Les Misérables has reached a new milestone of 15,000 performances in the West End.
Last night, audience members were treated to a complimentary drink at the Sondheim Theatre, with performer Stewart Clarke (who is currently in the role of Javert) also making a speech to mark the occasion.
Damn it. If I'd known I would have gotten a ticket.
As a point of comparison, the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera ran for "only" 13,981 performances.
The English language version of Boublil & Schoenberg's Les Miserables (directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird) began preview performances at London's Barbican Centre on 28 September 1985 and opened officially on 8 October 1985.
In 1995 a concert was held at the Royal Albert Hall to mark the show's 10th anniversary.
The London production transferred to the Palace Theatre on 4 December 1985 where it ran until it transferred to the smaller Queens Theatre (since renamed the Sondheim Theatre) on 3 April 2004.
October 2010 marked the 25th anniversary of the show and featured a "weekend of total Mizery", with three productions running simultaneously in London: the original production at the Queen's Theatre, the UK tour production at the Barbican Centre, and the 25th anniversary concert at the (then-called) O2 Arena.
The original production closed at the Queen's Theatre on 13 July 2019 to allow for theatre refurbishments. A staged concert was performed at the adjacent Gielgud Theatre for a four-month run.
An updated staging directed by James Powell and Laurence Connor (and developed for the 25th anniversary UK tour) opened at the newly renamed Sondheim Theatre on 18 December 2019 in previews with opening night on 16 January 2020.
Covid forced a temporary closure of the show from 16 March 2020 to 25 September 2021.
Les Miz will celebrate its 38th anniversary this year on 7 October (there being no performance on Sunday 8 October).
Les Miz has therefore played in six different London venues since its English language premiere in five different incarnations, which has got to be some kind of record:
- the Nunn/Caird production (at the Barbican, the Palace and the Queen's (aka Sondheim))
- the Connor/Powell production (at the Barbican and the Sondheim (aka Queen's))
- the 10th anniversary concert (at the Royal Albert Hall)
- the 2010 25th anniversary concert (at the O2 Arena), and
- the 2019 staged concert (at the Gielgud).
This is all the more remarkable because the show has been running continuously since 1985 (Covid interruption notwithstanding).
The upcoming world arena tour will add another incarnation and maybe venue to this list.
edit: What have I done, sweet Jesus what have I done? - I totally forgot the TAC!!