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Alain Boublil (born 5 March 1941) is a French nationalmusical theatrelyricist andlibrettist, best known for his collaborations with the composerClaude-Michel Schönberg formusicals onBroadway and London'sWest End. These includeLa Révolution Française (1973),Les Misérables (1980),Miss Saigon (1989),Martin Guerre (1996),The Pirate Queen (2006), andMarguerite (2008).
Boublil was born in Tunisia, to aSephardic Jewish family.[1] Boublil's first musical,La Révolution Française, was the first-ever staged Frenchrock opera. It was conceived by Boublil in 1973 after he watched the premiere ofJesus Christ Superstar in New York.[2] The composer wasClaude-Michel Schönberg, with whom Boublil has since collaborated on a number of successful projects, includingLes Misérables andMiss Saigon.[3]Les Misérables first opened in Paris in 1980.
On 8 October 1985, an English-language production ofLes Misérables produced byCameron Mackintosh and directed byTrevor Nunn andJohn Caird premiered in London atThe Royal Shakespeare Company's Barbican Theatre. The show transferred to the West End's Palace Theatre on 4 December 1985. It is the longest-running musical in West End history.
Productions based on the Nunn/Mackintosh staging ofLes Misérables have been staged all over the world, including a second French production which opened in Paris in 1991. Worldwide,Les Misérables has been seen by over 50 million people, with a total box office gross of over $1.8 billion.
Miss Saigon opened in London on 20 September 1989 where it played for 10 consecutive successful years at the Drury Lane Theatre. It spawned two US touring companies, a Toronto production and has been seen by more than 13.2 million people in North America for a gross of $612 million.
WithJavier Arroyuelo andRafael Lopez Sanchez, Boublil worked on the French translation ofThe Rocky Horror Show for its French premiere in 1975.[4][5]
Alain and Daniel Boublil createdAbbacadabra, a French children's musical based on songs from the pop group ABBA, for French television in 1983.
Martin Guerre reached the West End in 1996 and won the 1997 Olivier Award for Best Musical. Productions on tour in the UK and the US, and Europe followed, but the show failed to repeat the success of its two predecessors.
Boublil has also written the playLe Journal d'Adam et Eve, based on two short stories byMark Twain. It premiered in Paris in 1994 at Le Petit Montparnasse.
He has worked on the stage adaptation of Jacques Demy'sLes Demoiselles de Rochefort, together with composerMichel Legrand, that opened at Le Palais des Congrès in 2003.
Boublil and Schönberg'sThe Pirate Queen—a musical about the 16th centuryIrish pirate, chieftain and adventuressGrace O'Malley—debuted atChicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre in fall 2006. It then moved to Broadway, where it closed in 2007. The musical starredStephanie J. Block as Grace, andHadley Fraser as Tiernan.
The musicalMarguerite is by Alain Boublil andClaude-Michel Schönberg, and includes music byMichel Legrand and lyrics byHerbert Kretzmer. Set during World War II in occupied Paris, and inspired by the romantic novelThe Lady of the Camellias (byAlexandre Dumas, fils),Marguerite is about the mistress of a high-ranking German officer who attracts the love of a pianist half her age. The musical premiered on 6 May 2008 at theRoyal Haymarket Theatre in London.[6] Marguerite received its London revival at theTabard Theatre,Chiswick in October 2012. Staged by Alex Parker Productions, the revised show had a new book by Boublil andGuy Unsworth, and a reworked score (adaptation, orchestration and arrangement) byJude Obermüller.
He was nominated forBest Original Song at the70th Golden Globe Awards for the song "Suddenly" from the 2012 film version ofLes Misérables.[7]
