It’s been quite a big year for Les Miserables; a 25 year continuous West End run is an outstanding achievement, but then again, Les Mis is an outstanding show.

This year, in addition to the original production at the Queen’s Theatre, we’ve seen the anniversary production at the Barbican and the 25th Anniversary Concert at the 02, which featured many big names past and present. And last year, Les Mis was given a big boost when Subo sang ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ on Britain’s Got Talent.

The latest news, from the Les Mis camp is that Gareth Gates, is going to star as Marius in the production at the Queen’s. Gates is famous for being in the first series of Pop Idol, losing out to Will Young in the final.

Gates will join other reality contestants Lucie Jones (The X-Factor) and Samantha Barks (BBC’s I’d Do Anything) in Les Miserables. Currently, you can buy discounted tickets for the show, with stalls and dress circle tickets reduced from £59 to £40.99.

Gareth Gates will star as Marius from the 18th October to the 20th November 2010 and from the 31st January to the 18th June 2011.

Buy Les Miserables tickets here.

It’s all gone crazy for Les Miserables again. Last year it was Subo’s rendition of ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ that set ticket sales on fire. This year is a big anniversary for Les Mis, 25 years in the West End, making it the longest running musical in the world.

More interestingly are the reality tv and pop stars that are starring in these Les Mis productions. Nick Jonas (one of the Jonas brothers of course! Actually I have no idea who he is.) will play Marius in the original production from the 21st June to the 10th July and then will perform in the concert on the 3rd October. It has been confirmed that X factor finalist Lucie Jones will play Cosette in the original production starting in July and Samantha Barks, who placed 3rd in the BBC show I’d Do Anything will also join the production in the role of Eponine.

Gareth Gates will perform as Marius in the Anniversary production at the Barbican and most surprisingly, Little Britain’s Matt Lucas is going to be Thenardier in the Les Miserables concert at the O2!

Les Mis is definitely one of the West End greats and a must see for anyone who loves musicals. There’s still good summer discounts for the original production at the Queen’s Theatre, but tickets are selling out for the concert so if you want to be an audience member for a fantastic anniversary show, be quick!

Buy Les Miserables tickets and 25th Anniversary Concert tickets here.

Just stay with me for a moment….yes I am referring to the TV show.

I had heard the buzz regarding the new show Glee, but didn’t really take much notice. Did I really want to watch another American high school show that portrayed a totally unrealistic view of the rather traumatic place that high school really is? With Gossip Girl and 90210 already occupying my time, I dismissed the idea immediately. But when I visited my sister in Canada at Christmas time, Glee was the topic on everyone’s lips - she was raving about the show. I knew that it was set to premiere in the UK soon, and when I saw the adverts on E4, I recorded some episodes for a rainy day.

I finally got around to watching some of the show this weekend…..and it is fantastic. I had no idea that every episode features songs from musicals as well as contemporary chart toppers. So far, I have heard renditions of You’re The One That I Want from Grease, Mr Cellophane from Chicago, Maybe This Time from Cabaret, and On My Own from Les Miserables. And apparently in one of the coming episodes the cast sings Defying Gravity from Wicked.

Combined with edgy humour, Glee is the perfect balance between hip comedy and musical revue. Yes the characters are stereotypes (think jock, cheerleader and primadonna) but how else do you visually portray the complexities of the high school hierarchy so easily?

Despite its comedic narrative and characters, at its core, I think Glee is a great promoter of musical theatre; just as Subo’s performances of I Dreamed a Dream managed to breathe a new life into Les Miserables, this show highlights some great musical theatre numbers that are not usually emphasised in mainstream media. 

Next episode is on tonight….I can’t wait.

Oh how a talent show can change your life….and indirectly promote a musical.

I thought maybe it was time to jump in on the Susan Boyle frenzy, and highlight an interesting trend that may have been sparked by this latest flurry of pop culture.

I was perusing the most popular shows according to sales on Discount Theatre in the last month, and my mouth fell open when I saw the numbers for Les Miserables. This 24 year old musical is nearing the top of our list for ticket sales.

And after puzzling for a bit over this discovery, my mind then turned to Susan Boyle’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent. Boyle sang “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Mis, and managed to shock everyone with a rather moving rendition, contrasting the image of a frumpy middle aged woman. In an age of social networking and You Tube, it didn’t take long for her performance to become a worldwide phenomenon and make Boyle a highly sought after talk show guest.

Don’t get me wrong; Les Mis is a brilliant musical, one of my favourites and a must see for anyone who likes musical theatre. It takes the rather violent backdrop of the French Revolution, and blows the roof off of the Queen’s Theatre with beautiful and emotional songs, which results in one of the most breathtaking stage epics. If you see it, you will buy the soundtrack immediately. It has always been a strong presence in the world of musicals, quietly and diligently standing its ground in an age of pithy and hyped new offerings.

But for it to fend off almost every other heavily promoted show that has come on to the scene in the last couple of months? It can only be a testament to the longevity and quality of the show, and in my humble opinion, maybe a little incidental push from a woman who decided to sing “I Dreamed a Dream” on Britain’s Got Talent.

Les Miserables offers great discounts, with top price tickets reduced to £39.50 for weekday performances. Book your Les Miserables tickets at the Queen’s Theatre here.

From Google News last week………

London’s West End theatreland is thriving despite the credit crunch, according to theatre tickets specialist discounttheatre.com, but price savvy audiences are now looking to the Web to save money on seats and meals.

Echoing the Society of London Theatre report that showed London Theatre is currently going through a boom time, Discount Theatre has seen the demand for popular West End shows increase by 20% during May and June demonstrating that people want to forget all the gloomy economic predictions with a night out at the theatre.

Said Discount Theatre Marketing Director Chris Ryan: “Our figures are in-line with the holiday industry in showing that people are so fed up with the doom mongers that they are determined to have a good time. But they still want a bargain. The average customer is a lot more price savvy now and they know that top theatre tickets for a hit West End show don’t have to cost £60 - and they needn’t spend a lot of money on dinner either”. Read more

My name is Benjamin Smyth III and on behalf of DiscountTheatre.com I would like to say a big fat welcome. You’re currently reading the first historic post of the long awaited (by us) Discount Theatre Blog, where you will learn about all things London Theatre, filtered through my own personal worldview. (I was deliberately vague there to leave room for veering off at strange tangents.)

It feels great to be jabbing at these little keys talking to you for the first time and I would Appreciate / Encourage / Demand with a stick that you feed back on anything we deliver in the following posts. Even if you think I’m being an old trollop!

So what can you expect from this blog?

After many all-night brainstorming sessions and piles of chocolate-covered coffee beans eaten in the vain attempt to stay alert and virile, we have decided to focus the offerings here around the following interesting and alluring parameters: Read more