Les Miserables
– Broadway’s brilliant musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s epic tale of
love, loss, honor and redemption – will open Sierra Repertory Theatre’s
35th anniversary season in March, 2014.
Set against the backdrop of pre-revolutionary France, Les Miserables is considered a stage triumph like no other.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled,” said SRT Artistic Director Scott Viets. “Les Miserables has
been a worldwide smash for more than 25 years, but only just now became
available to regional theaters. We jumped at the chance to finally
bring it to our stage.”
Since
its world premiere in London, the show has become the world’s
longest-running musical, translated into 22 languages, winner of more
than 100 theater awards and seen by more than 60 million people
worldwide. The show’s original producer, Cameron Mackintosh, worked with
creators Alain Boubil and Claude-Michel Schonberg, in collaboration
with Herbert Kretzmer, to create what The New York Times called
“thrilling, spectacular and unforgettable.” The London Times said it was
“astonishingly powerful,” and Le Figaro of Paris deemed it “artistic
perfection.”
For
SRT, Viets said the show will be an immense challenge. It has a huge
cast, complex characters, elaborate period costumes and sets, a powerful
musical score and high audience expectations. But Viets said every
member of SRT’s staff is ready and eager.
“It’s rare that you get the opportunity work on a musical that has as much depth as Les Miserables
and that stays as faithful to the original source. Its themes of
injustice and human nature, the story, the characters, the emotions and
drama are all so well supported by an incredible musical score. This is
going to be invigorating for all of us – we can’t wait!”
Producing Director Dennis Jones echoed Viets’ sentiment.
“We
have wanted to do this show for so many years, even though it is such a
stretch. Now with our current staff, we believe the time is right.
We’re excited about it and know our audiences will be too. How could a
theater better serve its community than to bring to life one of the
world’s great stories? Our task will be to captivate the audience,
transport them to this time and help them connect to this wonderful
classic.”
SRT season subscribers will have the first chance to reserve seats for the show when season tickets go on sale September 1. General tickets will go on sale October 1.
For more information, call SRT’s box office at (209) 532-3120 or visit the website at www.sierrarep.org.
