Les Misérables, colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz, is a sung-through musical with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, and a book by Schönberg and Boublil, based on the 1862 novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. The original French musical premiered in Paris in 1980 with direction by Robert Hossein. Its English-language adaptation, with lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, produced by Cameron Mackintosh, has been running in London since October 1985, making it the longest-running musical in the West End and the second longest-running musical in the world after the original Off-Broadway run of The Fantasticks.
Michael Ashley Ball is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of Les Misérables, and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera. In 1989, he reached number two in the UK Singles Chart with "Love Changes Everything", a song taken from the musical Aspects of Love, where he played Alex Dillingham. He played the role in London and on Broadway. His album Coming Home To You reached number one in the UK making it his 4th number one album to date. On 24 April 2020, Ball and Captain Tom Moore entered the UK Singles Chart at number one with a cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone", with combined chart sales of 82,000 making it the fastest-selling single of 2020.
Colm Wilkinson, also known as C. T. Wilkinson, is an Irish-Canadian singer and actor who is best known for originating the lead role of Jean Valjean in Les Misérables and for creating the title role in The Phantom of the Opera (1985) preview at the Sydmonton Festival and the original Canadian production.
John Owen-Jones is a Welsh musical theatre actor and singer, best known for his portrayals of Jean Valjean in Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg's Les Misérables and The Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera.
Dave Willetts is an English singer and actor known for having leading roles in West End musicals.
Hugh Panaro is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his work in Broadway stage musicals, most well known for his role in The Phantom of the Opera being in over 2,000 performances in the Broadway production.
Ramin Karimloo is a Canadian actor, singer and composer recognized for his work in London's West End and New York’s Broadway theatre.
Simon Gleeson is an Australian actor and singer who is best known for playing Raoul in the 2011 Australian production of Love Never Dies and Jean Valjean in the 2014 Australian revival of Les Misérables, he reprised the role of Valjean in the 2016/17 cast of the West End production.
Peter Lockyer is an American actor and tenor. He was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. As a child, he split his time between Toronto and Connecticut, and went to the same high school as the actress Gretchen Mol. Lockyer has appeared in numerous productions, including Miss Saigon as Chris Scott, Chicago as Billy Flynn, The Phantom of the Opera as Ubaldo Piangi and as a Phantom/Raoul/Andre understudy, Les Misérables as Marius Pontmercy and La Boheme as a Rodolfo understudy on Broadway. He has also appeared in the 25th anniversary US tour of Les Misérables as Jean Valjean. He appeared on TV with Bette Midler in a 1993 adaption of Gypsy.
Jon Robyns is a British stage actor, who is best known for playing Jean Valjean in Les Misérables and is currently playing the title role in The Phantom of the Opera in London's West End.
Robert Hugh "Hadley" Fraser is an English actor and singer. He made his West End debut as Marius Pontmercy in Les Misérables. He also originated the role of Tiernan in the Broadway show The Pirate Queen.
Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe is an English actor and singer who performs primarily in musical theatre.
Les Misérables: The Dream Cast in Concert (1995), also titled Les Misérables in Concert, is a concert version of the 1980 musical Les Misérables, which was based on Victor Hugo's 1862 novel, produced to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the West End production. It was filmed in October 1995 at the Royal Albert Hall and was shortly afterwards released on VHS in the United Kingdom in November by Video Collection International. The concert was released on DVD, VHS and LD in North America by Columbia TriStar Home Video in 1998, and re-released on DVD in North America in 2008. The latest DVD presents the concert in its original 16x9 ratio.
Robert John Guest was a New Zealand-Australian actor, television personality and host and singer, who started his career in pop music in New Zealand, before becoming best known for his work in Australian musical theatre, particularly in various productions of The Phantom of the Opera. He played the lead for a record-breaking 2,289 performances over seven years, more than any other performer.
Killian Donnelly is an Irish tenor. He has appeared in musicals and plays, such as Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, The Commitments, Memphis and Kinky Boots.
Earl Carpenter is an English musical theatre actor and singer, recognized chiefly for his work in London's West End. He is known for his performances as Inspector Javert in the stage musical Les Misérables and as the title character in The Phantom of the Opera, both roles he has played on and off for two decades. He is widely known for his rich, deep baritone singing voice.
Les Misérables in Concert: The 25th Anniversary was performed and filmed at The O2 Arena in North Greenwich, London, England, on 3 October 2010 at 1:30 pm and 7:00 pm. It marked the 25th anniversary of the original West End production of Les Misérables, which was based on Victor Hugo's 1862 novel, and has been running since October 1985.
Glyn Kerslake is a British actor who was born in 1967 in Devon. He trained as an actor at Arts Educational Schools, London. He has had an extensive career spanning more than 30 years playing leading roles in the West End and regional theatres nationwide, and has been a soloist in many orchestral concerts and radio broadcasts.
Les Misérables: The Staged Concert is a 2019 British live stage recording of the 1980 musical Les Misérables, itself an adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel, filmed at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End on 2 December 2019, and broadcast live to UK and Irish cinemas. Starring Michael Ball, Alfie Boe, Carrie Hope Fletcher and Matt Lucas, it was the final performance of the stage production Les Misérables: The All-Star Staged Concert, which ran for four months from 10 August. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
Bradley Jaden is an English actor. His West End credits include the roles of Javert and Enjolras in Les Misérables, Fiyero in Wicked, and Lancelot in Camelot, as well as understudying the title role in Shrek the Musical and Jean Valjean in Les Misérables.
