HAMILTON to Join LES MISERABLES in Dimming Its Marquee Tonight for Kyle Jean-Baptiste

LES MISERABLES' home, Broadway's Imperial Theatre, will not be the only marquee dimming its lights tonight, September 1, in honor of Kyle Jean-Baptiste. HAMILTON just Tweeted that the Richard Rodgers Theatre will also observe the gesture, scheduled for 10:15 p.m. following the evening performance of LES MIZ.

The lights will be dimmed at the front of the Imperial (on the 45th Street marquee) following the evening performance so that all of the Les Miserables cast and crew, as well as Kyle's friends and family and other members of the Broadway community, can join in the tribute.

Cleveland's Playhouse Square also announced last night it will dim its marquee at 9 p.m. in honor of Jean-Baptiste, who appeared in several productions there before his big Broadway break.

Jean-Baptiste died on Friday, August 28 at the age of 21 after an accident at home, in which he fell off his mother's fire escape. After the news of Kyle's death, many of Jean-Baptiste's fans and colleagues began using the Twitter hashtag #Dim4Kyle in an effort to encourage the Broadway League to dim the district's lights in his honor.

Kyle made history on July 23 when he became the first African American actor, and the youngest person ever, to play the lead role of 'Jean Valjean' in LES MISERABLES on Broadway.

A native of Brooklyn and a graduate of the Fiorello LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts, Kyle Jean-Baptiste attended Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio where he starred in numerous productions. The day after his graduation, he was hired to join the ensemble of Les Miserables and understudy the role of 'Jean Valjean'. Kyle was scheduled to depart Les Miserables on September 6th to join the new Broadway production of THE COLOR PURPLE.

The Kyle Jean-Baptiste '15 Music Theatre Scholarship has been established at his alma mater, Baldwin Wallace University, to carry forward Kyle's legacy and benefit music theatre students.