LES MISÉRABLES REturns to PlayhouseSquare in February

In April 2011, over 42,000 people experienced a brand new 25th anniversary production of Boublil & Schönberg's legendary musical, LES MISÉRABLES. Now, due to overwhelming demand, LES MISÉRABLES returns to Cleveland for one week only as a part of the U.S. Bank Star Performance Series at PlayhouseSquare.

Cameron Mackintosh presents LES MISÉRABLES, with glorious new staging and dazzlingly reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. This new production has been acclaimed by critics, fans and new audiences and is breaking box office records wherever it goes. The Plain Dealer declared, "'Les Miz' is worth cheering for all over again."
Tickets are on sale now for the Cleveland return engagement at PlayhouseSquare's Palace Theatre. To purchase tickets, visit PlayhouseSquare.org, call (216) 241-6000 or visit The PlayhouseSquare Ticket Office. Ticket prices start at only $10. For more information on the production, engagement dates, and locations please visit www.LesMis.com. For a video sneak peek of the New 25th Anniversary Production of Les Misérables, please visit www.LesMis.com/watch.

The New York Times calls this Les Misérables "an unquestionably spectacular production from start to finish." The London Times hails the new show "a five star hit, astonishingly powerful and as good as the original." The Star-Ledger says "a dynamically re-imagined hit. This Les Misérables has improved with age" and NY1-TV proclaims "this new production actually exceeds the original. The storytelling is clearer, the perspective grittier and the motivations more honest. Musical theatre fans can rejoice: Les Miz is born again."

"I'm delighted that 25 years after Les Miz originally opened in London the audience for this marvelous show is bigger and younger than ever before," said producer Cameron Mackintosh. "Over the years I have seen many successful but visually different productions, so it has been exciting to draw inspiration from the brilliant drawings and paintings of Victor Hugo himself, integrated with spectacular projections. The new Les Miz is a magnificent mix of dazzling images and epic staging, driving one of the greatest musical stories ever told."

Based on Victor Hugo's classic novel, Les Misérables is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit. The magnificent score of Les Misérables includes the classic 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.

Cameron Mackintosh's new production of Boublil and Schönberg's Les Misérables has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer from the original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, additional material by James Fenton and original adaptation by Trevor Nunn and John Caird. The original Les Misérables orchestrations are by John Cameron with new orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke and additional orchestrations by Stephen Metcalfe and Stephen Brooker. The production is directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, designed by Matt Kinley inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo with costumes by Andreane Neofitou and additional costumes by Christine Rowlands, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Mick Potter, musical staging by Michael Ashcroft and projections by Fifty-Nine Productions.
Les Misérables originally opened in London at the Barbican Theatre on October 8, 1985, transferred to the Palace Theatre on December 4, 1985 and moved to its current home at the Queen's Theatre on April 3, 2004 where it continues to play to packed houses. When Les Misérables celebrated its 21st London birthday on October 8, 2006, it became the World's Longest-Running Musical, surpassing the record previously held by Cats in London's West End.

In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the legendary musical Les Misérables made theatrical history with an international first - three different productions in London at the same time. The Original Production (still playing to packed houses at the Queen's Theatre), the acclaimed New 25th Anniversary Production at the Barbican (where the show originally premiered) and a celebratory concert at The O2 Arena. The O2 Concert was presented in over 500 cinemas throughout the United States on November 17, 2010 and is now available on Blu-ray DVD through Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

The Broadway production of Les Misérables originally opened at the Broadway Theatre on March 12, 1987 and transferred to the Imperial Theatre on October 17, 1990 running for 6,680 performances. The US National Tour began in November 1987 and visited over 150 cities before closing in St. Louis, MO in 2006. Broadway audiences welcomed Les Miz back to New York on November 9, 2006 where the show played the Broadhurst Theatre until its final performance on January 6, 2008. To date, Les Misérables remains the 3rd longest-running Broadway production of all time.

Seen by nearly 60 million people worldwide in 42 countries and in 21 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 36 cast recordings of Les Misérables, including the multi-platinum London cast recording, the Grammy Award-winning Broadway cast and complete symphonic albums and the soon to be released live recording of the New 25th Anniversary Production. The video of the 10th Anniversary Royal Albert Hall Gala Concert has sold millions of copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling musical videos ever in the UK. There are over 2,500 productions of the Les Misérables School's Edition scheduled or being performed by over 125,000 school children in the UK, US and Australia, making it the most successful musical ever produced in schools.

Cameron Mackintosh is currently developing the film of Les Misérables with Working Title and Universal that will be released Christmas 2012 nationwide.

PlayhouseSquare encourages all guests to "Plan Your Visit" ahead of time by visiting playhousesquare.org and clicking the "Plan Your Visit" tab where directions, parking information, dining options, lodging, ticketing policies and other useful information designed to enhance guest experiences at PlayhouseSquare exist. Whether their visit is the first or one hundred and first, PlayhouseSquare is committed to making guest experiences both as memorable and hassle free as possible.
This performance engagement is a part of the Smart Seats program at PlayhouseSquare that offers smart entertainment at a smart price. For more information on Smart Seats, visit playhousesquare.org/smartseats.

Tickets are on-sale now and range in price from $10 - $80 each. To purchase tickets, call (216) 241-6000, log on to PlayhouseSquare.org or visit The PlayhouseSquare Ticket Office. Special discounts are offered for groups of 15 or more. Please call the Group Sales Department at (216) 664-6050 x1 for more information.

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