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Complete Cast of Broadway's 2006 Les Miz Announced; First Preview Is Now Oct. 24
By Kenneth Jones
11 Jul 2006
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Alexander Gemignani leads the cast as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables.
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The ensemble to play the populace of early 1800s France in the fall Broadway return of Les Misérables has been announced.
Joining the already-revealed Alexander Gemignani (as Jean Valjean), Norm Lewis (Javert), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Fantine), Aaron Lazar (as Enjolras), Adam Jacobs (as Marius), Lea Michele (as Eponine), Ali Ewoldt (as Cosette), Gary Beach (as Thenardier) and Jenny Galloway (as Madame Thenadier) will be Victor Hawks (Brujon), Tess Adams, Gabrielle Piacentile, Kylie Liya Goldstein (Young Cosette/Eponine), Jacob Levine and Brian D'Addario (Gavroche), J.D. Goldblatt (Montparnasse), James Chip Leonard (Claquesous), Jeff Kready (Babet), Drew Sarich (Grantaire), Justin Bohon (Joly), Nehal Joshi (Lesgles), Blake Ginther (Feuilly), Daniel Bogart (Combeferre), Robert Hunt (Courfeyrac), Doug Kreeger (Jean Prouvaire),
Karen Elliot, Farah Alvin, Haviland Stillwell, Nikki Renee Daniels, Becca Ayres, Megan McGinnis, Marya Grandy, Idara Victor and swings Matt Clemens, Stephen Trafton, Marissa McGowan and Q. Smith.
Caird and his casting directors are showing detail even in the largely anonymous female ensemble: Farah Alvin (I Love You Because), Megan McGinnis (Little Women, Beauty and the Beast) and Nikki Renee Daniels (Aida) are respected as major talents in the Broadway singer-actress community. (The show's understudies are drawn from the ensemble, of course, so one expects names like McGinnis, and such male stalwarts as Drew Sarich and Justin Bohon to be cast in the ensemble.)
Performances of the Les Miz revival begin Oct. 24 (rather than the originally announced Oct. 22) at the Broadhurst Theatre toward a Nov. 9 opening. A limited six-month engagement has been announced. The two-day change was to allow more tech time in light of the recent extension of The History Boys at the Broadhurst.
Rehearsals for the new company will begin in early September, under the direction of co-director John Caird. He and director Trevor Nunn are the original co-directors of the French-created, British-developed pop musical based on the novel by Victor Hugo. No major reinvention of their lavish internationally-famed production — in which a turntable is used to potent effect — is expected. The set used will be fresh from the long-running North American tour, which closes July 23 after many years.
The show is expected to dawn in regional theatres in the coming year, meaning local directors and choreographers will be putting their own stamp on the modern classic.
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Four of the principals — Gemignani, Lewis, Rubin-Vega and Lazar — will be performing in Les Miz for the first time.
"I am delighted that we have found nine exceptional and diverse performers — a wonderful combination of seasoned pros and exciting young talent — to help bring a fresh perspective and vitality to this new production of Les Miz at the elegant and intimate Broadhurst," said producer Mackintosh, in a statement.
Produced by Cameron Mackintosh, Les Misérables is by Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel by Victor Hugo. It features music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, with original French text by Alain Boublil & Jean-Marc Natel and additional material by James Fenton.
Directed by Trevor Nunn & John Caird, the musical is designed by John Napier with lighting by David Hersey, costumes by Andreane Neofitou and Elise Napier and sound by Andrew Bruce and John Weston.
Les Miz was first presented by Cameron Mackintosh and The Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican Theatre in October 1985. The musical transferred to the West End's Palace Theatre later that year, where it played for 19 years. The production transferred to the Queen's Theatre in April 2004, where it continues today.
The musical is the third longest-running show in Broadway history and will, on Oct. 9, pass the 21-year-old record of Cats in London to become the longest-running musical ever on the West End or Broadway with 8,372 performances; a run nearly three years longer than Broadway’s record-holder The Phantom of the Opera (all three shows were produced by Cameron Mackintosh).
The original Broadway run ended only three years ago. It played 6,680 performances.
For more information, visit www.lesmis.com.
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Tickets are on sale via Telecharge.com.
The first preview was originally announced to be Oct. 21. It was then shifted to Sunday Oct. 22, and now is Oct. 24.
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