• Included among the Record Descriptions of Favorite Albums (Part 1).
• Les Misérables opened on Broadway in March 1987 and ultimately closed in May 2003, currently ranking as the third longest running Broadway musical. 

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Les Misérables (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (1987):  Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables was first published in 1862 and is one of the greatest novels ever written.  The sweeping historical novel follows numerous characters, with the main thread of the story centered on Jean Valjean, a man who was caught stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family.  After spending nearly two decades in prison, he escapes and becomes a force for good in the world following a powerful redemptive episode.  A policeman named Inspector Javert is obsessed with Valjean and pursues him relentlessly.  This part of the story was adapted for the popular television show The Fugitive and the later film starring Harrison Ford also called The Fugitive (1993).  The musical adaptation of Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schönberg (music), Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel (original French lyrics), and Herbert Kretzmer (English lyrics) covers much more of the novel Les Misérables. 

The young girl shown on the poster is a servant child named Cosette, whose coming-of-age and romance is a part of the story.  A failed street rebellion against the authorities known as the June 1832 Rebellion is another part.  The Thénardiers, a criminal couple who cheat the customers at their inn where Cosette spends much of her childhood, are still another part.  Somehow, the sung-through Les Misérables musical keeps all of these characters and numerous subplots straight.  The English version of Les Misérables opened in London in October 1985 and has become the longest running musical in the West End and the second-longest running musical of all time, with only the Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks having a longer run.  Les Misérables opened on Broadway in March 1987 and ultimately closed in May 2003, currently ranking as the third longest running Broadway musical.  Les Misérables has been made into a movie many times over a period of more than 110 years; the musical Les Misérables was adapted as a film in 2012 and starred Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway.  As I recall, unlike the usual practice, the songs were recorded live while the film was being shot.