LES MISÉRABLES is probably one of the most iconic titles of any show ever, both on Broadway, in the West End and around the world. The show celebrates its latest iteration, opening tonight on Broadway at the Imperial Theatre in New York. With Ramin Karimloo staring as the new Jean Valjean, this production is bound to be as big a hit as ever!
In spite of being panned by critics early on (see some of the history here), LES MIZ has gone on to become one of the most influential stage musicals of all time, proving that professional critics don’t always have the last word. Instead, theatre-goers are having thier say, as LES MISÉRABLES will undoubtedly continue living on for “one day more” for generations.
To prep you for the current Broadway run, here are some well (and little)-known facts surrounding the show’s over quarter-century history (according to the show’s official website).
LES MISÉRABLES has been translated into 22 different languages:
English, Japanese, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, German, Polish, Swedish, Dutch, Danish, French, Czech, Castillian, Mauritian Creole, Flemish, Finnish, Argentinian, Portuguese, Estonian, Mexican Spanish and Korean.
Productions of LES MISÉRABLES have played in 42 countries and over 319 cities:
England, United States of America, Japan, Israel, Hungary, Australia, Iceland, Norway, Austria, Canada, Poland, Sweden, Holland, Denmark, New Zealand, France, The Czech Republic, Spain, Northern Ireland, Eire, Scotland, Wales, Bermuda, Malta, Philippines, Mauritius, Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, South Africa, Belgium, Finland, Argentina, Brazil, Estonia, China, Mexico, Switzerland, Serbia, The Channel Islands, The Dominican Republic & Kuwait.
The production has played over 48,000 professional performances giving a total audience figure of more than 60 million people worldwide.
125,000 people attended the 1989 Australia Day concert in Sydney, which has been the biggest single live audience for LES MISÉRABLES to date.
400 million viewers in 197 countries created the biggest broadcast audience for LES MISÉRABLES when the 1996 European Football Championship starring 250 cast members was televised.
The London production of LES MISÉRABLES is the world’s longest running musical where it played 7,602 performances at the Palace Theatre before transferring to the Queen’s Theatre where it opened on 3th April 2004.
There are approximately 101 cast and crew directly involved in every performance, not including front of house staff, ticket sales, wardrobe staff, set contractors, maintenance, office staff, advertising and publicity.
Each performance entails some 392 costumes consisting of over 5000 items of clothing and 85 wigs.
The Barricades move 19.5 meters per show at the Queen’s theatre
LES MISÉRABLES has won over 100 major theatre awards including an Olivier, Tony & Grammy.
There have been over 47 cast recordings of LES MISÉRABLES including albums, singles and the symphonic. Both the original Broadway cast album and the symphonic recordings won Grammy awards.
LES MISÉRABLES opens March 23, 2014 at the Imperial Theatre in New York. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.lesmis.com/broadway today!
