A Program Note

Seventy million people must be right. And if you are one of the philistines who is not counted in the legions of devotees who have attended a performance of Les Misérables over the past four decades, you best keep it under wraps or risk being swatted with a day-old patisserie. Although it is hard to imagine, when Cameron Mackintosh premiered the English translation of Les Miz at London’s Royal Shakespeare Company in 1985, it drew mixed reviews from the critics. Some of those comments were fired over the bow with such intensity that most ships would have sunk under the sheer weight of the stinging repartee. Irving Wardle, of The Times, noted, “the show increasingly gives itself up to spectacle and push-button emotionalism at the expense of character and content.”

Despite that chatter, audiences reacted differently. A groundswell of adoring fans bubbled up faster than a baking chocolate soufflé. By the end of the first week of previews, the run at the Barbican Theatre was on its way to selling out. That sizable risk which Cameron and his investors put on the line — an estimated $1.2 million in today’s dollars — seemed secure as they prepared to move to the West End’s Palace Theatre in December of 1985. Two years later, this fan favorite opened in New York City’s Broadway Theatre. Since that auspicious first performance, Les Miz has gone on to snag the Tony, Grammy, Oscar and 140 major theatrical awards.

Things were jumping at Playhouse Square in August 1989. That was the summer of the first Les Miz run at Playhouse Square. With our 7,000 season-ticket holders, Cleveland was the 22nd stop for the third national tour. That engagement ran for what was considered a remarkable 16 performances. We simply had not experienced anything like this phenomenon in our recent history.

The success which each of these beloved institutions would find through the ensuing years is now legendary. Playhouse Square’s early passionate leaders, like the visionary producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh, had big dreams. “No” was not in either of our vocabularies. In both instances, there were early critics and naysayers who considered each endeavor a folly.

However, let’s take in for a moment what has unfolded over the past three-and-a-half decades. Cameron is the world’s leading theatrical producer, introducing more beloved and prosperous musicals than anyone else in the history of the industry. Simultaneously, Playhouse Square has grown to become the largest performing arts center in the United States west of the Hudson River — while having the most season-ticket holders in North America (42,000 and counting.)

In celebration of these great achievements, the crème de la crème of musical theater will have traveled 4,000 miles to Playhouse Square. Cameron, along with Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, have come to town to launch this freshly produced tour. In addition, Cleveland native and Tony Award recipient Orin Wolf will be with us in his role as the tour producer.

At the impressionable age of 10, Orin attended our original engagement of Les Miz. That experience inspired him to seek a career in the Broadway industry. Similarly bitten by the showbiz bug at the age of eight, Cameron knew by the end of Salad Days that he wanted to be a producer. You never know what budding empresario is sitting next you!

Les Miz and Playhouse Square have succeeded beyond the odds of what either were initially facing. Neither of us was satisfied with merely thwarting failure. Rather, we are constantly examining how to improve the experience for you. We have a shared story of incredible courage, relentless pursuit and a perpetual mission of evolution to remain influential.

Thankfully, we do hear the people sing.