For months, Northern Stage has listed their 2008-09 Season of professional theater with a mysterious omission: the hugely popular holiday musical.  The company listed the show as "Smash Musical To Be Announced," and theater lovers throughout the Upper Valley have been buzzing about what the show could be.

The mystery is solved!  Northern Stage, the region's professional theater company, has announced a major coup: They are one of a select handful of theaters selected to present the beloved musical Les Misérables this year.  Because the musical was on the publisher "restricted" list, obtaining the rights involved complex negotiations; one of the conditions was that Northern Stage's production could not be announced before August 1.

But that's not all!  Northern Stage's 12th Season features more Broadway and National Tour talent than ever before, an international cast in a regional premiere, a World Premiere musical, and much more!

Les Misérables: Broadway Present and Future

Les Misérables is the world's longest-running musical, with a 15-year Broadway run—over 6,700 performances there, and over 9,000 in London—and went on to thrill audiences throughout the world.

A musical of this scope requires a first-rate cast. Northern Stage sifted through thousands of submissions and auditioned hundreds in New York City to find the perfect ensemble.  Leading the pack is David DeWitt as Javert, the stubborn police inspector whose years-long search for Jean Valjean frames the play.  DeWitt comes to Northern Stage from a stint in "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway and on the National Tour; he also traveled with the National Tour of "CATS" and has appeared at Lincoln Center and in the Woody Allen film "Sweet and Lowdown."

"Les Miserables is one of those shows every actor/singer wants to do, and I am no exception," DeWitt said after accepting the role.  "Javert is a complex and challenging character.  It's an actors dream.  I'm really looking forward to exploring the layers of this role and having the opportunity to put my own stamp on it."

The youngest principal actor in the Northern Stage production—nine-year-old Simon Kahan of Hanover—undoubtedly hopes that Broadway is in his future, and he's looking forward to sharing the stage with DeWitt and other Broadway/National Tour veterans.  Kahan says, "I am very excited to play Gavroche in 'Les Misérables' and to be at Northern Stage in a professional show with professional actors!"  Simon served as understudy for the role of Nathan in Northern Stage's production of "The Full Monty," and he had the distinction of being the youngest member of The Ensemble, Northern Stage's youth leadership group.  This is no small achievement; over 75 auditioned for only 24 slots.

Joining David and Simon are Stephanie Barnum (Cosette), a Featured Soloist in the "Broadway's Rising Stars" event at Town Hall in New York who toured nationally in Evita; and Omar Lopez-Cepero and BJ Scahill, also veterans of the "Evita" national tour.  Local audiences will remember Scahill's stunning turn as Gus/Growltiger in Northern Stage's production of "CATS."

Making History with "The History Boys"

Northern Stage opens the season with this 2006 Tony Award winner for Best Play, the first professional production in northern New England, with performers from Broadway, England and Zimbabwe.  Drew Taylor's Broadway credits include "The Sweet Smell of Success" with John Lithgow, "The Secret Garden," and the 20th Anniversary production of "Annie."  Samuel Maupin appeared in "Accomplice" and "Whodunnit" and Elizabeth West in "The Women" on the Great White Way.

The show's international flavor comes from Northern Stage's latest collaboration with the U.K. non-profit Developing Artists.  Artistic Director Brooke Ciardelli traveled to Durham University in England looking for one actor; the talent pool was so impressive that she cast two: Matthew Johnson and Ben Starr.  Durham student director Oscar Blustin will also travel here to work as an apprentice director on the show.  In addition, for the second time, Northern Stage will host a Zimbabwean actor; this time it's Michael Kudakwashe.

"Students across the globe struggle to find their way in the world," Ciardelli said.  "By casting a global cast, the universality of this struggle is forced more to the forefront of the text.  The play is about the universal right to education and the conflict that now exists between true learning and merely playing the system."

From the Classic to the Brand New

As always, the Northern Stage season is an intriguing mix: comedies and dramas, big casts and small ones, longtime favorites and premieres.  "Deathtrap," the longest-running thriller in Broadway history, claims the November slot.  Filled with surprises, including a set that serves as another character, "Deathtrap" stars Dan Butler, a nationally acclaimed actor who for 11 years played Bob "Bulldog" Briscoe on "Frasier," in addition to Broadway turns in "Biloxi Blues," "Twentieth Century" and "The Hothouse" and scores of other television appearances.  Most recently, he wrote, co-directed and appeared in the acclaimed indie film "Karl Rove, I Love You," which was featured at this year's White River Indie Film Festival.

"The Year of Magical Thinking," author Joan Didion's moving memoir that took Broadway by storm in 2007, is followed by "Laughter on the 23rd Floor," a devastating comedy by Neil Simon set in the writers' room of a 1950s variety show, not unlike the one for which Simon worked alongside Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Woody Allen and "M*A*S*H" co-creator Larry Gelbart.  Tennessee Williams' first major hit, "The Glass Menagerie," leads into a brand new, World Premiere musical: "Take Two . . ."

"Take Two . . ." developed from a collaboration between Northern Stage Producing Director, award-winning filmmaker and playwriting teacher Catherine Doherty and frequent musical director (and Broadway vocal coach) Brett Schrier.  An offhand joke during rehearsals for "CATS" led to a song, the song led to a show idea, and that idea developed over a period of 18 months into a full-scale musical.  With Doherty's unerring comic timing and Schrier's songwriting expertise, "Take Two . . ." will be a treasured addition to the musical theater canon.
 
About Northern Stage

Northern Stage now stands as one of the most prestigious and fastest-growing regional theaters in New England.  Founding Artistic Director Brooke Ciardelli brought the company to the Briggs Opera House in 1997; since then, Northern Stage has offered 70 productions, including World Premieres such as The Shrew Tamer, Ovid: Tales of Myth & Magic and A Christmas Carol: The Musical.  Other highlights include a staged reading of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Patrick Stewart and Lisa Harrow and a reading of Resurrection Blues, with the playwright, Pulitzer Prize winner Arthur Miller, in attendance.  The company has twice been honored with Moss Hart Awards for Excellence in Theater from the New England Theatre Conference, for productions of To Kill A Mockingbird (1999) and All My Sons (2004), as well as an Addison Award for The Shrew Tamer (2004).

Community support has enabled the company to sell over 30,000 tickets in downtown White River Junction in the last year to enjoy entertaining and thought-provoking professional theater and theater education here at the crossroads of northern New England.  They have also reached out to offer residencies and workshops at over a dozen area schools; initiated "Project Playwright," a literacy program for fifth and sixth graders; and launched NS Touring, which sends top productions to theaters throughout the world and brings international talents to the U.S.

For information or tickets, call 802-296-7000, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or log on to www.northernstage.org.  The Box Office at the Briggs Opera House is open from 5:30-9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 3-7 p.m. on Sunday during show weeks; tickets for all shows are available by phone or at the Northern Stage administrative office at 28 Gates Street, White River Junction, Monday-Friday from 10 am.-6 p.m.  MasterCard and VISA are accepted.