Les Misérables

After a run at the Théâtre du Châtelet, the musical returns in spring 2026 for a tour of France. Nominated for the Molières in the musical show category, this adaptation of Victor Hugo’s work—seen by more than 130 million spectators worldwide—will be presented in a new staging by Ladislas Chollat. Forty-six years after its first stage adaptation in 1980, this French-language production, whose libretto was reworked by Alain Boublil for the occasion, offers the chance to rediscover numerous songs: J’avais rêvé, À la volonté du peuple, Mon histoire, Le Grand jour.

In service of the text, Ladislas Chollat’s staging conveys the complexity of the characters through their symbolic dimension: Jean Valjean’s redemption, Cosette’s innocence, Javert’s antagonism, the Thénardiers’ greed, and Gavroche’s courage. As a painter of the human soul, Victor Hugo spares no hue. “The heroes of Les Misérables are described in the smallest recesses of their souls, in both their shadow and their light,” the director notes.

The various tableaux succeed one another amid a flow of monumental sets (barricades, the Thénardiers’ inn, a ballroom, the sewers of Paris) that occupy the entire stage. The artistic company brings together 64 performers—actors and musicians—who appear in a performance lasting nearly three hours.

Victor Hugo’s fresco, with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg and the libretto by Alain Boublil, regains its scope and still resonates today.