Cameron Mackintosh spent two years finding the right Toronto ‘Les Mis’ cast

TORONTO – Mega musical producer Cameron Mackintosh is boasting a “cracking cast” for the new Toronto run of “Les Miserables” — one that’s been a couple of years in the making.

The famed British theatre impresario says he initially wanted to bring his hit 25th anniversary production of the beloved musical to the city with local producer David Mirvish two years ago, but “there were difficulties finding certain roles” and he “pulled it.”

“I went, ‘No, it isn’t good enough,'” Mackintosh, who first mounted “Les Miserables” in Toronto to much success in 1989, said in a recent interview.

“I came over here. It was the last time I was here. I came and auditioned and it was quite tight, the audition period, it was like nine months before we were going to do it.”

Mackintosh said they’d “done all the preliminary stuff” to develop the project here, but due to the schedules of some talent, they didn’t have enough time to secure the key members of the cast he wanted.

“When I saw it, I went, ‘You know, these people aren’t just going to erase the memory of the original cast production I did, and I don’t want to do it in Toronto until I know I can get a cast that is a fantastic modern cast and just makes you think of the show now,’ and that’s why I pulled it.

“I said to David, ‘I’m not going to do it now. I can’t.’ We had dates of the theatre, we had all of that, but we hadn’t signed any contracts, because I wouldn’t have signed the contracts until I knew I had the cast.”

If a recent sneak peek at rehearsals is any indication, Mackintosh has secured a top-tier group of performers — who are nearly all-Canadian, at that — for the new Toronto mounting at the Princess of Wales Theatre, which started preview performances Sept. 27 and opens on Wednesday.

Among them is Ontario-raised Ramin Karimloo, who is making a theatrical homecoming from a triumphant stage career in London to star as Jean Valjean, the oppressed ex-con in the story that’s based on Victor Hugo’s epic novel.

Amid a brewing revolution in 19th century France, Valjean tries to redeem himself as he’s relentlessly pursued by policeman Javert, played by British “Les Mis” veteran Earl Carpenter.

Genevieve Leclerc of Gatineau, Que., plays downtrodden grisette Fantine, a role she also played on the U.S. tour of the same 25th anniversary production.

Her daughter, Cosette, is played by Winnipeg’s Samantha Hill, who was recently in the Broadway production of “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Other cast members include “Canadian Idol” season 3 winner Melissa O’Neil as Eponine, lovelorn daughter of weaselly innkeepers the Thenardiers, played by Cliff Saunders and Lisa Horner.

They follow in the footsteps of some musical superstars who’ve taken on “Les Mis” over the years, including Toronto-based Colm Wilkinson, who originated the role of Jean Valjean in the West End and Broadway.

“I think one of the reasons I’ve been blessed with great casts through the life of this show is, I think more than any other show that’s ever been written, every part is important,” said Mackintosh.

“It’s a true ensemble.”

Mackintosh embarked on this latest production four years ago as a way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the show that has a book and lyrics by Alain Boublil and music by Claude-Michel Schonberg.

“I felt the best way to do that was do a completely new version — completely new staging, new orchestration, a new design, everything,” said the award-winning owner of several theatres, who was knighted by the Queen in 1996.

The new staging veers away from the original rotating, black-box setting and includes projections of Hugo’s paintings. It also has fresh orchestrations from James Dodgson and new direction from Laurence Connor and James Powell.

The anniversary production has been storming box offices internationally and comes “as part of a wonderful reawakening that happened with Susan Boyle, in a way,” said Mackintosh.

When the dowdy “Britain’s Got Talent” contestant belted out the musical’s hit tune “I Dreamed a Dream” in her mezzo-soprano and her Sunday best on camera in April 2009, “she lit the touchpaper of what has become a fantastic renaissance of a show that was still doing well but has gone phenomenally well since then,” he added.

“Because when that great recording ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ went viral around the world, suddenly a young audience picked up on the fact that this song they knew actually came from a musical.”

And a smash musical at that.

“Les Miserables” has played in 42 countries, won over 100 major theatre awards, and is billed as the world’s longest running musical.

The original Toronto run at the Royal Alexandra Theatre lasted a year and then went on a national tour.

“When ‘Les Mis’ first came to the Royal Alex, it was an extraordinary event and made a lot of stars and it was something exceptional,” said Mackintosh, whose other musicals have included “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Cats” and “Miss Saigon.”

“And for me to come back and do a sit-down with the new production, I knew I needed to make it exceptional. I didn’t want it to be a stop on the tour, and the tour was a wonderful cast.

“I just needed the city to possess it again, and that’s been the biggest thrill for me.”

Mackintosh also produced last year’s three-time Oscar-winning “Les Miserables” film, which was inspired by this 25th anniversary stage incarnation.

While he “met marvellous people” and thought director Tom Hooper “did a terrific job,” “it was far more work” for him than he thought it would be.

“I thought I could just agree to it and poke my nose in on the side, and I ended up, with Claude-Michel and Alain and Tom, reinventing the piece completely for the film, which was what Tom asked us to do,” said the 67-year-old.

“We thought, from our little knowledge of films, that he would say, ‘Great guys,’ and then go off and do it, but actually he said that ‘it will only work if you rework it.’ And so we did it all just like we were doing the musical, but then I found during the rehearsal and filming process that I ended up being there 95 per cent of the day.”

Mackintosh said he also did the editing, had co-final cut with Hooper and went on a 4 1/2-week, round-the-world twice press junket with the stars.

“I was buggered by the end of it and in fact I had to have a back operation, it was so exhausting, so it really took it out of me.

“I mean, it’s been a marvellous success, a wonderful experience and the talent I met in the film industry was amazing, and I would love to work with him again. But for 18 months of my life, at my age, it’s a huge slug out of my life when it’s not my real job.

“My job is putting on musicals, and I could put on five or six major productions in the time I could make one movie.”

Speaking of which, Mackintosh also has several other projects on the go, including new productions of “Mary Poppins,” “Miss Saigon,” “Oliver!” and “Barnum,” which he’s long been hoping a certain TV star will join when he has time.

“I wanted Neil Patrick Harris to do ‘Barnum.’ I still want Neil Patrick,” said Mackintosh.

“Neil, do ‘Barnum’ in America as soon as you finish with ‘Hedwig,'” he added, pretending to address the “How I Met Your Mother” star directly.

Mackintosh said he keeps returning to “Les Miserables” because it’s always been topical, has timeless characters, and he’s “always liked stories about people triumphing over adversity.”

“I’m not interested in the problems of people living in expensive apartments in Manhattan. It just doesn’t interest me.”