Official Reviews (Spoiler Alert) Back to Top Post by jo on Dec 4, 2012 7:59:49 GMT -5 We know there is an embargo on any reviews till December 11, but occasionally we come across some serious reviews of the film and the filmmaking techniques. Maybe we can can segregate this kind of reviews ( and most of those coming in after the embargo ends) from FAN REVIEWS ? It sounds very heartfelt but at the same time I enjoyed listening to how he assesses the cinematic techniques that Tom Hooper used to enhance the storytelling and the visuals! He also gives Hugh Jackman his due, for an outstanding performance!

While probably coming from an emotional response to the film, this is the type of overall review that I hope regular moviegoers are able to read. Jo Back to Top Post by mamaleh on Dec 4, 2012 10:52:53 GMT -5 You know what bothers me? A lot of guys--even the TV entertainment news hosts, who are fond of Hugh--say stuff akin to "Yeah, I know it's a big, emotional epic, but I don't know, it's all sung...?" The LES MIZ cast didn't make the most visited celeb sites this past week, even with all the LES MIZ promotion making the rounds. People are still gung-ho for such as Daniel Craig/SKYFALL (which opened weeks ago) and inexplicably Kim Kardashian. That does concern me somewhat. Ellen Back to Top Post by carouselkathy on Dec 5, 2012 23:09:11 GMT -5 Sam Rubin, the entertainment reporter on a local news station here in L.A., has been praising the film and Hugh's performance.

I've always thought him a bit snarky, so his approval of all things Les Mis comes as a pleasant surprise. As for the celeb sites and entertainment shows in general, I agree with you, Ellen. The tabloid nature of these programs turns my stomach, and I find myself skipping them completely, even if Hugh is featured. It's not worth watching 27 minutes of garbage just to see 3 minutes of Hugh. Back to Top Post by mamaleh on Dec 6, 2012 11:38:21 GMT -5 Uh-oh--Variety's not entirely thrilled. Only good things about Hathaway & Redmayne, mostly praise for Hugh except--inexplicably--concerning "Bring Him Home." ??!!! Post by Jamie on Dec 6, 2012 11:54:20 GMT -5 Telegraph gives it full five stars Last Edit: Dec 6, 2012 11:56:23 GMT -5 by Jamie It's never too late for a happy childhood.

Post by Jamie on Dec 6, 2012 11:57:38 GMT -5 Mail On Line rave as well That bodes well for the BAFTAs It's never too late for a happy childhood. Back to Top Post by jo on Dec 6, 2012 17:42:11 GMT -5 I hope you don't mind that I reprint some of the reviews in full ( we lose them sometimes from their early online life). VARIETY -- (U.S.-U.K.) By Justin Chang A Universal (in U.S./U.K.) release presented in association with Relativity Media of a Working Title Films/Cameron Mackintosh production. Produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Mackintosh. Executive producers, Angela Morrison, Liza Chasin, Nicholas Allott, F. Richard Pappas. Directed by Tom Hooper. Screenplay, William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schoenberg, Herbert Kretzmer, based on Cameron Mackintosh's production of Boublil & Schoenberg's original stage musical "Les Miserables," from the novel by Victor Hugo.

Jean Valjean - Hugh Jackman Madame Thenardier - Helena Bonham Carter Thenardier - Sacha Baron Cohen Eponine - Samantha Barks Enjolras - Aaron Tveit As a faithful rendering of a justly beloved musical, "Les Miserables" will more than satisfy the show's legions of fans. Even so, director Tom Hooper and the producers have taken a number of artistic liberties with this lavish bigscreen interpretation: The squalor and upheaval of early 19th-century France are conveyed with a vividness that would have made Victor Hugo proud, heightened by the raw, hungry intensity of the actors' live oncamera vocals. Yet for all its expected highs, the adaptation has been managed with more gusto than grace; at the end of the day, this impassioned epic too often topples beneath the weight of its own grandiosity. The Universal release will nonetheless be a major worldwide draw through the holidays and beyond, spelling a happy commercial ending for a project that has been in development for roughly a quarter-century.

Since its 1985 London premiere, the Cameron Mackintosh-produced tuner (adapted from Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schoenberg's French production) has became one of the longest-running acts in legit history, outpaced only by "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Cats." "Les Miserables" has aged far more gracefully than those two '80s-spawned perennials, owing largely to the lush emotionalism of Schoenberg's score, the timeless sentiments articulated in Herbert Kretzmer's lyrics, and the socially conscious themes, arguably more relevant than ever, set forth in Hugo's much-filmed masterwork. In an intuitive yet bold scripting decision, scribes William Nicholson, Boublil, Schoenberg and Kretzmer have fully retained the show's sung-through structure, with only minimal spoken dialogue to break the flow of wall-to-wall music. Not for nothing is "Do You Hear the People Sing?" the piece's signature anthem; song is the characters' natural idiom and the story's lifeblood, and the filmmakers grasp this idea firmly enough to give the music its proper due.

Even with some of the lyrics skillfully truncated, this mighty score remains the engine that propels the narrative forward. In visual terms, Hooper adopts a maximalist approach, attacking the material with a vigor and dynamism that suggest his Oscar-winning direction on "The King's Speech" was just a warm-up. At every turn, one senses the filmmaker trying to honor the material and also transcend it, to deliver the most vibrant, atmospheric, physically imposing and emotionally shattering reading of the show imaginable. Yet the effect of this mammoth 158-minute production can be as enervating as it is exhilarating; blending gritty realism and pure artifice, shifting from solos of almost prayerful stillness to brassy, clunkily cut-together ensemble numbers, it's an experience whose many dazzling parts seem strangely at odds. The film's ambition is immediately apparent in a muscular opening setpiece that hints at the scope of Eve Stewart's production design: In 1815 Toulon, France, a chain gang labors to tow a ship into port.

Among the inmates is Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), overpunished for having stolen a loaf of bread nearly 20 years earlier, now being released on parole by Javert (Russell Crowe), the prison guard who will persecute him for years to come. With his scraggly beard, sunburnt skin and air of wild-eyed desperation, Valjean looks every inch a man condemned but, through the aid of a kind bishop (Colm Wilkinson, who originated the role of Valjean in 1985), vows in his soul-searching number "What Have I Done?" to become a man of virtue. In this and other sequences, Hooper (again working with "Speech" d.p. Danny Cohen) opts to bring the camera close to his downtrodden characters and hold it there. It's a gesture at once compassionate and calculated, and it's never more effective than when it touches the face of Fantine (Anne Hathaway), a poor, unwed mother ejected from Valjean's factory into the gutters. Hathaway's turn is brief but galvanic.

Her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream," captured in a single take, represents the picture's high point, an extraordinary distillation of anguish, defiance and barely flickering hope in which the lyrics seem to choke forth like barely suppressed howls of grief. Hathaway has been ripe for a full-blown tuner showcase ever since she gamely sang a duet with Jackman at the Oscars in 2009, and she fulfills that promise here with a solo as musically adept as it is powerfully felt. This sequence fully reveals the advantages of Hooper's decision to have the thesps sing directly oncamera, with minimal dubbing and tweaking in post. As carefully calibrated with the orchestrations (by Anne Dudley and Stephen Metcalfe) in Simon Hayes' excellent sound mix, the vocals sound intense, ragged and clenched with feeling, in a way that at times suggests neorealist opera. A few beats and notes may be missed here and there, but always in a way that serves the immediacy of the moment and the truth of the emotions being expressed, giving clear voice to the drama's underlying anger and advocacy on behalf of the poor, marginalized and misunderstood.

Hathaway's exit leaves a hole in the picture, which undergoes a tricky tonal shift as Valjean rescues Fantine's young daughter, Cosette (Isabelle Allen), from her cruel guardians, the Thenardiers. Inhabited with witchy, twitchy comic abandon by Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter, not terribly far removed from the grotesques they played in "Sweeney Todd," these innkeepers amusingly send up their venal, disreputable and utterly unsanitary lifestyle in "Master of the House," a memorably grotesque number that also marks the point, barely halfway through, when "Les Miserables" starts to splutter. As it shifts from one dynamically slanted camera angle to another via Melanie Ann Oliver and Chris Dickens' busy editing, the picture seems reluctant to slow down and let the viewer simply take in the performances. That hectic, cluttered quality becomes more pronounced as the story lurches ahead to the 1832 Paris student uprisings, where the erection of a barricade precipitates and complicates any number of subplots.

These include Javert's ongoing pursuit of Valjean, their frequent run-ins seeming even more coincidental than usual in this movie context; the blossoming romance between Cosette (now played by Amanda Seyfried) and young revolutionary leader Marius (Eddie Redmayne); and the noble suffering of Eponine (Samantha Barks), whose unrequited love for Marius is heartbreakingly exalted in "On My Own." As the characters' voices and stories converge in the magisterial medley "One Day More," the frequent crosscutting provides a reasonable visual equivalent of the nimble revolving sets used onstage. Yet even on this broader canvas, the visual space seems to constrict rather than expand, and the sense of a sweeping panorama remains elusive. From there, the film proceeds through an ungainly pileup of gun-waving mayhem before unleashing a powerful surge of emotion in the suitably grand finale. Devotees of the stage show will nonetheless be largely contented to see it realized on such an enormous scale and inhabited by well-known actors who also happen to possess strong vocal chops.

The revelation here is Redmayne, who brings a youthful spark to the potentially milquetoast role of Marius, and who reveals an exceptionally smooth, full-bodied singing voice, particularly in his mournful solo "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables." Jackman's extensive legit resume made him no-brainer casting for Valjean, and he embodies this sinner-turned-saint with the requisite fire and gravitas. Whether he's comforting the dying Fantine or sweetly serenading the sleeping Cosette (in the moving "Suddenly," a song written expressly for the screen), Jackman projects a stirring warmth and nobility. He's less at home with the higher register of Valjean's daunting two-octave range; there's more strain than soul in his performance of "Bring Him Home," usually one of the show's peak moments. Crowe reveals a thinner, less forceful singing voice than those of his co-stars, robbing the morally blinkered Javert of some dramatic stature, although his screen presence compensates.

Barks, a film newcomer wisely retained from past stagings, more than holds her own; Seyfried (who previously flexed her musical muscles in "Mamma Mia!") croons ever so sweetly as the lovely, passive Cosette; Aaron Tveit cuts a dashing figure as the impulsive student revolutionary Enjolras; and young Daniel Huttlestone makes a delightful impression as the street urchin Gavroche, bringing an impish streak of energy to the proceedings. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 out of 5 stars Plot Jean Valjean (Jackman), imprisoned for 19 years for a minor offence, is paroled but perpetually shadowed by Inspector Javert (Crowe). When he takes in the foundling daughter of the tragic Fantine (Hathaway), he finds a reason to keep his freedom. Review Les Miserables opens big. The camera sweeps over gilded, bulbous warships, blasted by coastal waves, to the hundreds of miserable wretches inching one of these monsters into the Toulon dry dock on waterlogged ropes. This vast chain gang sings Look Down in a rumbling bass that’s close to a dirge, and the tone is set.

This is not the sort of musical where people dance their cares away, but one where people’s cares seem to rip songs from their throats. Through all that follows, the moments of levity and romance as well as the suffering, Tom Hooper’s adaptation of Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Herbert Kretzmer’s juggernaut of a musical never fails to take its subject matter seriously, its raw, brutal edge in tune with Victor Hugo’s melodrama of the downtrodden and destitute. Hugh Jackman, matching Jean Valjean’s fabled strength, carries the plot on his shoulders. Only he and Russell Crowe’s Javert remain constants through the 17 years of the film’s plot, and only Valjean really grows during that time, since Javert’s inflexibility is his defining trait. We first meet Valjean as a convict, making futile demands that his jailer respect him as a fellow human being — only to be rebuffed by the didactic Javert.

On parole he meets only rejection and prejudice, descending into animal-like desperation and spitting bitterness before a miraculous second chance sees Valjean resolve to match the faith shown in him in the film’s most emotionally complex scene. Righteous fury rages with a rekindled sense of virtue; wounded pride and a thirst for justice compete with hope of redemption, and somehow from the conflagration a morally upright man emerges. As with all the film’s high emotion, this is communicated entirely in song, sung live on set and with veins frequently popping from the effort. Hooper’s commitment to live performance no doubt added hugely to the stress of the shoot, but in return for a few wobbly high notes he gets a unique, visceral punch. The vocals aren’t as flawless as, say, Alfie Boe managed onstage — Jackman struggles with the famously difficult Bring Him Home, and at times Crowe wobbles into rock stylings — but the drama is stronger for it. Not everything is so successful. The Paris soundstages feel small and poky, and different angles of shot might have avoided a sometimes stagey feel and the jarring contrast with the outdoor scenes, which deliver a glorious Delacroix look and scale.

The sprawling structure of the show, too, means that high emotion breaks in wave after wave without reprieve, cinematic close-ups magnifying the impact. At its best, that effect sees Anne Hathaway reclaim I Dreamed A Dream from Susan Boyle and ruin the song for all who follow her. Angry, defiant and broken all at once, it is a definitive performance, and though her part amounts to barely a montage and this one sublime solo, don’t be surprised to see her on an Oscar podium come February. But after that emotional wallop, the love story between Marius (Eddie Redmayne) and Valjean’s ward, Cosette (Amanda Seyfried), can’t overcome her character’s inherent drippiness, leaving you impatient to get to the revolutionary stuff when students led by the idealistic Enjolras (Aaron Tveit) fight a hopeless uprising in the people’s name and Javert encounters Valjean once more. When these big moments arrive, the cast rise with full-throated determination and deliver a musical unlike any other. Verdict Occasionally, like its characters, ragged around the edges, this nevertheless rings with all the emotion and power of the source and provides a new model for the movie musical.

Reviewed by Helen O'Hara 8:00 AM PST 12/6/2012 by Todd McCarthy The Bottom Line Well-sung but bombastic screen version of the musical theater perennial. Opens Tuesday, Dec. 25 (Universal) shareComments (28) Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe sing -- and wage a Sisyphean battle against musical diarrhea -- in Tom Hooper's adaptation of the stage sensation. A gallery of stellar performers wages a Sisyphean battle against musical diarrhea and a laboriously repetitive visual approach in the big-screen version of the stage sensation Les Miserables. Victor Hugo's monumental 1862 novel about a decades-long manhunt, social inequality, family disruption, injustice and redemption started its musical life onstage in 1980 and has been around ever since, a history of success that bodes well for this lavish, star-laden film. But director Tom Hooper has turned the theatrical extravaganza into something that is far less about the rigors of existence in early 19th century France than it is about actors emoting mightily and singing their guts out.

As the enduring success of this property has shown, there are large, emotionally susceptible segments of the population ready to swallow this sort of thing, but that doesn't mean it's good. The first thing to know about this Les Miserables is that this creation of Claude-Michel Schonberg, Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, is, with momentary exceptions, entirely sung, more like an opera than a traditional stage musical. Although not terrible, the music soon begins to slur together to the point where you'd be willing to pay the ticket price all over again just to hear a nice, pithy dialogue exchange between Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe rather than another noble song that sounds a lot like one you just heard a few minutes earlier. There were 49 identifiable musical numbers in the original show, and one more has been added here.

Greatly compounding the problem is that director Hooper, in his first outing since conquering Hollywood two years ago with his breakthrough feature, The King's Speech, stages virtually every scene and song in the same manner, with the camera swooping in on the singer and thereafter covering him or her and any other participants with hovering tight shots; there hasn't been a major musical so fond of the close-up since Joshua Logan attempted to photograph Richard Harris' tonsils in Camelot. Almost any great musical one can think of features sequences shot in different ways, depending upon the nature of the music and the dramatic moment; for Hooper, all musical numbers warrant the same monotonous approach of shoving the camera right in the performer's face; any closer and their breath would fog the lens, as, in this instance, the actors commendably sang live during the shooting, rather than being prerecorded. With Hooper's undoubted encouragement, the eager thespians give it their all here, for better and for worse.

The “live” vocal performances provide an extra vibrancy and immediacy that is palpable, though one cannot say that the technique is necessarily superior in principle, as it was also used by Peter Bogdanovich on his famed folly, At Long Last Love. PHOTOS: Inside the Fight to Bring 'Les Mis' to the Screen One of the chief interests of the film is discovering the singing abilities of the notable actors assembled here, other than Jackman, whose musical prowess is well-known. Crowe, who early in his career starred in The Rocky Horror Show and other musicals onstage in Australia, has a fine, husky baritone, while Eddie Redmayne surprises with a singing voice of lovely clarity. Colm Wilkinson, the original Jean Valjean onstage in London and New York, turns up here as the benevolent Bishop of Digne. On the female side, Anne Hathaway dominates the early going, belting out anguish as the doomed Fantine. Playing her grown daughter Cosette, Amanda Seyfried delights with clear-as-a-bell high notes, while Samantha Barks, as a lovelorn Eponine, is a vocal powerhouse.

The problem, then, is not at all the singing itself but that the majority of the numbers are pitched at the same sonic-boom level and filmed the same way. The big occasion when Hooper tries something different, intercutting among nearly all the major characters at crossroads in the Act 1 climax "One Day More," feels like a pale imitation of the electrifying "Tonight" ensemble in the film version of West Side Story. It's entirely possible that no book has been adapted more frequently to other media than Hugo's epic, one of the longest novels ever written. About 60 big- and small-screen versions have been made throughout the world, beginning with a representation by the Lumiere brothers in 1897, and Orson Welles did a seven-part radio version in 1937. In 1985, five years after the Paris debut of the French musical, the English-language production, with a new libretto by Herbert Kretzmer and directed by Trevor Nunn, opened in London, to less-than-stellar reviews, and is still playing.

The New York counterpart packed houses from 1987-2003 and, at 6,680 performances, ranks as the third-longest-running musical in Broadway history (it reopened in 2006 and played another two years). PHOTOS: 'Les Miserables' World Premiere: Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway Celebrate Musical's Big-Screen Adaptation At the story's core is Jean Valjean (Jackman), a convict who has served 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread and trying to escape and, upon his release, redeems himself under a new identity as a wealthy factory owner and socially liberal mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer. But his former prison guard Javert (Crowe), now a police inspector, finds him out and, over a period of 17 years, mercilessly hounds him until their day of reckoning on the barricades in Paris during the uprising of June 1832.

Woven through it is no end of melodrama concerning Valjean raising Fantine's beautiful daughter Cosette (Isabelle Allen as a tyke, Seyfried as a young woman); the latter's star-crossed romance with Marius (Redmayne), a wealthy lad turned idealistic revolutionary; his handsome comrade-in-arms Enjolras (Aaron Tveit) and the earthy Eponine, who woefully accepts that her beloved Marius is besotted by Cosette. Well and truly having rumbled in from the film version of Sweeney Todd, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen gallumph through as small-time swindlers in very broad comic relief. Startlingly emaciated in his initial scenes while still on strenuous prison work detail, Jackman's Valjean subsequently cuts a more proper and dashing figure after his transformation into a gentleman. His defense of the abused Fantine and subsequent adoption of her daughter represent the fulcrum of Hugo's central theme that a man can change and redeem himself, as opposed to Jalvert's vehement conviction that once a criminal, always a criminal.

The passions of all the characters are simple and deep, which accounts for much of the work's enduring popularity in all cultures. PHOTOS: Behind the Scenes of THR's 'Les Miserables' Cover Shoot But it also makes for a film that, when all the emotions are echoed out at an unvarying intensity for more than 2 1/2 hours on a giant screen, feels heavily, if soaringly, monotonous. Subtle and nuanced are two words that will never be used to describe this Les Miserables, which, for all its length, fails to adequately establish two critical emotional links: that between Valjean and Cosette, and the latter's mutual infatuation with Marius, which has no foundation at all. Reuniting with his King's Speech cinematographer Danny Cohen and production designer Eve Stewart, Hooper has handsome interior sets at his disposal. However, with the exception of some French city square and street locations, the predominant exteriors have an obvious CGI look.

His predilection for wide-angle shots is still evident, if more restrained than before, but the editing by Melanie Ann Oliver and Chris Dickens frequently seems haphazard; the musical numbers sometimes build to proper visual climaxes in union with the music, but as often as not the cutting seems almost arbitrary, moving from one close-up to another, so that scenes don't stand out but just mush together. The actors are ideally cast but, with a couple of exceptions, give stage-sized turns for the screen; this bigness might well be widely admired. Jackman finally gets to show onscreen the musical talents that have long thrilled live musical theater audiences, Hathaway gamely gets down and dirty and has her hair clipped off onscreen in the bargain, and Redmayne impresses as a high-caliber singing leading man, but there is little else that is inventive or surprising about the performances. Still, there is widespread energy, passion and commitment to the cause, which for some might be all that is required. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please do read the feedback column -- mostly challenging the review! LOL! Can what has happened to the stage musical 27 years ago happening again ? Critics vs the audiences??

Jo 1000+ images about Les Misérables on Pinterest | Other, Instrumental and Choirs Hal Leonard Instrumental Play-along: Les Misérables for Alto Sax - Book & CD. £8.95. Also available for other instruments. See More

Question: Which stage show with music by Claude  Michael Schonberg ends with an emotional song entitled 'Do You Hear The People Sing' ?
Answer: LES MISERABLES