The History of the Musical "Les Mis" Quiz

Answer: Oliver!

Alain Boublil thought of Little Gavroche when he saw the Artful Dodger on stage in "Oliver." Interestingly, Cameron Mackintosh produced "Oliver!" and later produced Boublil and Shönberg's "Les Miserables." This information can be found in the book "The Complete Book Of Les Miserables" by Edward Behr.

Answer: Courfeyrac

Shönberg actually sang the part of "Courfeyrac" in the Original French Concept Recording. Michel Sardou sang the part of Enjolras, Michel Delpech played Feuilly, and Salvatore Adamo was Combeferre. It's interesting to see that Shönberg chose to play Courfeyrac since Courfeyrac is the one who befriends Marius in the book.

Answer: False

In the beginning everyone in the theatre business told Boublil and Shönberg that "Les Miserables" would never be a success because the theatre was a place to go and have fun- people did not want to pay to see a depressing story. Musicals were supposed to lift the spirits of the audience and leave them wistling fun tunes on the way out. Musicals were not supposed to be serious. Of course, Cameron Mackintosh later accepted the project after hearing the concept recording.

This fact comes from the book "The Complete Book of Les Miserables" by Behr and from reviews written by critics.

Answer: James Fenton

James Fenton was a very eccentric man who did things on his own time, and he wrote in a very intellectual, complicated, and poetic style that would be too difficult for modern theatre-goers to understand. They changed writers because he was taking too long and his work was not what the musical needed. This story can be found in the "Complete Book of Les Miserables."

Answer: Fantine

Fantine is the most developed character in the original version of the musical. She has two solos in the beginning of the album- "L'Air de la Misere" and "J'Avais Reve D'Une Autre Vie." Surprisingly Valjean was hardly in the original version and only made interjections every so often- he did not even have a solo! The character of Javert is also very undeveloped in the original- we only see him when he is arresting Fantine and when he dies!

Answer: Valjean

They were very impressed with Colm Wilkinson's voice, but he was a tenor when the part was originally written for a bass. They changed the part in order to suit Wilkinson's higher voice. This information comes from "The Complete Book of Les Miserables."

Answer: Fantine

Fantine was the last character to be cast because they could not find the right actress to play her. Patti LuPone was recommended for the part, and she was chosen because they were so impressed with her voice. This information can be found in "The Complete Book of Les Miserables."

Answer: Frances Ruffelle

Frances Ruffelle won the "Tony Award" for "Best Featured Actress in a Musical" for her performance as "Eponine" in the Broadway production. Patti LuPone won the "Olivier Award" for the "Best Actress in a Musical" for her performance as "Fantine" in the London production, but she did not win the Tony.

Answer: Kiyotaka Imai

Kiyotaka Imai only played Javert in the Japanese cast. Takeshi Kaga and Kunio Marai would not allow for the other to play the main role, so they rotated as Valjean and Javert and had to practice for both parts every day. Carlos Víttori played Javert in Mexico and Valjean in Argentina.

Answer: Randal Keith

Randal Keith was the last actor to play Jean Valjean on Broadway before it closed. Both Ivan Rutherford and Roger Seyer were in the last Broadway cast, but they did not play Valjean.