A STAR STUDDED L E S M I S É R A B L E S OPENS NEXT DOOR AT THE GIELGUD THEATRE FOR 16 WEEKS ONLY CONTINUING THE SHOW’S RECORD-BREAKING RUN IN A SPECTACULAR AND INTIMATE STAGING OF THE LEGENDARY CONCERT MICHAEL BALL, ALFIE BOE, CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER, MATT LUCAS LEAD A CAST AND ORCHESTRA OF OVER 65 THE NEW PRODUCTION RE-OPENS THE NEWLY REFURBISHED QUEEN’S THEATRE IN DECEMBER 2019 Cameron Mackintosh today (6 February 2019) announces that for 16 weeks only Michael Ball (Javert), Alfie Boe (Jean Valjean), Carrie Hope Fletcher (Fantine) and Matt Lucas (Thénardier) will lead a large cast and orchestra of over sixty-five in the concert version of Les Misérables. Katy Secombe also joins to play Madame Thénardier and for three performances a week, the role of Jean Valjean will be played by John Owen-Jones. Further casting will be announced shortly. This spectacular staging of the legendary concert, previously seen in London at the Royal Albert Hall and the O2 Arena, will run from 10 August – 30 November 2019 at the intimate Gielgud Theatre next door to the current home of Les Misérables at the Queen’s Theatre. Public booking opens at 12noon (GMT) on Thursday 7 February 2019. Cameron Mackintosh said: “The success of Les Misérables continues to amaze me and break new ground. Despite the fact the show continues to play to 95% capacity we have been obliged to close the production at the Queen’s Theatre for 16 weeks this Autumn to do much needed work. This includes restoring the ceiling plasterwork and the auditorium, adding many more lavatories, as well as carrying out major renovations backstage, which haven’t been touched since the 1940s. The theatre was heavily damaged during World War II and has never been properly restored and brought up to modern standards.” “Les Misérables is the only musical ever that has been equally successful on stage, film, in concert and in the classroom. Its spectacular staged concerts are legendary successes, just as popular as the stage show. I am thrilled that the plan to keep Les Misérables running in London with a staged concert version on Shaftesbury Avenue during the enforced closure period has attracted such a stellar cast, with Michael Ball, Alfie Boe, Carrie Hope Fletcher, John Owen Jones, Matt Lucas and Katy Secombe, who all have a very close personal connection to the history of the show. Of course I am a bit miserable that Michael, the gorgeous young actor that created the student Marius in the original production, is now for the first time old enough to play the implacable inspector Javert, an amazing match for Alfie’s career defining portrayal of Jean Valjean.” “I know fans are in for a unique and amazing experience from our huge Company who will be performing in the glorious intimate theatrical space of the Gielgud Theatre.” /more…. -2- Produced on stage by Mackintosh, Les Misérables is the world’s longest running musical now in its 34th year in London. Its celebrated score includes the songs, I Dreamed a Dream, On My Own, Stars, Bring Him Home, Do You Hear the People Sing?, One Day More, Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, Master Of The House and many more. Produced on screen also by Mackintosh (along with Working Title and Universal), Les Misérables is now the most successful movie of an ‘original’ stage musical. The Original London production currently at the Queen’s Theatre (following runs at the Barbican and the Palace Theatre) will play until 13 July 2019 when the theatre will then close for four months of rebuilding work both backstage and in the auditorium as well as adding many much-needed new lavatories to the front of house. This work will also restore architect W.G. Sprague’s original boxes and loges which, along with the entire front of house, were destroyed by a bomb in 1940 and caused the theatre to be closed for 20 years. The restored Queen’s Theatre will reopen in December of 2019 with a new production of Les Misérables continuing its phenomenal run indefinitely, with a new West End company being put together now. The new production of Les Misérables, with a separate company, is currently on a record-breaking international tour, sold out a year in advance through to January 2020 which has now been extended to Autumn 2021. Box office for the additional dates will open shortly. Cameron Mackintosh’s production of Les Misérables is written by Alain Boublil and Claude- Michel Schönberg and is based on the novel by Victor Hugo. It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel with additional material by James Fenton and adaptation by Trevor Nunn and John Caird. IMAGES AND BIOGRAPHIES https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rstpg4vkiao5s9b/AABeenKF_ZbgCPnUvyHUFbx2a?dl=0 LISTINGS INFORMATION Les Misérables - The Original Production Theatre: Queen’s Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6AR Dates: until 13 July 2019 Performances: Monday - Saturday at 7.30pm, Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm Les Misérables – The All-Star Staged Concert Theatre: Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6AR Dates: 10 August – 30 November 2019 Performances: Monday - Saturday at 7.30pm, Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm At certain performances John Owen-Jones will be performing the role of Jean Valjean Les Misérables - The New Production Theatre: Queen’s Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6AR Dates: From December 2019 Performances: Monday - Saturday at 7.30pm, Wednesday and Saturday at 2.30pm /more… -3- Booking details Website: https://www.lesmis.com/london Box Office: 0844 482 5151 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lesmisofficial/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lesmisofficial Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesmizofficial/ NOTES FOR EDITORS Les Misérables originally opened in London at the Barbican Theatre on 8 October 1985, transferred to the Palace Theatre on 4 December 1985 and moved to its current home at the Queen’s Theatre on 3 April 2004. When Les Misérables celebrated its 21st London birthday on 8 October 2006, it became the World’s Longest Running Musical, surpassing the record previously held by Cats in London’s West End. In October 2014 the West End production broke another record by celebrating its historic 12,000th performance. In celebration of its 25th anniversary Les Misérables made theatrical history with an international first - three different productions playing in London simultaneously - the Original Production at the Queen’s Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, the acclaimed New 25th Anniversary Production at the Barbican (where the show originally premiered in 1985) and the celebratory concert at The O2. Seen by over 70 million people worldwide in 52 countries and in 22 languages, Les Misérables is undisputedly one of the world’s most popular musicals ever written, with new productions continually opening around the globe, with seven more currently scheduled. There have been 47 cast recordings of Les Misérables, including the multi-platinum London cast recording, the Grammy Award-winning Broadway cast and complete symphonic albums, the live recording of the New 25th Anniversary Production and now the motion picture soundtrack. The DVDs of the 10th Anniversary Royal Albert Hall Gala Concert and the 25th Anniversary at the O2 Arena have sold millions of copies worldwide. There have been over 4,300 productions of the Les Misérables School Edition performed in the UK, US and Australia, making it the most successful musical ever produced in schools. The 2012 Universal film version of Les Misérables co-produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Working Title Films, and directed by Tom Hooper has grossed $450 million worldwide to date. It is one of the highest grossing musical films of all time which has received the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture (Musical/Comedy) and eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won three Academy Awards. The film’s soundtrack debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Album chart, topped the iTunes charts and has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide. The new touring production of Les Misérables has opened to rave reviews across the UK and Ireland and has already taken a record-breaking advance of over £30 million with most dates sold out until January 2020, including Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Plymouth, Milton Keynes, Bradford, Newcastle and Liverpool. Southampton has recently gone on sale and details of further UK and European dates for 2020 and 2021 will be announced shortly. _____________________________________________________________________________________ For further press information: [email protected] or [email protected] 0207 292 8330 and Simon Raw at RAW PR on 020 3829 0930 .