- Performances: 1,024
- Open / Close: March 23, 2014 – September 4, 2016
- Tony Awards: Three nominations, no wins.
- Box Office: $108.5M ($116.7M in 2020 dollars).
- Fun Fact(s): This production is the first of 9 revivals on this list. The 1996 revival of “Chicago” is currently the second longest-running Broadway show behind “Phantom.” The original London production of “Les Mis” with nearly 14,000 performances is the longest running West End musical and the second-longest running show behind “The Mousetrap.”
Podcast
It’s all about family! Four Timberlines gather to chat about the enduring power of “Les Mis.” We talk about the life lessons imparted by the show, how listening to its soundtrack was a great introduction to theater in general, and some of the ridiculous ways lyrics can be misheard.
I can’t be objective about “Les Mis:” I fell in love with it back in the mid-90s and that love has only grown stronger over the years. Haters complain about emotions pitched at 11 throughout, I embrace the intensity of rash decisions and love at first sight. Sophisticates make ironic jokes about the anthemic songs, I swoon at every soaring melody. Critics say “over the top,” I ask “that’s a problem?”
I’ll have a chance to wax poetic about “Les Mis” when I cover the original production, which is comfortably ensconced as the 6th longest running show on Broadway (its closest rival, “The Book of Mormon,” is a full 3,000 performances behind). For now, I’ll just say that, for me, even a bad “Les Mis” (e.g., VA’s Signature Theatre production back in 2008) is still pretty good.
The road to this revival started when the original production on Broadway was running out of gas after 16 years. During the fall of 2002, performances were sometimes at 50% capacity, grossing under $300K a week. With a huge cast and lots of effects, the running costs for the show were reportedly $350K.
Of course, when the closing was announced, there was a surge in sales, adding another several months worth of performances to its total. Only 3 years after the original production closed, the touring production of the show was brought to Broadway for a “limited 6-month run.” Though extended another 9 months due to strong sales, it was mostly coasting on holiday and tourist crowds. Closing after less than 500 performances, it was suspected that “Les Mis” may be just too expensive to mount in NYC anymore.
Then the 2012 movie version made a surprising amount of money: even though reviews were mixed, it raked in more than $440 million internationally. This success apparently prompted the development of the 2014 revival.
- Fun (Movie) Facts: Anne Hathaway got a lot of attention for her performance in the movie, her ultimate Oscar win, and also for her weight loss, losing 25 pounds to play Fantine. But Hugh Jackman actually lost more: in order to play the enslaved Valjean for the beginning scenes, he lost a total of 30 pounds. For perspective on the money making of the movie: its domestic box office hit $109M after 17 days of release; the entire 2014 stage revival ran for 29 months and grossed $108.5M.
a good choice, adding atmospherics and cutting costs.
The revival opened in early spring and, in part thanks to a reviving economy after the 2009 recession, sold well from the beginning. Though the differences in the production were more tweaks than a wholesale re-imagining, it received generally positive reviews, even winning over some long-time haters and skeptics.
I saw the production a month before it closed, bringing along a crew of adolescents who had never seen it and knew nothing about it. We saw John Owen-Jones portraying Jean Valjean and he was solid, if not the best I’d ever seen. I wish I had seen Ramin Karimloo as he reportedly brought an intense physicality to the role that I think reinforces that Valjean’s character was forged during years of hard labor.
- Fun Fact: Owen-Jones has made a name for himself as a Valjean replacement, joining the London production in 2005, closing out the Broadway revival run in 2007, and then also closing out this most recent revival in 2016.
The revival opens with the convicts apparently working as rowers on some ship, which I thought odd but found out later was a set-piece borrowed and reworked from the movie. The infamous (and delightfully mocked) turntable from the original was gone and, beyond that, the staging seemed more tightly choreographed and streamlined. In particular, some of the dramatic deaths weren’t exploited for pathos for quite so long.
All the highlights were there and given their rousing due: the Valjean/Javert fight after Fantine dies, the “Master of the House” scene, the assembling of the barricades, the trip through the sewers, etc. etc.. The scene of the Thenadiers at the wedding was milked for more laughs than it sometimes is, also a good choice in such a dark show.
The youngsters loved the show, though they were, I believe, a little gobsmacked. These were theater/music kids but, to the extent they thought about it at all, I think they saw musical theater as something that was light and frivolous. They had not expected so many dark moments, a central conflict that wasn’t strictly black-and-white, a finale where the good guys don’t win. In their reaction, I saw a bit of what I love about “Les Mis:” a deeply moral show that isn’t preachy, a story that portrays not only the redemptive power of love, but the profound price that is often paid by those who pursue it.
Final Grade: A.
PS: If you should be looking for a “Les Mis” fix, you can check out the 25th Anniversary concert version on BroadwayHD, you can watch a bootleg of the full production below or, of course, dial up the movie version on Amazon Prime or Netflix.