Alain Boublil Tours Hal Leonard

Hal Leonard was honored to host famed lyricist and librettist Alain Boublil at its Milwaukee headquarters on March 6th.

The world’s longest-running musical, Les Miz is an unforgettable story of heartbreak, passion, and the resilience of the human spirit. The show made its debut in 1985, and Hal Leonard has represented it in print for nearly as long.

Les Miz is still breaking box office records everywhere in its 30th year. Thanks to the new productions on Broadway, in Sydney, Tokyo, Holland and Spain; to the London production now in its 30th year; and to the 2012 Oscar-winning screen adaptation, the next generation is falling in love with its timeless songs – and buying lots of matching songbooks and sheet music.

Boublil met with Hal Leonard president Larry Morton and the editorial staff and production people who have brought to life more than 120 publications featuring Boublil and Schӧnberg’s musicals. Hal Leonard publishes everything from easy piano collections; to instrumental play-alongs; to Pro Vocal, orchestral and choral works; and even The Musical World of Boublil and Schönberg, a biography of Boublil and his longtime collaborator Claude-Michel Schӧnberg.

Boublil commented on the tour, “I enjoyed my first-time visit to Hal Leonard’s headquarters. It’s very impressive to see first-hand the ways in which they are making our music and lyrics available in so many innovative ways for such a wide variety of musicians and fans.”

Morton added, “Alain Boublil is musical theatre royalty. We are so proud that he entrusts Hal Leonard to represent his and Claude-Michel’s magnificent works in print. We look forward to many more years of working closely together.”

That evening, with Boublil in attendance, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra performed Do You Hear The People Sing. He co-conceived and produces this touring symphonic production, which features songs from Boublil & Schönberg musicals performed by world-class vocalists – including his wife, soprano Marie Zamora. Hal Leonard sponsored the Milwaukee performances, which brought audiences to their feet.

Photo: Hal Leonard's Jeff Schroedl and Larry Morton flanking Alain Boublil.