John Caird News

Randy Graff, who originated the role of Fantine in Les Miserables on Broadway, is coming to Toronto to conduct an exciting master class this December. Known for her story-telling through song, Randy will focus on teaching that unique ability to her students. She sat down with BWW to talk about her career, the benefits of the master class and her Les Miserables experience.

The Muny announced principal casting for the fifth show of its fantastic 95th season, Les Miserables. Broadway veterans Hugh Panaro and Norm Lewis make their Muny debuts starring as Jean Valjean and Javert, respectively. Also starring is Michael McCormick as Thenardier. The production is directed by Richard Jay-Alexander, who served as the associate director and executive producer of the original Broadway, touring and Canadian companies of Les Miserables.

Cameron Mackintosh's new 25th anniversary production of LES MISERABLES comes to Sacramentofor a limited engagement at Community Center Theater from May 29 - June 9. The all new production of LES MISERABLES features glorious new staging and spectacular reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo.

Cameron Mackintosh's new production of Boublil and Schonberg's Les Miserables has music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, 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 Miserables 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.

Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) would like to congratulate winners of the awards in the Large Theater category by the Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE). It was an exciting evening for everyone who attended, and MRT is proud to announce the following winners in the Large Theater category. Rebecca Harris won for Best Supporting Actress for Mrs. Whitney, while Megan McGinnis won for Best Actress in a Musical for Daddy Long Legs. Laura Berquist won Best Musical Director for Daddy Long Legs, and John Caird won for Best Director of a Musical for Daddy Long Legs. Lastly, Daddy Long Legs took home the award for Best Musical.

Today we are talking to the originator of Jean Valjean in LES MISERABLES onstage and a preeminent Phantom (and the first to actually play the role) in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA who has clearly made a major mark with his performances in the theatre - not to mention his work on the original concept albums of EVITA and JEKYLL & HYDE - who now makes the leap to the big screen in his featured role in the super-successful feature film iteration of the Claude-Michel Schonberg/Alain Boublil musical based on the Victor Hugo novel - the titanically talented Colm Wilkinson. Opening up about his work in the original Royal Shakespeare Company production of LES MISERABLES and his collaboration with the creative team and cast of actors as well as his association with producer Cameron Mackintosh, director Trevor Nunn and more, Wilkinson details the finer points of creating one of the modern musical theatre's most memorable characters, from his first audition through to the West End, Broadway and beyond. Additionally, Wilkinson reveals all about shooting the feature film version, with Broadway/Hollywood superstar Hugh Jackman taking over the leading role and whether he would consider taking on another character in the show after having essaying Jean Valjean onstage and the Monsignor onscreen - maybe Javert? Plus, Wilkinson shares backstage stories involving fellow theatrical luminaries like Trevor Nunn, Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more in this career-spanning conversation with one of the mega-musical era's most major of stars - - all of that and much, much more awaits!

Now one of the most successful movie musicals of all time, LES MISERABLES triumphantly arrives on DVD and Blu-ray today, so it is an exceptionally apropos time to assess the many vaunted virtues and the legendary history of this spectacular mega musical and pay tribute to some of the best versions of some of its famous anthems now that we can, well, bring it home.

BroadwayWorld's High School Center is proud to showcase high school performance programs around the country in our weekly feature of 'High School in the Spotlight'. Today, we get to know Seattle's Bishop Blanchet High School and its drama department!

Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) brings Neil Simon's comic masterpiece about show business, friendship and growing old, 'The Sunshine Boys' to Arizona audiences. David Ira Goldstein directs one of Neil Simon's most beloved and acclaimed plays in ATC's new production that will premiere in Tucson for three weeks of performances and continue to Phoenix for an additional three weeks. ATC's 'The Sunshine Boys' opens at the Temple of Music and Art, running from tonight, March 2, 2013 through March 23, 2013. It continues its run in Phoenix at the Herberger Theater Center from March 28, 2013 through April 14, 2013.

Riverside Theatre's Simply Amazing Season continues with the international smash musical hit, LES MISERABLES. Winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score, LES MISERABLES performs on the Stark Stage from February 21 through March 17, 2013 and is presented by Wilmington Trust and through the courtesy Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers.

Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) brings Neil Simon's comic masterpiece about show business, friendship and growing old, 'The Sunshine Boys' to Arizona audiences. David Ira Goldstein directs one of Neil Simon's most beloved and acclaimed plays in ATC's new production that will premiere in Tucson for three weeks of performances and continue to Phoenix for an additional three weeks. ATC's 'The Sunshine Boys' opens at the Temple of Music and Art, running from March 2, 2013 through March 23, 2013. It continues its run in Phoenix at the Herberger Theater Center from March 28, 2013 through April 14, 2013.

Cameron Mackintosh announced today that his acclaimed new production of Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schonberg's Tony Award-winning musical masterpiece LES MISERABLES will come to Broadway in March, 2014 at a Shubert theater to be announced. This newly re-imagined LES MISERABLES is breaking box-office records across the country and around the world and inspired filmmakers to make the immensely successful movie which has been nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture and has won 3 Golden Globes including Best Picture, as well as 4 BAFTA's. The new production has been a sell-out since launching a U.S. national tour in November 2010, having already played in 64 cities throughout North America, grossing more than $130 million. International productions of the new LES MISERABLES have met with equal success and acclaim in the U.K, France, Spain and Korea. New productions are scheduled to open in the coming months in Japan, Canada, Australia and Brazil.

2013 IRNE Nominations have been announced, as updated on the organization's Facebook page today, February 18, 2013. As of yet, no April date has been set for the awards ceremony. Scroll below for the full list of nominations!

Lyric Opera of Chicago and its general director, Anthony Freud, announced the lineup for Lyric's 2013-14 season today. Joseph Calleja, Joyce DiDonato, Nathan Gunn, Thomas Hampson, Ana Maria Martinez, Matthew Polenzani, and Patricia Racette are among those headlining the new season's offerings. These comprise 67 performances of eight different operas, beginning October 5, 2013 and concluding March 23, 2014: new productions of Parsifal, La traviata, The Barber of Seville, and Rusalka (Lyric premiere); a revival of Otello; and new-to-Chicago stagings of Madama Butterfly, Die Fledermaus, and La clemenza di Tito. Lyric's music director, Sir Andrew Davis, will lead three operas, and guest conductors Marco Armiliato, Bertrand de Billy and Michele Mariotti will make their house debuts. Additionally, Lyric will present a new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music in the spring of 2014, continuing the company's American Musical Theater Initiative, and Davis will conduct a special Subscriber Appreciation Concert in March featuring Lyric's creative consultant - the star soprano Renee Fleming - with tenor Jonas Kaufmann.

Lyric Opera of Chicago and its general director, Anthony Freud, announced the lineup for Lyric's 2013-14 season today. Joseph Calleja, Joyce DiDonato, Nathan Gunn, Thomas Hampson, Ana Maria Martinez, Matthew Polenzani, and Patricia Racette are among those headlining the new season's offerings. These comprise 67 performances of eight different operas, beginning October 5, 2013 and concluding March 23, 2014: new productions of Parsifal, La traviata, The Barber of Seville, and Rusalka (Lyric premiere); a revival of Otello; and new-to-Chicago stagings of Madama Butterfly, Die Fledermaus, and La clemenza di Tito. Lyric's music director, Sir Andrew Davis, will lead three operas, and guest conductors Marco Armiliato, Bertrand de Billy and Michele Mariotti will make their house debuts. Additionally, Lyric will present a new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music in the spring of 2014, continuing the company's American Musical Theater Initiative, and Davis will conduct a special Subscriber Appreciation Concert in March featuring Lyric's creative consultant - the star soprano Renee Fleming - with tenor Jonas Kaufmann.

Riverside Theatre's Simply Amazing Season continues with the international smash musical hit, LES MISERABLES. Winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score, LES MISERABLES performs on the Stark Stage from February 21 through March 17, 2013 and is presented by Wilmington Trust and through the courtesy Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers.

The Canadian Opera Company unveiled its 2013/2014 season today at a press conference at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. The company's 64th season stars the world's best singers, conductors, directors and designers in a performance year with seven operas, including three COC premieres and three new COC productions. The COC presents Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème with a new production featuring some of Canada's brightest stars; COC Music Director Johannes Debus makes his Benjamin Britten debut when he conducts Peter Grimes with a production starring acclaimed Canadian tenor Ben Heppner in the iconic title role; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Così fan tutte with a new COC production by renowned film and theatre director Atom Egoyan with Debus conducting; Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera starring great Canadian diva Adrianne Pieczonka in a role debut; George Frideric Handel's Hercules with a COC premiere and new COC production by world-renowned director Peter Sellars with a star-studded cast; Gaetano Donizetti's Roberto Devereux with a COC premiere starring soprano Sondra Radvanovsky in a role debut; and Jules Massenet's Don Quichotte with a COC premiere featuring Debus in another conducting debut and the world's pre-eminent bass Ferruccio Furlanetto in the title role.

We've asked a few Les Mis obsessives to compare the movie casts with the others immortalised on recordings and on film...

Lea Salonga, who starred in the original stage production as 'Eponine' and the 2006 revival as 'Fantine' wrote the following review on the new film for Inquirer. Check it out below!

As 2012 comes to a close, many Austin theater companies are putting together their 2013-2014 season. Given the incredible talent in this town and the large number of daring, courageous theater groups in the Austin area, here are my picks for 13 musicals that I'd love to see produced in the 2013-2014 season.