Ramin Karimloo, Caissie Levy, Will Swenson, Nikki James Cast in Broadway’s ‘Les Miserables’

Producer Cameron Mackintosh announced October 22, that West End performers Ramin Karimloo and Caissie Levy, as well as Tony Award nominee Will Swenson and Tony Award winner Nikki James will head the 2014 cast in the return of the Tony Award winning musical Les Misérables to Broadway. The production is set to begin performances March 1, 2014 at the Imperial Theatre, with an opening date scheduled for March 23.

Karimloo, who is the current star of the Toronto production of  Les Misérables, will star a Jean Valjean,  Levy as Fatine, Swenson as Javert, and James as Eponine.  Additional casting is set to be announced in the coming weeks.

Producer Mackintosh shared in a statement, “The success of Les Misérables across America and around the world has been beyond my dreams, so I am thrilled to bring the show back to Broadway 27 years after the original production with some of the finest contemporary talents in the American theatre today. Ramin Karimloo first played Jean Valjean for me in London over a year ago and earlier this month opened in the same role to tremendous acclaim in his home city Toronto. As Javert, he is matched by the magnetic Will Swenson who was such a sensation as Berger in Hair alongside our Fantine, the charismatic Caissie Levy. And Tony Award-winning Nikki James will undoubtedly break hearts as Eponine fresh from her triumph in The Book of Mormon. The rest of the company is shaping up to be just as exciting and I can’t wait for rehearsals to begin.”

The brand new production is directed by Laurence Connor. It features the creative talents of Matt Kinley with design, Paule Constable with lighting, Mick Potter with sound, projections by Fifty Nine Productions, and costumes by original designer Andreane Neofitou.

This production will mark the third time Les Misérables plays Broadway. The original New York production premiered at the Broadway Theatre March 12, 1987 and later moved to the Imperial Theatre October 17, 1990. There it ran until May 18, 2003 where it had a combined total of 6,680 performances. The show’s first revival, staged by the original creative team, took place in 2006.