On March 12, 1997, Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg celebrated their first decade on Broadway with the 10th anniversary performance of Les Miserables.

On April 12, their Miss Saigon celebrated its sixth year on Broadway.

Will their Martin Guerre ever be in a position to reach a similar landmark?

As of Aug. 26, the chances remain extremely unlikely. "No plans are in the works to bring Martin Guerre to the U.S., including Broadway," said spokesperson Mark Thibodeau (of The Publicity Office). "Then again, it's not as if plans were made and then reversed. [Producer] Cameron Mackintosh has never announced the show for New York."

The musical opened in London in summer 1996 to mixed notices but won the Olivier Award for Best New Musical in February 1997. "It's carrying on very well in London right now," Mackintosh told Playbill On-Line in March. "I still don't know how long it's going to run. I have no plans for America until the outcome in London is finalized. What I WON'T do is plan to do Martin Guerre on Broadway in the same way as I've done other shows. That, I'm sure of.

"I think I will do Martin Guerre in America regionally," the producer ventured. "It may end up on Broadway, but I'm not going to bring it in as a big London blockbuster--simply because that isn't the nature of that show."

The fact-based historical tale tells of a 16th century peasant who returns to his wife and family a much better person than the misfit he was seven years earlier, arousing the suspicions (and fatal fury) of his fellow townspeople.

"It's about a village," says Mackintosh, "and I think it's one of the best scores that Boublil and Schonberg have ever written. The audiences love it."

-- By Harry Haun and David Lefkowitz