Alain Boublil (born 5 March 1941) is a French

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

lyricist and librettist, best known for his collaborations with the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg for

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

on Broadway and London's

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

. These include '' La Révolution Française'' (1973), '' Les Misérables'' (1980), '' Miss Saigon'' (1989), ''

Martin Guerre Martin Guerre, a French peasant of the 16th century, was at the centre of a famous case of imposture. Several years after Martin Guerre had left his wife, child and village, a man claiming to be him appeared. He lived with Guerre's wife and s ...

'' (1996), '' The Pirate Queen'' (2006), and '' Marguerite'' (2008).

Life and career

Boublil was born in Tunisia, to a

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...

family. Boublil's first musical, '' La Révolution Française'', was the first-ever staged French rock opera. It was conceived by Boublil in 1973 after he watched the premiere of ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' in New York. The composer was Claude-Michel Schönberg, with whom Boublil has since collaborated on a number of successful projects, including ''Les Misérables'' and ''Miss Saigon''. ''Les Misérables'' first opened in Paris in 1980. On 8 October 1985, an English-language production of '' Les Misérables'' produced by Cameron Mackintosh and directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird premiered in London at The 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.

''Les Misérables''

Productions based on the Nunn/Mackintosh staging of '' Les 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''

'' 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.

Other works

With Javier Arroyuelo and Rafael Lopez Sanchez, Boublil worked on the French translation of '' The Rocky Horror Show'' for its French premiere in 1975. Alain and Daniel Boublil created '' Abbacadabra,'' a French children's musical based on songs from the pop group ABBA, for French television in 1983. ''

'' 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 play ''Le Journal d'Adam et Eve'', based on two short stories by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

. It premiered in Paris in 1994 at Le Petit Montparnasse. He has worked on the stage adaptation of Jacques Demy's ''Les Demoiselles de Rochefort'', together with composer Michel Legrand, that opened at Le Palais des Congrès in 2003. Boublil and Schönberg's '' The Pirate Queen''—a musical about the 16th century Irish pirate, chieftain and adventuress Grace O'Malley—debuted at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre in fall 2006. It then moved to Broadway, where it closed in 2007. The musical starred

Stephanie J. Block Stephanie Janette Block (born September 19, 1972) is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on the Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway stage. Block made her Broadway debut in 2003, originating the role of Liza Minnelli in ''The Boy f ...

as Grace, and Hadley Fraser as Tiernan. The musical '' Marguerite'' is by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, and includes music by Michel Legrand and lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. Set during World War II in occupied Paris, and inspired by the romantic novel '' The Lady of the Camellias'' (by Alexandre 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 the Royal Haymarket Theatre in London. Marguerite received its London revival at the Tabard Theatre,

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in October 2012. Staged by Alex Parker Productions, the revised show had a new book by Boublil and Guy Unsworth, and a reworked score (adaptation, orchestration and arrangement) by

Jude Obermüller Jude may refer to: People Biblical * Jude, brother of Jesus, who is sometimes identified as being the same person as Jude the Apostle * Jude the Apostle, an apostle also called Judas Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus, the patron saint of lost causes in the C ...

. He was nominated for Best Original Song at the 70th Golden Globe Awards for the song "Suddenly" from the 2012 film version of '' Les Misérables''.

Family

Alain Boublil has had two sons, born in 1969, and 1975 with his first wife Francoise Pourcel. He then had two more boys, with his second wife, Marie Zamora.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boublil, Alain 1941 births French musical theatre lyricists Broadway composers and lyricists Grammy Award winners Tony Award winners Living people 20th-century French Sephardi Jews Tunisian Jews Tunisian emigrants to France