Les Misérables - Sondheim Theatre

Have any other shows ever done something like this i.e one version closes and another version opens soon after?

The only one that occurs to me is 'The Witches of Eastwick' which was retooled and moved within a few weeks. So I guess Cameron has form...

Do we know when this is happening? I heard conflicting dates, either 29th of June or 19th of July.

I am 100% of the opinion that this is a bad move.

And I totally get that long running productions can become museum pieces and should be re-interpreted otherwise they just become stale. But I would judge that on a case by case basis. And it is something that I think Phantom suffers from a lot more - it DOES look dated and I do think it needs refreshing.
For whatever reason (and I acknowledge it may just come down to personal taste) I do not find the original staging of Les Mis stale - I think it remains iconic.

And I say this as someone that loves the tour. In fact it was the 25th tour that re-ignited my interest in Les Mis generally. But the fabulous thing was having the two productions run side by side. And the fact that London was the only remaining production of the original was, I thought, brilliant.

Call me cynical, but somewhere, somehow, this is to do with money.

And to that end looking at the on line seating plans, the last two weeks at the Queen's now have most of the Stalls bumped up to nonsense premium prices. I'll therefore be going in the pen-penultimate week before it closes.

Interesting to see which version we'll get at the Gielgud. (And who the cast will be). I imagine will be the new one. They need a new set anyway as the current tour has dates continuously into 2020.

Sad day for the West End.

It's been so long since I've seen any version of this show that I've forgotten what the differences in the two productions are!

I wonder how they will market this - can they still claim that it is the world's longest running musical and still going, or is there going to be a gap? That is all that most people will know about it, they won't know if they're seeing staging that was put together in 1985 or last week...

You make a crucial point I guess - 99% of the Les Mis audience in London are tourists or people like my Mum and Dad who would love either production and would neither notice (nor care) which one it was.....
Which I suppose means Cameron can do whatever he likes. 

Is only in the fans microsphere that these decisions are an issue. 

Though I guess that applies to most of what we discuss on here lol!

Can't think of a totally new production at the same theatre. 

Sunset Boulevard closed to be updated but it was fundamentally the same production from the same creative team - just with a few revisions to the score/book and the orange set painted grey!

Yes. It's good to keep in mind that producers don't make changes in spite of — or BECAUSE of — people like us.

But.... but.... but.... I love the revolve! It's iconic! :-(

I think it’s a shame. If it was coming from a place of love for the show, I might be more sympathetic, but CamMack has hated Trevor Nunn for many years and has long resented giving him royalties for directing the show. The new production isn’t a patch on the old one. Hopefully I can make it down to the Queens for a last go.

So it's a different production, does that mean it loses its ongoing "longest-running musical" title, at least until it is taken over?

As a hardcore Starlight fan I'm going with yes lol - Bochum Starlight then becomes the world's second longest running musical, regaining the title the London production had when Cats was still No 1!

#tryingtoseethesunnysidetoeverysituation