(clockwise) Channah Hewitt, Bonnie Langford, Beatrice Penny-Touré, Gavin Lee, James D Gish, Jeremy Secomb and Jac Yarrow join the cast of Les Misérables – The Arena Spectacular
More star signings have been confirmed for the highly anticipated Les Misérables – The Arena Spectacular – the major new world touring production based on the record-breaking Les Misérables – The Staged Concert.
As previously announced, the production will star multi-platinum-selling recording artist and Tony Award-winner Alfie Boe who will share the role of Jean Valjean with Olivier Award-nominee and recent West End Valjean, Killian Donnelly, while Boe’s regular touring partner and fellow multi-platinum-selling recording artist, double Olivier Award-winner Michael Ball and Bradley Jaden, fresh from his critically acclaimed performance in Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, will take turns to play Javert.
They will be joined by Bonnie Langford as Madame Thénardier (Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, Anything Goes) with another alumni of the recent hit production of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, Gavin Lee (Mary Poppins, The SpongeBob Musical) returning as Thénardier after playing the role on Broadway.
The Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends connection continues with Jac Yarrow (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) taking on the role of Marius, Beatrice Penny-Touré (The Book of Mormon, The Phantom of the Opera) playing Cosette, and former West End Javert Jeremy Secomb (The Phantom of the Opera, Sister Act) will play Bishop of Digne. The lead cast is completed by Channah Hewitt (The Lion King, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical) who will return to the role of Fantine after playing the character on the Dutch tour, while Broadway actor James D Gish (Wicked, The Light in the Piazza) will make his European debut as Enjolras. Further casting will be announced soon.
It was also confirmed that due to unprecedented demand and with most UK performances already sold out, new seats have been added in all cities along with an extra performance in Manchester.
Presented by Cameron Mackintosh in association with Nick Grace Management, the tour will launch at the SSE Arena in Belfast from 19-28 September before heading for Glasgow’s OVO Hydro Arena 3-6 October, Sheffield’s Utilita Arena 10-13 October and Aberdeen’s P & J Live Arena 17-20 October. The tour will then begin its European leg in Luxembourg from 25-27 October, followed by Geneva, Trieste, Milan, Copenhagen, Oslo and Zurich. The tour’s final UK dates will be in Manchester at the AO Arena from 26-29 December and at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle from 2-5 January before moving on to Sweden, Australia, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
The tour’s launch will coincide with the groundbreaking stage musical’s 39th year and will run throughout the 40th anniversary celebrations for the world’s longest-running musical in 2025. There are also plans for the production to follow its first world tour with dates in North and South America.
Les Misérables – The Arena Spectacular will be an expanded version of the star-studded concert version of Les Misérables which played to packed houses at the Gielgud Theatre in 2019 while the much-loved show’s original home, the Queen’s Theatre, was closed for refurbishment ahead of its reopening as the Sondheim Theatre. Les Misérables The Staged Concert eventually played over 200 performances in the West End.
The new production will feature a new design tailor-made for arenas and large theatres with audience capacity between 3,000 and 5,000. The spectacular production will have a UK company of over 110 actors, musicians and crew featuring a core cast and celebrated Les Mis alumni as guest stars.
Revealing plans for the production last year, Mackintosh said: “Since the very first concert performance of Les Misérables in Sydney in January 1989, this remarkable musical has proved to be as powerful and successful in its every manifestation. Whether in its original full theatrical form, a blockbuster musical movie, or any of its numerous spectacularly staged concert performances. Over the show’s nearly 40 years existence, it has also proved to be the launch pad for an extraordinary list of stars around the world, in many different languages and countries.
“This much anticipated world tour will be a unique opportunity for many of these celebrated performers to play their favourite roles for short periods in different parts of the world, so fans will get the chance to see their favourite stars (and mine!) in their favourite musical.”
Touring production specialist, Grace added: “I’m thrilled to be co-producing this exciting new world tour with Cameron and to have the opportunity of working on this iconic musical. I’m looking forward to taking this incredible new UK touring production all over the world, bringing it to existing Les Mis fans and those that will be experiencing the phenomenon for the first time.”
The critically acclaimed full production of Les Misérables continues to play the Sondheim Theatre. Cameron Mackintosh’s Les Misérables is written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg and is based on the novel by Victor Hugo. It has music by Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and original French text by Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel with additional material by James Fenton and adaptation by Trevor Nunn and John Caird.
Angela Thomas
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