Click Here for More Articles on LES MISERABLES...

Photo Coverage: 2,4,6,0...1! Countdown to Les Misérables in

With first week rehearsals freshly behind them, the cast and creative members of the highly anticipated Les Miserables in Concert now head into the final stages of bringing this classic tale to the Hollywood Bowl stage. The second week of rehearsal finds the entire company, under the watchful eye of director Richard Jay-Alexander, heading towards Opening Night.

It will be a week of intense technical work as the staging moves from its first week home at Hollywood's United Methodist Church, to the Walt Disney Concert Hall for the thrill of the sitzprobe conducted by musical director and conductor Kevin Stites. There will also be lighting, sound and sound cue rehearsals for this lavish production and then on to the emotional final dress on the stage of the Hollywood Bowl itself. If you happen to be a resident of the Los Angeles area, the final dress rehearsal, which takes place on Friday, August 8th at 10am is, and has always been, open to the public for free.

All this leads up to the exciting Opening Night performance which takes place Friday, August 8^th 2008.

BroadwayWorld.com will be there every step of the way with exclusive behind the scenes coverage from Los Angeles featuring first week rehearsal photos taken by Melora Hardin, star of The Office and the Hollywood Bowl concert's Fantine. BWW TV will feature in-depth segments including backstage at this week rehearsals, interviews with the acclaimed cast, including Tony winners John Lloyd Young and Brian Stokes Mitchell, Broadway favorites Ruth Williamson, Michael McCormick, J. Mark McVey, Lea Michelle, UK stage star Tom Lowe and more along with performance footage from the concert itself.

The world's most beloved musical comes to the famed Hollywood Bowl in an extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime, staged concert adaptation, directed by Richard Jay-Alexander. This unique production came about by a very special agreement that The Hollywood Bowl has made with Music Theatre International and Cameron Mackintosh, the musical world's most successful Producer. It boasts an all star cast featuring Broadway's J. Mark McVey as "Jean Valjean"; Brian Stokes Mitchell as "Javert"; John Lloyd Young as "Marius", Lea Michele as "Eponine", Melora Hardin as "Fantine", Michael McCormick as "Thenardier", Tom Lowe as "Enjolras", Michele Maika as "Cosette" and Ruth Williamson as "Madame Thenardier"

Performing in the ensemble will be Barbara Chiofalo, Natalie Daradich, Travis Davidson, Joshua Finkel, Stephen Full, Julie Garnye, Joel Gelman, Sue Goodman, Daniel Guzman, Wayne Hu, Jennifer Naimo, Steve Mazurek, Lesley McKinnel, Weston Wells Olson, Ethan Le Phong, Patrick Reese, Eddy Rioseco, Tristan Rumery, Allyson Tucker, and Darlene Williams along with students Sergio Pasquarielo, Frankie Kane Kraft, Anton M. Garsola, Andrew Karl and Christopher Karl.

The concert celebrates the timeless tale of passion and redemption and the glorious Claude-Michel Schonberg / Alain Boublil score of Les Miserables as it has never seen or heard it before and undoubtedly never will again. This concert adaptation of the eight-time Tony Award-winning musical features the 55 member Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conducted by Kevin Stites. The production also features local high school students, adding a dash of home-grown talent. During this one-of-a-kind production, audiences will be transported to post-Revolutionary France while basking in the beautiful California night.