It has been 150 years since Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables was first published. However, for the last 25 or so, the poignant saga of Jean Valjean, a villain to some but a savior to others, set in France during the early years of the 19th century, has become one of the world’s most popular musicals.
In Les Misérables: From Stage to Screen, the reader can find out how the musical came to life – the trials and tribulations of turning it from the initial concept into a thrilling musical extravaganza – and how the new film version starring Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe and directed by the Oscar-winning Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) has emerged from the show that has been seen by over 55 million people worldwide.
To bring this fascinating story to life, the book also contains at least 15 facsimiles that highlight key moments in the creation of Les Misérables, both on stage and on the screen, including:
• Original costume sketches
• Annotated scripts
• Original music scores and librettos
• Film screenplay extracts and anniversary mementos
GIVEAWAY: HOW TO WIN A FREE COPY OF Les Misérables: From Stage to Screen:
- Subscribe to our feed or subscribe through email (see link on right-hand column)
- Comment and tell us what your favorite or least favorite part of the new Les Miserables movie and tell us how many times you have seen the stage musical.
I will double your chances (I’ll enter your name in twice into random.org) if you give us a shout-out on Twitter and/or Facebook and link the post!
Winner will be chosen February 14th, 2013.
TBC will be choosing the winner by entering the names manually (who’ve done all three things) into random.org. You’ll be notified by email. If we get no response, we will choose another winner. (You will not be notified if you do not win.)
Sarah Packard (@ladystardust25)
02/04/2013 at 8:38 AM
Favorite part would probably be Samantha Barks’ beautiful rendition of “On My Own,” or the rousing reprise of “Do You Hear The People Sing” at the end! I think I’ve seen the stage musical maybe three times?
minkarinka
02/04/2013 at 9:22 AM
Favorite part: the Students! Marius and Enjorlas were amazing. Also the spectacle of the film, just beautiful for such a somber piece.
Least favorite: Cosette with Javert a very close 2nd, I would never have cast bird voiced Amanda Seyfreid.
I’ve seen the show at least 50 times (26 of those from a production I directed,) and the rest from Broadway, the West End and some really bad School Editions.
Jax
02/05/2013 at 7:04 AM
My favorite part is definitely Lea Salonga’s version of On My Own. Totally blown away when I saw her perform at the Les Misérables 10th Anniversary Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
LRY
02/05/2013 at 8:13 AM
I lost track of how many times I’ve seen the show live. I stopped counting at 70 (primarily the 3rd national tour [San Francisco, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Chicago, St. Louis, San Jose], but I’ve also seen it on Broadway, at Sacramento Music Circus and a few school editions). It took me about 18 years to get to that number.
My favorite part of the movie: That it actually happened. I’m old enough to remember 20 years of teasing and false starts. It was surreal to me for the first 10 minutes.
My least favorite part of the movie: Being forced to get a dermatologist’s view of nearly every cast member’s face.
I subscribed through Google Reader; I’m not sure if you can tell!
LRY
02/05/2013 at 8:19 AM
I lost track of how many times I’ve seen the show live. I stopped counting at 70 (primarily the 3rd national tour [San Francisco, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Chicago, St. Louis, San Jose], but I’ve also seen it on Broadway, at Sacramento Music Circus and a few school editions). It took me about 18 years to get to that number.
My favorite part of the movie: That it actually happened. I’m old enough to remember 20 years of teasing and false starts. It was surreal to me for the first 10 minutes.
My least favorite part of the movie: Being forced to get a dermatologist’s view of nearly every cast member’s face.
I subscribed through Google Reader; I’m not sure if you can tell!
Stacey Woods
02/06/2013 at 4:28 AM
Don’t know of I can even enter as I’m in the UK, but I love the movie so much. My favourite part was Anne Hathaway’s version of I Dreamed a Dream – she really acted the hell out of that thing! I also loved her version of Come to Me as Fantine is dying – buckets of tears. I saw the stage version many years ago, but I think the film really is a brilliant representation of it.
misusedinnocence
02/06/2013 at 9:28 PM
I subscribe via email, and follow your blog.
For me the best part of the film was how raw it was. I loved the amazing performances by Anne and Hugh, and especially the kids, they rocked it.
The worst parts for me were the Thenardier’s, which is a shame, because usually they’re one of the highlights of the show, but I can’t stand Helena Bonham Carter and how off key she is, and Sacha’s French accent seemed so out of place with the rest of the film.
I loved some of the small lyric changes, and thought that at the end having the Bishop sing the part usually sung by Eponine really worked. I thought overall it was a wonderful adaptation. I saw it in movie theatre three times, and sobbed each time.
Was so great to see Colm Wilkinson in it. I have watched the TAC at least 100 times, so it was cool to see such a familiar face. 
misusedinnocence@aol.com