NEW YORK – Key castmembers have been set for the return of Les Miserables to Broadway next spring, in a reconceived staging that premiered in Britain in 2009 and has grossed more than $160 million in touring engagements across North America.
Producer Cameron Mackintosh announced Tuesday that the revival will feature Ramin Karimloo as Jean Valjean, Will Swenson as Javert, Caissie Levy as Fantine and Nikki M. James as Eponine.
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Karimloo has played the role of unjustly persecuted prisoner Valjean on the current tour and in London, where his stage credits also include The Phantom of the Opera and its short-lived sequel, Love Never Dies. Les Miserables will mark his Broadway debut.
Swenson is appearing in the off-Broadway musical Little Miss Sunshine, currently in previews. He received a Tony nomination for Hair and has also been seen on Broadway in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.
Levy appeared in Hair and Ghost: The Musical, both in London’s West End and on Broadway. James won a Tony for best featured actress in a musical in 2011 for her role in The Book of Mormon.
Adapted from Victor Hugo‘s epic historical novel, Les Miserables has a book by Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil, with music by Schonberg and lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer.
First seen in London in 1985, the English-language version has gone on to become one of the most commercially successful musical-theater properties of all time, playing continuously in the West End ever since. The original Broadway production opened in 1987 and ran for 15 years. A 2006 Broadway revival ran for a little over a year.
According to producers, Les Miserables has been seen by close to 65 million people worldwide, grossing $2.5 billion.
The upcoming Broadway return marks the show’s first appearance in New York since the 2012 Universal screen adaptation, which netted an Oscar for Anne Hathaway. The film grossed close to $149 million in domestic release and an additional $293 million in international markets.
Directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, the new stage production begins performances at the Imperial Theatre on March 1. Additional casting is to be announced.
