Latest news with #ICCSydneyTheatre
Newsweek
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
'Les Miserables' Cast's Reported Trump Boycott Sparks Anger: 'Too Fragile'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The cast of Les Misérables have sparked backlash after reportedly considering boycotting a performance of the musical, which President Donald Trump is planning to attend at the Kennedy Center. Newsweek has reached out to representatives for the Les Misérables cast for comment via email, outside of regular working hours. Why It Matters In February, Trump named himself chairman of the Kennedy Center and announced that he was firing most of the board of trustees. He now presides over a mostly Republican board which includes Attorney General Pamela Bondi and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. L: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the south lawn of the White House on May 04, 2025 in Washington, DC, R: Matt Lucas and Helen Walsh performing during the media call of... L: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the south lawn of the White House on May 04, 2025 in Washington, DC, R: Matt Lucas and Helen Walsh performing during the media call of 'Les Misérables The Arena Spectacular' at ICC Sydney Theatre on May 01, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. More/Gourley/Getty Images Trump told reporters in February that he "didn't like what they were showing," and he would "make sure it's good," and "it's not going to be woke." Ticket sales have slumped since the leadership change, with artists including Issa Rae cancelling shows and the musical Hamilton cancelling its run. What To Know On Wednesday, CNN reported that 10 of the 12 actors in a 'Les Misérables' tour group are planning to boycott a performance at the Kennedy Center that Trump is planning to attend. The network reported that the cast had been given the option not to perform the night that Trump is in the audience, and both major cast members and members of the ensemble will reportedly be sitting out the performance. It's not the first clash between Trump and the famous French musical. The co-creators of Les Misérables complained back in 2016 during Trump's first campaign for president, after he used the song "Do You Hear the People Sing?" at a rally, according to a report from The Guardian. The reported boycott has prompted backlash online. Kennedy Center director Richard Grenell, who was appointed as interim director of the Kennedy Center after Trump purged the venue's former leadership, issued a statement which was shared with Newsweek, where he said that the Kennedy Center "will no longer fund intolerance." Others have defended the performers' choice not to perform. What People Are Saying Richard Grenell, the Kennedy Center director, in a statement shared with Newsweek: "Any performer who isn't professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won't be welcomed. In fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn't hire - and that the public knows which shows have political litmus tests to sit in the audience. The Kennedy Center wants to be a place where people of all political stripes sit next to each other and never ask who someone voted for but instead enjoys a performance together." Scott Jennings, a media personality speaking on CNN: "These people are too fragile to show up for work... Most people in America don't have the luxury of being able to call in sick from politics, but it sounds like that's what these people did." Ashley Allison, a political commentator speaking on CNN: "We live in America, if they don't want to perform, they don't have to perform." What's Next The performance that Trump is planning to attend is set to take place on June 11.
The Age
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Matt Lucas and Marina Prior: the Les Miserable arena show is here
British musical theatre stars Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, in town to perform in Les Misérables The Arena Spectacular, have just caught wind of Australia's penchant for election day democracy sausages. 'I want a sausage sizzle in our elections in the UK,' Boe says. 'Seriously. Being here is so nice because you seem so removed from the rest of the hassle and stress that's going on in the world.' 'Australians don't take things too seriously.' We do, however, take musicals seriously. Les Misérables The Arena Spectacular, produced by theatre impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh, is now playing at the 9000-seat ICC Sydney Theatre and will travel to Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and the Brisbane Entertainment Centre as part of a world tour. It has broken the record for the highest number of tickets ever sold at the ICC. Not content with being the world's most famous musical or the longest-running West End musical (40 years), Les Miserables' story of love, revolution, and social injustice in 19th-century France seems indefatigable. Boe thinks he know why. 'I heard this couple last night and she was saying to her husband, 'I think I can carry on with things, the stress that we've been going through, I think I can cope with it now',' he says. 'All after seeing a musical.' But why present an arena version of the musical? Mackintosh, whose prolific and influential career includes producing The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Miss Saigon, Mary Poppins, Oliver! and co-producing Hamilton in London, says it's going back to the essence of what the show is about. 'One of the things I insist - and that makes it special - is that everyone in the arena show has been in the stage production of the show,' he says. 'Even [the] big stars.'
Sydney Morning Herald
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Matt Lucas and Marina Prior: the Les Miserable arena show is here
British musical theatre stars Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, in town to perform in Les Misérables The Arena Spectacular, have just caught wind of Australia's penchant for election day democracy sausages. 'I want a sausage sizzle in our elections in the UK,' Boe says. 'Seriously. Being here is so nice because you seem so removed from the rest of the hassle and stress that's going on in the world.' 'Australians don't take things too seriously.' We do, however, take musicals seriously. Les Misérables The Arena Spectacular, produced by theatre impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh, is now playing at the 9000-seat ICC Sydney Theatre and will travel to Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and the Brisbane Entertainment Centre as part of a world tour. It has broken the record for the highest number of tickets ever sold at the ICC. Not content with being the world's most famous musical or the longest-running West End musical (40 years), Les Miserables' story of love, revolution, and social injustice in 19th-century France seems indefatigable. Boe thinks he know why. 'I heard this couple last night and she was saying to her husband, 'I think I can carry on with things, the stress that we've been going through, I think I can cope with it now',' he says. 'All after seeing a musical.' But why present an arena version of the musical? Mackintosh, whose prolific and influential career includes producing The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Miss Saigon, Mary Poppins, Oliver! and co-producing Hamilton in London, says it's going back to the essence of what the show is about. 'One of the things I insist - and that makes it special - is that everyone in the arena show has been in the stage production of the show,' he says. 'Even [the] big stars.'
Sydney Morning Herald
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Smile in ecstasy - or bawl your eyes out - at the Les Mis arena show
British musical theatre stars Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, in town to perform in Les Misérables The Arena Spectacular, have just caught wind of Australia's penchant for election day democracy sausages. 'I want a sausage sizzle in our elections in the UK,' Boe says. 'Seriously. Being here is so nice because you seem so removed from the rest of the hassle and stress that's going on in the world.' 'Australians don't take things too seriously.' We do, however, take musicals seriously. Les Misérables The Arena Spectacular, produced by theatre impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh and playing at the 9000-seat ICC Sydney Theatre as part of a world tour, has broken the record for the highest number of tickets ever sold at the venue. Not content with being the world's most famous musical or the longest-running West End musical (40 years), Les Miserables' story of love, revolution, and social injustice in 19th-century France seems indefatigable. Boe thinks he know why. 'I heard this couple last night and she was saying to her husband, 'I think I can carry on with things, the stress that we've been going through, I think I can cope with it now',' he says. 'All after seeing a musical.' But why present an arena version of the musical? Mackintosh, whose prolific and influential career includes producing The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Miss Saigon, Mary Poppins, Oliver! and co-producing Hamilton in London, says it's going back to the essence of what the show is about. 'One of the things I insist - and that makes it special - is that everyone in the arena show has been in the stage production of the show,' he says. 'Even [the] big stars.'
The Age
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Smile in ecstasy - or bawl your eyes out - at the Les Mis arena show
British musical theatre stars Michael Ball and Alfie Boe, in town to perform in Les Misérables The Arena Spectacular, have just caught wind of Australia's penchant for election day democracy sausages. 'I want a sausage sizzle in our elections in the UK,' Boe says. 'Seriously. Being here is so nice because you seem so removed from the rest of the hassle and stress that's going on in the world.' 'Australians don't take things too seriously.' We do, however, take musicals seriously. Les Misérables The Arena Spectacular, produced by theatre impresario Sir Cameron Mackintosh and playing at the 9000-seat ICC Sydney Theatre as part of a world tour, has broken the record for the highest number of tickets ever sold at the venue. Not content with being the world's most famous musical or the longest-running West End musical (40 years), Les Miserables' story of love, revolution, and social injustice in 19th-century France seems indefatigable. Boe thinks he know why. 'I heard this couple last night and she was saying to her husband, 'I think I can carry on with things, the stress that we've been going through, I think I can cope with it now',' he says. 'All after seeing a musical.' But why present an arena version of the musical? Mackintosh, whose prolific and influential career includes producing The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Miss Saigon, Mary Poppins, Oliver! and co-producing Hamilton in London, says it's going back to the essence of what the show is about. 'One of the things I insist - and that makes it special - is that everyone in the arena show has been in the stage production of the show,' he says. 'Even [the] big stars.'
