subject: The Timeless Classic Les Miserables [print this page] The Timeless Classic Les Miserables The Timeless Classic Les Miserables
Popularly known simply as Les Miz, the story is set during the French Revolution in early 19th century France and has become one of the most successful London theatre shows. At the beginning of the show, a man named Jean Valjean is released from prison after serving nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread. This has understandably made him very bitter and angry. Thanks to the kindness of another character called the Bishop, Valjean finds God and becomes a good man. He eventually becomes a factory owner and mayor of the town Montreuil-sur-Mer. However, he is guilty of breaking his parole, and another character, the policeman Javert, is hot on Valjean's trail.
One of Valjeans factory workers is dying and makes Valjean promise to take care of his daughter Cosette. Valjean honors the promise by purchasing Cosette from a family called the Thenardiers that owned her, and then the show jumps forward nine years. Cosette is now a woman, and is in love with a student revolutionary, a character named Marius. The show climaxes with Valjean saving Marius after a battle during the French Revolution, which allows Cosette and Marius to marry. Along with these main characters, the show has a number of other characters such as factory workers, student revolutionaries and prostitutes.
Les Miserables was originally a French-language musical, which makes sense since it is based on the French-language novel by Victor Hugo. It originally ran in Paris at a sports arena for three months in 1980, and was inspired by a concept album that was itself inspired by the novel. Famous musical producer Cameron Mackintosh received a copy of the concept six months after he opened Cats, and he decided to produce an English-language version of the show.
Three years later the show opened on October 8, 1985 in London at the Barbican Arts Centre. The critical reviews were quite negative, and literary scholars were furious with the producers for turning a piece of classic French literature into an English musical. However, none of these criticisms affected the public at all. They snatched up tickets in a fever, and the original three-month limited production sold out and the reviews eventually mellowed.
Les Miserables is a wonderful piece of musical theatre that has been a smash success in London and Broadway as well, and it would not be a surprise if it runs for another quarter of a century.
