For more information, please contact:
Brenda Thompson, 512- 461- 5644
Brenda@BrendaThompson.com
August 9, 2013
Reviewers please note: Press night is Thursday, Oct. 3. Email
allison@brendathompson.com for review tickets.
ZACH announces casting for LES MISÉRABLES,
opening 2013-14 season in the Topfer Theatre
WHO
ZACH Theatre—Austin’s Theatre and Texas’ longest running theatre, presents:
WHAT
LES MISÉRABLES
By ALAIN BOUBLIL and CLAUDE-MICHEL SCHÖNBERG
Based on the novel by VICTOR HUGO
Music by CLAUDE-MICHEL SCHÖNBERG
Lyrics by HERBERT KRETZMER
Orchestrations by JOHN CAMERON
Directed by MATT LENZ
ZACH Theatre will present Austin’s first professional theatre staging of international
musical theatre sensation LES MISÉRABLES as the opening production of the 2013-14
season, the second season in the new Topfer Theatre, Sept. 25. The world’s longest
running musical, LES MISÉRABLES has been seen by more than 65 million people in
42 countries.
ZACH’s production of LES MISÉRABLES will feature an all-star cast of 33 artists,
including: Broadway stars PAT McROBERTS as Jean Valjean and NICHOLAS
RODRIGUEZ as Inspector Javert, with acclaimed Austin actors JILL BLACKWOOD
as Fantine, FELICIA DINWIDDIE as Mme. Thenardier, ROBERTO ARAUJO as M.
Thenardier, ANDREW CANNATA as Marius, JOSHUA DENNING as Enjolras, and
JENNIFER YOUNG as Cosette. LES MISÉRABLES is directed by Matt Lenz, who
previously directed ZACH productions including GOD OF CARNAGE and AIDA, and
was associate director of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN and HAIRSPRAY on Broadway.
“ZACH will reinvent LES MISÉRABLES by revisiting the heart of a piece that audiences
continue to clamor to see on the stage,” says Dave Steakley, Producing Artistic Director.
“With big soaring music, an epic-scale production, and the hallmark intimacy of the
Topfer Theatre, ZACH’s second season on the Karen Kuykendall stage will begin with a
musical that will add to the legacy begun with RAGTIME last fall.”
LES MISÉRABLES will be the first of six plays and musicals selected to build on the
dynamic and intimate experiences audiences are enjoying now during ZACH’s first
season in The Topfer Theatre. Austin’s finest professional actors will join extraordinary
guest artists and nationally acclaimed playwrights for an unforgettable 2013-14 season
at ZACH.
LES MISÉRABLES is based on the novel of the same name by French poet and
playwright Victor Hugo. Set in early 19th-century France, it is the story of Jean Valjean,
a French peasant of abnormal strength and potentially violent nature, and his quest for
redemption after serving 19 years in jail for having stolen a loaf of bread for his starving
sister's child. Valjean breaks his parole and starts life anew after a kindly bishop inspires
him, but he is hunted relentlessly by the policeman Javert for breaking his parole, and
must leave his past behind and keep his vow to raise the young orphaned Cosette.
Along the way, Valjean and a slew of characters are swept into a revolutionary period in
France, where a group of young idealists make their last stand at a street barricade.
The musical was originally conceived and produced in France, before its Englishlanguage adaptation, which opened at the Barbican Centre in London in 1985,
launching what has turned into a global phenomenon.
Musical Direction by ALLEN ROBERTSON  Choreography by GREG GRAHAM 
Sound Design by CRAIG BROCK  Scenic Design by CLIFF SIMON  Costume Design
by WHITNEY ADAMS  Lighting Design by MATT WEBB  Properties Design by
SCOTT GROH  Stage Management by CATE TUCKER
WHERE
ZACH’s new Topfer Theatre, 202 South Lamar Blvd.
(corner of Riverside Drive and South Lamar Blvd.)
WHEN
September 25, 2013- November 3, 2013
Champagne Opening and Press Night is Thursday, Oct. 3, followed by a reception with
the stars of the show
Performances: Wednesday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
GLBT Wilde Party with pre-show mixer is Thursday, Sept. 26
TICKETS
To order tickets call 512-476-0541 ext. 1 or visit www.zachtheatre.org. Tickets range
from $25-$65. Student Rush Tickets: $18 one hour before showtime (with valid ID).
ZACH’s full bar opens one hour before showtime and remains open for one hour postshow.
For real-time updates on ZACH Theatre news, events and happenings, visit
http://www.zachtheatre.org/blog, be a fan of ZACH Theatre on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/zachtheatre, and follow ZACH on Twitter @zachtheatre
http://www.twitter.com/zachtheatre.
About ZACH Theatre
ZACH Theatre is Austin’s leading professional producing theatre, employing more than
600 actors, musicians, and designers annually. Founded in 1932, ZACH is the longest
running theatre company in Texas, and serves 95,000 adults and youth every year.
ZACH creates its own nationally recognized plays and musicals that ignite the
imagination, lift the spirit, and engage the community under the leadership of Producing
Artistic Director Dave Steakley and Managing Director Elisbeth Challener. Now in its
80th year, ZACH continues to expand and engage with Austin, adding the new 420-seat,
32,000-square-foot Topfer Theatre to its performing arts campus, nearly doubling
ZACH’s capacity while retaining its hallmark intimate theatre-going experience.
Visit www.zachtheatre.org for more information.
ZACH Theatre is sponsored in part, by Applied Materials, Austin Catering, Four Hands
Home, Holiday Inn-Lady Bird Lake, Kirk Tuck Photography, Marquee Event Group,
OnRamp, Austin American-Statesman, KXAN TV 36, and Time Warner Cable; and by
grants from Junior League of Austin, The Shubert Foundation, The National Endowment
for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of Austin through the Cultural
Arts Division, which believes an investment in the arts is an investment in Austin’s future.
Visit Austin at NowPlayingAustin.com.
###