With the Saturday evening, Aug. 25 show, Les Miserables will reach its 5,959th performance on Broadway — a milestone, since that ties the number held by Oh, Calcutta!, the third longest-running show in Broadway history. The Monday night, Aug. 28 performance of Les Miz will then put the Boublil-Schonberg tuner alone in third place, at 5,960.
Les Miz fans can also take heart that since the musical shows no signs of collapsing a la Cats or Miss Saigon, it's likely to pass A Chorus Line (6,137) in the number-two slot about half a year from now. The all-time champ remains Cats, which closed Sept. 10, 2000 after 7,485 performances.
[Although there have been some discrepancies about how many official Broadway performances Oh, Calcutta! racked up, owing to its odd schedules and production history, the League of American Theatres and Producers, Variety and the Best Plays book series all stand by 5,959 as the figure for Les Miz to beat.]
On March 12, Les Miserables started its 15th year on Broadway. Courtesy of the Publicity Office, which reps Les Miz, here are a few other interesting facts about the longevity of the musical hit:
* As of March 2001, the Broadway production had grossed more than $355 million, with 8 million people having seen the show.
* 375 actors have performed in the Broadway company.
* 1,558 people have worked on the show in various capacities.
* 210 people are currently employed in direct association with the show.
* 451 shows have opened on Broadway since Les Miserables opened.
* The onstage turntable has circulated 186,368 times.
* 429 shows have closed on Broadway since Les Miserables opened.
* The last six U.S. presidents (including Dubya) have seen the show. *
In other Les Miz news, Nov. 23, 1999 First Night Records released a newly remastered Complete Symphonic Recording of Les Miserables, an enhanced CD featuring video clips from Germany, Austria, Norway, Czech Republic and the 10th Anniversary concert, as well as highlights from the Les Miserables interactive CD-ROM.
To create the Complete Symphonic Recording, First Night drafted performers from the Broadway, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Sydney productions of Les Miserables. The Grammy Award-winner has already gone gold in the United States.
Tickets ($20-$85) for regular performances of Les Miserables at the Imperial Theatre, 249 West 45th Street, can be ordered by calling (212) 239-6200.
