Les Miserables, 25 Years Young: Revolutionary Facts and Figures About this Cultural Phenomenon

Les Miserables, 25 Years Young: Revolutionary Facts and Figures About this Cultural Phenomenon

Les Miserables celebrates 25 years.2010 marks the 25th anniversary year for LES MISERABLES, but over in the UK the revolution is just getting started.

To celebrate this milestone, Cameron Mackintosh recently presented a brand new 25th anniversary production of Boublil & Schonberg's legendary musical with glorious new staging and spectacular re-imagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. The new production was acclaimed by the critics, fans, and new audiences, while breaking box office records across the UK.

2010 also saw LES MISERABLES make theatrical history with an international first - three different productions playing in London at the same time  - the Original Production at The Queen's Theatre, the NEW 25th Anniversary Production at The Barbican, London and a celebratory concert at The O2 (to be shown in movie theatres, one night only on November 17th) with past and present cast members.  This showbiz trifecta is a fitting testament to the title's lasting impact as a cultural phenomenon and a truly innovative musical.

Les Miserables



Facts and Figures
The LES MISERABLES Official Website has a host of fascinating photos, videos, stories and more.  One of the things we found particularly interesting are all the Facts and Figures associated with the show.  Here are just a few:

  • Les Misérables has been translated into 21 different languages (English, Japanese, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, German, Polish, Swedish, Dutch, Danish, French, Czech, Castillian, Mauritian Creole, Flemish, Finnish, Argentinian, Portuguese, Estonian and Mexican Spanish).

  • Productions have played in 42 countries and 291 cities.

  • The production has played over 43,000 professional performances worldwide giving a total audience figure of more than 55 million people.

  • The biggest single live audience for Les Misérables to date was 125,000 at the 1989 Australia Day concert in Sydney. The biggest broadcast audience was when 250 Les Misérables cast members sang at the 1996 European Football Championship, televised to 400 million viewers in 197 countries.

  • The longest running production is in London where it played 7,602 performances at the Palace Theatre before transferring to the Queen's Theatre where it opened on 3th April 2004. It is now the world's longest running musical.


Les Mis in Pop Culture
And who can forget the impact LES MISERABLES has made in the world of pop culture - from Susan Boyle's meteoric rise to the top with her rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream" to TV's "Seinfeld" where George Costanza can't get the words to "Master of the House" out of his head:

Click to watch the clip.

Click to watch the clip.


Les Miz in Concert
les-mis-concert
Share Your Story
Do you have a favorite LES MISERABLES moment or story? We'd love to hear it.  Let us know by leaving a comment below or by checking out LES MISERABLES MTI ShowSpace page.