Alain Boublil

Alain Boublil’s first musical, La Révolution Française, was the first-ever staged French rock-opera. It debuted in 1973 in Paris. The composer was Claude-Michel Schonberg, with whom Alain has since collaborated on a numb

Alain Boublil’s first musical, La Révolution Française, was the first-ever staged French rock-opera. It debuted in 1973 in Paris. The composer was Claude-Michel Schonberg, with whom Alain has since collaborated on a number of successful projects, including Les Misérables and Miss Saigon. Les Misérables first opened in Paris in 1980. On October 8, 1985, an English-language production of "Les Misérables" produced by Cameron Mackintosh and directed by Trevor Nunn premiered in London at The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Barbican Theatre. The show transferred to the West End’s Palace Theatre on December 4, 1985. Now in its 20th year, it is the third longest-running musical in West End history (behind Starlight Express and Cats).

Productions based on the Nunn/Mackintosh staging of Les Misérables have been put on all over the world, including a second French production which opened in Paris in 1991. Worldwide, Les Misérables has been seen by over 50 million people, with a total box office gross of over $1.8 billion.