Initially, critical reviews for Les Misérables were negative. Les Misérables, today, has received widespread critical acclaim, and audiences have often cited it as one of the greatest musicals ever. See also: Long-running musical theatre productions The success of the West End musical led to a Broadway production.Ĭritical reception and milestones After two years in development, the English-language version opened in London on 8 October 1985, by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican Centre, then the London home of the RSC.
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Mackintosh, in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company, assembled a production team to adapt the French musical for a British audience. Initially reluctant, Mackintosh eventually agreed.
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Farago had been impressed by the work and asked Mackintosh to produce an English-language version of the show. In 1983, about six months after producer Cameron Mackintosh had opened Cats on Broadway, he received a copy of the French concept album from director Peter Farago. Les Misérables was originally released as a French-language concept album, and the first musical-stage adaptation of Les Misérables was presented at the Palais des Sports in 1980. 13.1.2 Original Broadway Cast recording.Along the way, Valjean and a slew of characters are swept into a revolutionary period in France, where a group of young idealists attempt to overthrow the government at a street barricade in Paris. Valjean decides to break his parole and start his life anew after a bishop inspires him with a tremendous act of mercy, but a police inspector named Javert refuses to let him escape justice and pursues him for most of the play.
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Set in early 19th-century France, Les Misérables is the story of Jean Valjean, a French peasant, and his desire for redemption, released in 1815 after serving nineteen years in jail for stealing a loaf of bread for his sister's starving child. Its English-language adaptation by producer Cameron Mackintosh has been running in London since October 1985, making it the longest-running musical in the West End and the second longest-running musical in the world after the original Off-Broadway run of The Fantasticks. The original French musical premiered in Paris in 1980 with direction by Robert Hossein. Les Misérables ( / l eɪ ˌ m ɪ z ə ˈ r ɑː b( l ə)/ French pronunciation: ), colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz ( / l eɪ ˈ m ɪ z/), is a sung-through musical and an adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel of the same name, by Claude-Michel Schönberg (music), Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel (original French lyrics), and Herbert Kretzmer (English lyrics). Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical.Laurence Olivier Award for Most Popular Show.