Les Misérables

In early 19th-century France, Jean Valjean is released after nineteen years in prison for stealing bread, and struggles to build a new, honest life while an unforgiving police inspector, Javert, refuses to believe a former convict can ever truly change. Years later, Valjean has become a respected factory owner and mayor under a new name, but when a desperate young mother, Fantine, is fired and falls into ruin, he vows to protect her daughter, Cosette, drawing him back into Javert's path just as the country moves toward the student uprising that will bring their stories crashing together on the barricades of Paris.

Les Miserables is based on Victor Hugo's 1862 novel, with music by Claude-Michel Schonberg and lyrics by Alain Boublil, with English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. It premiered in Paris in 1980 and opened in London in 1985, where it remains one of the longest-running musicals in the world, and its 1987 Broadway premiere and countless revivals and tours have made it one of the most performed musicals in history.

The score is nearly sung-through, built on recurring musical themes that return across decades of the story, and its landmark numbers include I Dreamed a Dream, Fantine's aching solo of lost hope; Do You Hear the People Sing?, the student revolutionaries' rallying anthem; One Day More, the first-act finale that pulls every major character's story together; and Bring Him Home, Valjean's quiet prayer late in the evening. The music is grand and orchestral, closer to opera than pop, with soaring ensemble numbers alternating with intimate ballads. It suits audiences who love a big, emotional, classic musical, and it plays well across generations, from teenagers to grandparents.