Les Miserables: full principal cast announced

Canadian actor Cliff Saunders and Tony Award-nominee Keala Settle will play the 'Thenardiers,' and Kyle Scatliffe, currently co-starring in the West End production of The Scottsboro Boys, will play the revolutionary 'Enjolras,' in the new Broadway production of Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg's Tony Award-winning musical Les Miserables, opening at Broadway's Imperial Theatre on 23 Mar 2014, following previews from 01 Mar 2014.

Cliff Saunders (Thenardier) currently portrays Thenardier in the Toronto production of Les Miserables. On Broadway he co-starred in the Tony Award-nominated hit 'The 39 Steps.'

Keala Settle (Madame Thenardier) received a 2013 Tony Award nomination for her performance in 'Hands On A Hardbody' on Broadway. She has also starred on Broadway as 'Shirley' in 'Priscilla Queen of the Desert.'

Kyle Scatliffe's (Enjolras) theater credits include 'Ragtime' (Zach Theatre), 'Oklahoma' (5th Avenue Theatre), 'A Christmas Carol: The Concert' (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/PBS), '25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee' (Alabama Shakespeare Festival) and 'Haywood Patterson' in the London premiere of 'The Scottsboro Boys.'

They join the previously announced Ramin Karimloo as 'Jean Valjean,' Will Swenson as 'Javert,' Caissie Levy as 'Fantine,' Nikki M. James as 'Eponine,' Andy Mientus as 'Marius' and Charlotte Maltby as 'Cosette,' to complete the principal cast for production.

The original Broadway production of Les Miserables premiered first at the Broadway Theatre on 12 March 1987, later moving to the Imperial Theatre on 17October 1990, where it played until 18 May 2003, for a total Broadway run of 6680 performances.

This newly re-imagined Les Miserables is playing across the country and around the world and inspired filmmakers to make the movie which has been nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture and has won 3 Golden Globes including Best Picture, as well as 4 BAFTA's.

The new production launched a U.S. national tour in Nov 2010, having already played in 64 cities throughout North America, grossing more than $130 million. International productions of the new Les Miserables have played in the U.K, France, Spain and Korea. New productions are scheduled to open in the coming months in Japan, Canada, Australia and Brazil.

Based on Victor Hugo's classic novel, Les Miserables. is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit. The score includes the classic songs "I Dreamed a Dream," "On My Own," "Stars," "Bring Him Home," "Do You Hear the People Sing?," "One Day More," "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables," "Master Of The House" and many more.

Cameron Mackintosh's production of Les Miserables is written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg and is based on the novel by Victor Hugo. It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, original adaption by Trevor Nunn and John Caird and additional material by James Fenton.

The new production is directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell, designed by Matt Kinley inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo with costumes by Andreane Neofitou and additional costumes by Christine Rowlands, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Mick Potter and projections by Fifty-Nine Productions. The original Les Miserables. orchestrations are by John Cameron with new orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke and additional orchestrations by Stephen Metcalfe and Stephen Brooker.

Now in its 28th year in London, Les Miserables. originally premiered at the Barbican Theatre in a co-production with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1985. It transferred to the Palace Theatre in December of that year and then moved to its current home at the Queen's Theatre in April 2004 where it is still playing to standing room only. In October 2006 Les Miserables. took over the title of World's Longest Running Musical followed by two other Cameron Mackintosh productions, Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'The Phantom of the Opera' and 'Cats.'

The Broadway production of Les Miserables originally opened at the Broadway Theatre on 12 Mar 1987 and transferred to the Imperial Theatre on 17 Oct 1990 running for 6,680 performances. The musical returned to Broadway on 9 Nov 2006 where the show played the Broadhurst Theatre until its final performance on 6 Jan 2008. To date, Les Miserables. is the 4th longest-running Broadway production of all time.

The Universal film version of Les Miserables. co-produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Working Title Films, and directed by Tom Hooper, has grossed $150 million domestically and nearly $400 million worldwide since its 2012 Christmas Day release. The film received the Golden Globe Award as Best Picture (Musical/Comedy) and received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.