Les Misérables In my opinion The best damn musical ever!

"Once in every five years or so, given average theatregoing luck, a musical soars out at you across the orchestra to strike between the eyes as well as the ears. Les Misérables is one such: a great blazing pageant of life and death at the barricades of political and social revolution in Victor Hugo's nineteenth-century France..."

"...Les Misérables is everything the musical theatre ought to be doing: it relies on no scenic or choreographic gimmicks, no repetitive phrasing, no simplistic homilies. It is not even a star show, though there are superlative central performances from at least half a dozen players drawn from the worlds of rock opera (Colm Wilkinson, Patti LuPone) and classical Shakespeare...I believe that Les Misérables will live on in the West End and on Broadway for many years to come...."

--Sheridan Morley

Now it is my turn, this musical based on Victor Hugo's novel with the same title, which is now on it's eleventh year (in London, nine in America), is called the world's most popular musical. After seeing it just once it can be seen why. You think you cried at Phantom? Wait till you see this. The music is so expressive that you do not even have to know the words to understand this story. It is definately worth the money. ...Me (Todd Hudson)

Les Misérables was first performed at the Barbican Theatre in London on September 30th 1985, and then moved to it's current home at the Palace Theatre in London on the 4th of December 1985. It did not come to Broadway until 1987.

Perhaps the most famous person to act/sing in Les Misérables is Colm Wilkinson. He played the origanal Jean Valjean in both the London and the Broadway productions. He has also gone on to play such roles as the "Phantom" in Phantom of the Opera (The Canadien Cast). Colm recently (1995) join some of the other popular charactor performers in the Royal Park Theatre in London in a 10 year birthday concert of Les Misérables. At the end he joined 17 other "Valjeans" from all over the world in singing a combination of "Do You Hear the People Sing?" and "One Day More" they traded phrases, each singing in there respective languages, and ended with the whole cast. It was very impressive.

Another popular performer is Lea Salonga (left) she played the part of Eponine. She also sang in the birthday concert. But she is more known for her role as "Kim" in Miss Saigon. She was in both the London cast (1989) and the Broadway cast (1991). While on Broadway she also recorded the singing voice of "Jasmine" in Walt Disney's Aladdin. In 1993 she played the part of "Eponine" in the Broadway production of Les Miséables. She has recently recorded for Disney's upcoming Legend of Mulan, and is currently performing as "Eponine" in London of course in Les Misérables.

Here are some other Les Mis links:

My very few pics from various productions of Les Mis:

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