![]() ![]() The musical's emblem is a picture of the waif Cosette sweeping the Thénardiers' inn (which occurs in the musical during "Castle on a Cloud"). The drawing of Cosette by Émile Bayard that served as the model for the musical's emblem. A film version directed by Tom Hooper was released at the end of 2012 to generally positive reviews as well as numerous awards. The show was placed first in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of Britain's "Number One Essential Musicals" in 2005, receiving more than forty percent of the votes. A Broadway revival opened in 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre and closed in 2008, and a second Broadway revival opened in 2014 at the Imperial Theatre and closed in September 2016. Subsequently, numerous tours and international and regional productions have been staged, as well as concert and broadcast productions. The show was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, of which it won eight, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. As of 2022, it remains the sixth longest-running Broadway show. At the time of its closing, it was the second-longest-running musical in Broadway history. The Broadway production opened 12 March 1987 and ran until, closing after 6,680 performances. On 3 October 2010, the show celebrated its 25th anniversary with three productions running in London: the original production at the Queen's Theatre the 25th Anniversary touring production at the Barbican Centre and the 25th Anniversary concert at London's O2 Arena. The original London production ran from October 1985 to July 2019, playing over 13,000 performances and making it the second longest-running musical in the world after The Fantasticks, the second longest-running West End show after The Mousetrap, and the longest-running musical in the West End. The three-month engagement sold out, and reviews improved. Public opinion differed: the box office received record orders. At the opening of the London production, The Sunday Telegraph 's Francis King described the musical as "a lurid Victorian melodrama produced with Victorian lavishness" and Michael Ratcliffe of The Observer considered the show "a witless and synthetic entertainment", while literary scholars condemned the project for converting classic literature into a musical. See also: Long-running musical theatre productionsĬritical reviews for Les Misérables were initially negative. ![]() The success of the West End musical led to a Broadway production.Ĭritical reception and milestones After two years in development, the English-language version opened in London on 8 October 1985, by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican Centre, then the London home of the RSC. Mackintosh, in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company, assembled a production team to adapt the French musical for a British audience. Initially reluctant, Mackintosh eventually agreed. Farago had been impressed by the work and asked Mackintosh to produce an English-language version of the show. In 1983, about six months after producer Cameron Mackintosh had opened Cats on Broadway, he received a copy of the French concept album from director Peter Farago. Les Misérables was originally released as a French-language concept album, and the first musical-stage adaptation of Les Misérables was presented at the Palais des Sports in 1980. Along the way, Valjean and a slew of characters are swept into a revolutionary period in France, where a group of young idealists attempt to overthrow the government at a street barricade in Paris. But a police inspector named Javert refuses to let him escape justice and pursues him for most of the play. Valjean decides to break his parole and start his life anew after a bishop inspires him with a tremendous act of mercy. Set in early 19th-century France, Les Misérables is the story of Jean Valjean, a French peasant, and his desire for redemption, released in 1815 after serving nineteen years in jail for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister's starving child. Its English-language adaptation by producer Cameron Mackintosh with lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer has been running in London since October 1985, making it the longest-running musical in the West End and the second longest-running musical in the world after the original Off-Broadway run of The Fantasticks. The original French musical premiered in Paris in 1980 with direction by Robert Hossein. Les Misérables ( / l eɪ ˌ m ɪ z ə ˈ r ɑː b( əl), - b l ə/ lay MIZ-ə- RAHB(-əl), - RAH-blə, French: ), colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz ( / l eɪ ˈ m ɪ z/ lay MIZ), is a sung-through musical with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, and a book by Schönberg and Boublil, based on the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. ![]() Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical.Laurence Olivier Award for Most Popular Show. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |