On this date in 1985 Les Misérables premièred in London. 10 facts about the show.
The musical is based on Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name, published in 1862. French lyricist Alain Boublil was inspired to turn it into a musical while watching a production of Oliver!. He saw parallels between the Artful Dodger and the character Gavroche, and imagined the latter singing on stage. From there, he imagined all the other Les Miserables characters in the same way.
In French, Les Misérables translates to "the miserable ones," "the wretched," or "the outcasts".
Initially, the show was recorded as a concept album, in French, with music composed by composed by Claude Michel Schönberg. It was released in 1980 and had a short stage run at the Palais des Sports in Paris.
The English lyrics were written by Herbert Kretzmer, a TV critic for the Daily Mail, and the production co-directed by John Caird and Trevor Nunn.
The instantly recognisable logo for the show was taken from artwork from the original novel. Hugo’s favourite illustrator was one Emile Bayard. For Les Misérables, he provided an ink drawing of Cosette sweeping the floor. The show logo is a cropped image of her face from that picture, superimposed with a tattered French Flag.
When it first opened, Les Misérables was panned by critics. Their comments included “a witless and synthetic entertainment,” “load of sentimental old tosh,” and one dubbed it “The Glums”. However, the public didn’t agree. In less than 24 hours after the first performance, an unprecedented 5000 tickets had been sold. Les Misérables has been running in London continuously since then, making it the longest-running musical in the West End and the second longest-running musical in the world. In America, it’s the fifth longest running Broadway show after Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, The Lion King and Cats.
Around 101 cast and crew are directly involved in every performance. Several costume changes mean each production has 392 costumes and 85 Wigs.
Back in 1985, the producers had a policy that the lead actors had to change costumes and join the chorus when they weren’t required on stage in their principal roles. Tony winner Patti LuPone, who played Fantine, hated having to do that. She tried, to no avail, protesting that she was in another show as well and had to rest her voice. In the end, she protested by not changing out of her chorus costume for the second act. Which was a man’s outfit. She started a tradition, though, and many Fantines now appear in male costume in the second act.
It’s not set during the French Revolution but rather between the years from 1815 to the Paris Uprising of 1832.
Queen Elizabeth II once held a command performance at Windsor Castle. It was to celebrate the Anglo-French alliance and took place in 2004. Those watching the 40 minute highlights performance included French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minster Tony Blair.
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