The performance — featuring over 500 actors and musicians, with star performances by Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean, Nick Jonas as Marius, Norm Lewis as Javert, Matt Lucas as Thénardier, Lea Salonga as Fantine, Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier, Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras, Camilla Kerslake as Cosette and Samantha Barks as Eponine — will be beamed live via satellite to cinemas across the globe.
The concert will be screened live in more than 175 cinemas across the U.K. and (more widely) throughout Europe, North America, Japan and Australia. European countries getting the feed include Germany, The Netherlands, Ireland, Norway and Denmark. Visit http://cinestage.net/tickets/les-miserables/ for ticket information. The concert will also be packaged for DVD and Blu-ray release later in the year.
The 25th anniversary concert is produced by Cameron Mackintosh in association with Universal Pictures.
Coinciding with the preparation for the concert were two other Les Miz stagings in London: the original production (directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird) at the Queen's Theatre in the West End, and the newly directed and reconceived 25th anniversary production at the Barbican (it closed Oct. 2). The two London casts will participate in the 7 PM concert. Members of the original 1985 London production are also involved.
Cameron Mackintosh's production of Les Miserables is written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg and is based on the novel by Victor Hugo. It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel and additional material by James Fenton. The original London 1985 production of Les Miz was adapted and directed by Nunn and Caird. The new 25th anniversary production and the O2 Concert are directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell and designed by Matt Kinley. The production has original costumes by Andreane Neofitou, additional costumes by Christine Rowland, lighting by Patrick Woodroffe and Paule Constable and sound by Mick Potter.
Tickets for The O2 Concert are available at www.lesmis.com/O2. Ticket prices are £30, £50, £100 & £150.
Tickets for the original production at the Queen's Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue are available from www.lesmis.com.
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| Lea Salonga as Fantine |
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| photo by Joan Marcus |
When it played its 21st London birthday on Oct. 8, 2006, it became the world's longest-running musical (or so it is billed), surpassing the record previously held by Cats in London's West End. In January 2010, the West End production broke another record by celebrating an historic 10,000 performances.
Seen in 42 countries and in 21 languages, the musical has 36 cast recordings, 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. The video of the 10th Anniversary Royal Albert Hall Gala Concert has sold millions of copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling musical videos ever in the U.K. There are over 2,500 productions of the Les Misérables School Edition scheduled or being performed by over 125,000 school children in the U.K., U.S. and Australia, making it the most successful musical ever produced in schools.
The score includes such songs as "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.
Producer Mackintosh is currently developing a film of Les Misérables with Working Title and Universal.
