Update: This contest is now closed. (The winner, picked at random through Random.org, is announced at the end of the comments, which are worth reading.)

GIVEAWAY TO Les Miserables

Enter to win the following:

$25 Fandango Gift Card to see Les Miserables in any U.S. movie theater available for ticketing on Fandango.com or your mobile device.

Les Miserables T-Shirt

Les Miserables Journal — the cover is like the poster; inside are blank pages for you to fill.

Les Miserables Soundtrack

In Les Miserables, ex-prisoner Jean Valjean, hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert after Valjean breaks parole, agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s young daughter, Cosette.

Les Miserables began life as a novel by Victor Hugo in 1862 — Tolstoy called it the greatest novel ever written.

Its 1986 stage musical adaptation won eight 1987 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, ran on Broadway for 16 years and 6,680 performances (still the third longest-running show on Broadway), and grossed more than $400 million. Then it was revived just three years later.  Productions of the stage musical, which features such well-known songs as “One Day More,” “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” “Who Am I,” and of course “I Dreamed A Dream,” have been seen by more than 60 million people in 42 countries and in 21 languages.

The movie version of the musical, opening on December 25, 2012, stars Hugh Jackman as Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert,Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, with Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen.

It is directed by  Tom Hooper (“The Kings Speech”), with the same composer and lyricist as the stage musical, Claude-Michel Schönberg and Herbert Kretzmer, and a screenplay credited to them plus Alain Boublil (the original co-librettist) and William Nicholson (“Shadowlands”: “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”)

To enter the contest, answer this question:

 Describe the best movie musical you’ve ever seen. What made it the best?

An optional additional question, not required:

What seems to be the key to a successful stage-to-screen adaptation of a musical?

Three requirements to win the tickets:

1. Please put your answer in the comments at the bottom of this blog post, because the winner will be chosen through Random.org based on the order of your reply, not its content.

But you must answer the first question, with details, or your entry will not be approved for submission.

2. Please include in your answer your Twitter name and follow my Twitter feed at @NewYorkTheater so that I can send you a direct message. (If you don’t have a Twitter name, create one. It’s free.)

3. This contest ends Tuesday, December 18, 2012 at midnight Eastern Time, and I will make the drawing no later than noon the next day. You must respond to my direct message on Twitter within 24 hours or I will choose another winner.

My review