In April 2009, Scotswoman Susan Boyle became an internet sensation when she performed "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables for her audition as a contestant on Britian's Got Talent.Huffington Post: Reasons Susan Boyle Means So Much to Us (April 16, 2009)

• Broadway legend Patti LuPone spoke with Susan Boyle during the April 16, 2009 episode of CBS's Morning Show. LuPone had originated the performance of the Les Miserables song on the London stage and called to praise Boyle's rendition of technically difficult song, "I Dreamed a Dream". Zap2it: Susan Boyle Talks with Patti LuPone (April 16, 2009)

• Although Victor Hugo first began contemplating the story for Le Miserables as early as 1829, it wasn't until Hugo witnessed a specific incident in 1845 that he was truly inspired. He saw an attractive carriage pull up alongside an impoverished man. Inside the carriage a woman dressed in warm velvet played with a child who was hidden under furs and ribbons. While the man was being arrested for stealing a loaf of bread, the woman in the carriage was completely oblivious to the man's plight. To Hugo, the improvised man represented "the spectre of misery, the ghostly forewarning in full light of day, in the sunshine, of the revolution still plunged in the shadows of darkness, but emerging from them. The moment he become aware of her existence, while she remained unaware of his, a catastrophe was inevitable."Les Miserables The Musical: About the Author

• "I don't know if it will be read by everyone, but it is meant for everyone. It addresses England as well as Spain, Italy as well as France, Germany as well as Ireland, the republics that harbour slaves as well as empires that have serfs. Social problems go beyond frontiers..."—Victor HugoLes Miserables The Musical: About the Author