Internationally acclaimed musical production “Les Miserables” – also affectionately/colloquially known amongst fans as “Les Mis” – based after the historical novel of the same name/title by 19th-Century French novelist Victor Hugo. Since its original Paris premiere show in 1980 (performed in French) and the revival London production in 1986 (performed in English), the world renowned musical franchise has been translated into 21 other languages, and performed/produced internationally across 42 countries – and that of course includes Japan.

©Toho Co., Ltd.
©Toho Co., Ltd.

Celebrating its 32nd year since the very first Japanese language performance, the famous musical returns to claim the stage spotlights in 2019. They have announced the full list of cast members – including main actors/actresses, understudy roles and ensembles. Amongst the list of names and new cast’s facial profiles revealed via the production’s official twitter post, fans were pleasantly surprised to see that Korean-Japanese voice actress Romi Park (pictured below;  bottom-right corner) is also included in the upcoming production by the TOHO Stage/Theatrical Troupe that is affiliated to Toho Pictures Co., Ltd.

©Toho Co., Ltd.

Romi Park – who is well-known in her voice-acting career for voicing teenaged boys or manly/tomboyish female characters – will be casted in the role of “Madam Thenardier” – wife of the ‘villainous’ inn-keeper Thenardier in the musical. The pair are not truly ‘villains’ in the classic, evil way, but more like comic-relief in an otherwise heavy, somewhat depressing storyline. Their presences however still play an important part in the plot’s development.

Also part of the new cast for the 2019 production is Hiroki Miura (pictured above; 2nd row middle). The young 20-year-old professional ballet dancer and rising star of the theatrical world will be understudying the secondary male lead role of “Marius Pontmercy”.  Despite his youth, Miura is no stranger to the theatrical stage –having already debuted since he was 16 and acted the role of “Keigo Atobe” in the Prince of Tennis Musical; and more recently, as “Higekiri” in the musical adaptation of popular game Touken Ranbu, as well as “Minamoto no Hiromasa” in the China/Japan joint production of the Musical Onmyouji (based after heat RPG fantasy mobile game of the same name).  He also reprised the role of “Atobe” again earlier this year in Season Three of the Prince of Tennis Musical run.

The rest of the production’s casts is listed here; which also has detailed information on show schedules, ticketing details, story/character introductions and official reports and photos/videos of past performances.

Les Miserables Japan 2019 will be performing at the Toho Imperial Theatre in Tokyo from 15 ~ 18 April 2019 (the preview showcase – featuring new casts and understudy actors); actual performance showcase will be 19 April 2019 ~ 28 May 2109.