The Greatest Showman #985 – In the Blink of an Eye

The premiere night at the Almeida Theatre concluded, and the new rendition of Les Miserables received unanimous praise, sparking an explosion of word-of-mouth buzz. The production's success, limited to May, quickly became the biggest sensation of the first half of 2012, shaking the British entertainment industry to its core.

Out of fourteen professional drama reviews, thirteen gave the production five-star ratings, with one awarding a four-star rating. The Almeida Theatre's version of Les Miserables surpassed even the original at the Queen's Theatre, triggering an even more extraordinary wave of acclaim. The impact was as profound as a bomb dropped into a calm lake, causing an immediate and immense ripple effect.

What is even more remarkable is that not only the critics but also the audience responded with an equally fervent wave of excitement.

While the six-hour run time was daunting, it proved to be far from just experimental theater; Renly's appeal, once thought to be worrying, was revealed to be much more than the effect of a loyal fanbase. The audience at the premiere night offered astute and thoughtful comments, sharing their opinions on the play, the actors, and the overall experience. This feedback resonated with the wider audience and added to the validation from the drama critics.

From a professional perspective, the praise was overwhelming—reviews were nearly perfect, breaking the praise index. From the audience's point of view, ticket demand was so high that securing a spot at the premiere was a challenge, with many eager to see the performance despite the long duration. From an onlooker's perspective, whether due to Renly's star power or the buzz surrounding the show, this phenomenon had become one of a kind.

Back at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, after the release of Crazy Love, The New York Times reporter Bradley Adams had compared Renly to legendary actors like Laurence Olivier and Marlon Brando. At the time, the comparison was startling, but it wasn't fully understood. Now, in London's West End, when critics again drew parallels between Renly and Olivier, the comparison held far more weight, underscoring the immense talent of this new generation of actors.

From the Berlin Film Festival to the Oscars, and now to the West End, Renly's career has been progressing steadily. With the success of Les Miserables, his professional reputation has solidified further.

After three years of growth, Renly's career had reached new heights. The success of Les Miserables will only serve to expand his influence.

Thus, when the Almeida Theatre announced the opening of pre-sale tickets, the excitement in the market surged.

Earlier, the theater had posted an announcement on its official website.

Renly had signed a three-month performance contract with the theater, during which six shows would take place each week. Renly's cast would perform at least 50% to 60% of these performances, with the remainder handled by the second lineup. This arrangement is typical in the West End, but considering Renly's star power, the theater decided not to announce the full cast in advance, ensuring that the audience would only discover the performers on the day of the show.

To prevent scalping, the Almeida Theatre also adjusted its ticketing policy: each person could only purchase up to two tickets per show and three tickets for different shows. Of the 550 tickets available for each performance, only 400 were sold in advance, with the remaining 150 tickets available for sale 48 hours before the performance.

These efforts ensured that genuine theatergoers could enjoy the performance without being overwhelmed by profiteering scalpers.

Despite these measures, the enthusiasm for Renly's performance only intensified. The demand for tickets was so high that Renly's shows quickly became a "must-see" event.

At 9:00 a.m. on May 21st, ticket sales opened.

After last week's long queues, the Almeida Theatre had prepared thoroughly. In addition to the theater itself, 60 other ticket offices across London were ready to sell tickets, and two online ticket platforms were also in place for virtual sales.

This preparation was necessary to handle the overwhelming demand. It was such a big deal that it even made headlines in The Times.

This was the West End, not a concert or a Star Wars premiere. Even for the most popular shows, tickets typically don't sell out within hours, let alone minutes. Yet, the excitement surrounding Les Miserables and Renly had become a rare phenomenon.

When the pre-sale began, London appeared quiet, and there were no long queues in front of the theaters. However, an online frenzy erupted as ticket buyers flooded the websites.

"What's happening? Why can't I access the site?"

"Seriously? I waited for 30 minutes, and now it says the tickets are sold out?"

"What is going on? I got to the payment page first, but it said tickets were gone. Is this some sort of scam?"

"Has anyone managed to buy tickets? Let me know!"

"I got mine for May 24th! Hooray!"

"Ugh, I'm stuck on the payment page!"

"I really want to see Renly Hall's performance, but I can't get a ticket!"

More than 30,000 tweets were posted within five minutes, and Les Miserables quickly climbed the global trending list. In ten minutes, over 100,000 tweets were logged, all expressing frustration over the system crash and ticket sellouts.

In reality, the website crash lasted less than 30 seconds. At 9:00 a.m. sharp, both websites experienced severe traffic overload, receiving over 200,000 hits at once, which led to temporary delays. However, after half a minute, the system stabilized, and while access was still difficult, a few lucky individuals managed to finalize their purchases.

Online sales proved convenient, particularly for younger audiences, while the 60 physical ticket offices in London became the quickest way to secure a ticket. The internal website of the Almeida Theatre facilitated fast, direct sales, bypassing the bottlenecks of online queues.

"Got my tickets for Les Miserables tonight at the Almeida Theatre! So excited!"

"I can't believe I bought tickets for three consecutive days! So thrilled to see Renly!"

"Checked in smoothly for the premiere, and I'm back for the second show tonight—couldn't be happier!"