Stephen Joshua Sondheim was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. With his frequent collaborators Harold Prince and James Lapine, Sondheim's Broadway musicals tackled unexpected themes that ranged beyond the genre's traditional subjects, while addressing darker elements of the human experience. His music and lyrics are tinged with complexity, sophistication, and ambivalence about various aspects of life.
Bernadette Peters is an American actress and singer. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo concerts and released recordings. She is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received seven nominations for Tony Awards, winning two, and nine Drama Desk Award nominations, winning three. Four of the Broadway cast albums on which she has starred have won Grammy Awards.
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. Set in early 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells the story of Jean Valjean, a French peasant, and his desire for redemption. After stealing a loaf of bread for his sister's starving child, Valjean is imprisoned for 19 years and released in 1815. When a bishop inspires him with a tremendous act of mercy, Valjean breaks his parole and starts his life anew and in disguise. He becomes wealthy and adopts an orphan, Cosette. A police inspector named Javert pursues Valjean over the decades in a single-minded quest for "justice". The characters are swept into a revolutionary period in France, where a group of young idealists attempts to overthrow the government at a street barricade in Paris.
Maria Lea Carmen Imutan Salonga, is a Filipino singer and actress. Known primarily for her work in theatre, she has starred in musicals on Broadway and in the West End. Her accolades include a Tony Award and a Laurence Olivier Award, in addition to nominations for two Grammy Awards. She was conferred with the Presidential Medal of Merit in 1990 and the Order of Lakandula in 2007, and she was honored as a Disney Legend in 2011.
The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 994 seats on three levels.
Hey, Mr. Producer! was a concert honoring theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh, performed in June 1998 as a benefit for the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) and the Combined Theatrical Charities.
Putting it Together is a musical revue showcasing the songs of Stephen Sondheim. Drawing its title from a song in Sunday in the Park with George, it was devised by Sondheim and Julia McKenzie. The revue has received several productions, beginning with its premiere in England in 1992, Broadway in 1999 and the West End in 2014.
Haydn Gwynne was an English actress. She was nominated for the 1992 BAFTA TV Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance for the comedy series Drop the Dead Donkey (1990–1991), and won the 2009 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for her role in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot the Musical. She was also a five-time Olivier Award nominee, winning her first posthumously in 2024. Her other television roles included Peak Practice (1999–2000), Merseybeat (2001–2002), and playing Camilla in The Windsors from 2016 until her death in 2023.
Gavin Lee is an English actor who has appeared on the stage in musical theatre, notably as Bert in the musical Mary Poppins, in both the West End and on Broadway, and as Squidward Tentacles in the original Broadway cast of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical.
Beth Leavel is an American stage and screen actress and singer.
Merrily We Roll Along is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth. It is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.
Norm Lewis is an American actor and baritone singer. He has appeared on Broadway and in London's West End, film, television, recordings and regional theatre. He is also noted for his wide vocal range. Lewis was the second African-American actor after Robert Guillaume to perform in the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and the first one to do so in the Broadway production. In 2023, he reprised the role in the show's sequel, Love Never Dies, in the West End.
Richard Jay-Alexander is an American Broadway producer and director. He served as Executive Director of the North American Flagship Headquarters, Cameron Mackintosh Inc., for twelve years, known for productions which include Les Misérables, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera,Miss Saigon, Five Guys Named Moe, Oliver! and Putting It Together.
David Harris is an Australian actor and singer. In Australia, he is best known for his performances as Chris in Miss Saigon, Fiyero in Wicked and Emmett in Legally Blonde having received Helpmann Award nominations for all three leading roles. Harris also starred as the Baker in Victorian Opera's production of Into the Woods and, in America, as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables opposite Terrence Mann in 2015. He has released two solo albums. Since early 2023, he has played the role of The Duke of Monroth in the Broadway theater production of Moulin Rouge! The Musical.
Christine Marie Allado is a Filipina-British actress and singer. She is best known for her performance in the role of Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds in the multi Tony and Olivier award-winning West End Production of Hamilton: An American Musical and for starring as Vanessa in the multi Olivier award-winning West End production of In The Heights, both by Lin Manuel Miranda. Her television credits include starring in the BBC's 60th anniversary production of West Side Story as the lead role of Maria and Jasmine in Hallmark Channel's TV film Royal Hearts, as Agent Beverly Walker for The Accidental Spy. She most recently starred in “The Prince of Egypt” musical at the Dominion Theatre in the West End. She sings The National Anthem in Philippines from Manny Pacquiao's boxing against Jeff Horn.
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.
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer, and children's book author.
Eureka Day is a dramatic stage play written by American playwright Jonathan Spector.
Filipina singer and actress Lea Salonga has appeared in international theatre productions, television shows, films, and video games. She made her professional debut on stage in the 1978 Repertory Philippines production of The King and I. She went on to appear and star in productions such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1978), Fiddler on the Roof (1978), Annie (1980), The Sound of Music (1980), The Rose Tattoo (1980), and The Bad Seed (1981) in Manila. In 1981, Salonga made her film debut as Lisa in the Filipino comedy Tropang Bulilit. Salonga continued performing in theatre productions in Manila, including The Goodbye Girl (1982), The Paper Moon (1983), a revival of Annie (1984), and The Fantasticks (1988). From 1983 to 1985, Salonga hosted her own television variety show entitled Love, Lea. In 1986, she also appeared as a Thursday group member on the television series That's Entertainment. Throughout the 1980s, she also appeared in the Filipino films Like Father, Like Son (1985), Ninja Kids (1986), Captain Barbell (1986), Pik Pak Boom (1988), and Dear Diary (1989).
Bradley Jaden is an English actor. His West End credits include the leading roles of Javert and Enjolras in Les Misérables, Fiyero in Wicked, and Lancelot in Camelot.
