Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, September 3, 1993                   TAG: 9309240361
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Joe Kennedy
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

HUGO WOULDN'T BELIEVE IT

Included in the press kit they issued for the Nov. 9-14 performances at the Roanoke Civic Center is a list of the top 10 mispronunciations of the show's French title.

Two of the most common are Less Miserables and Lace Miserah-blays. Others are Lost Marbles, Lay Mizerabililly, Lay Mizeroblem, Lay Miserlybobs, Lay Miseralbees and Lay Mizerbouels.

Victor Hugo, the author of the novel on which the Broadway musical is based, would be tout perturbed to hear about this, and well-advised to stay dead when the show comes to the Star City. A region that puts its unique stamp on self-evident pronunciations like Buena Vista, Buchanan and Pulaski will undoubtedly be creative with his title, too.

For the record, the publicists say the correct pronunciation is Lay Miz-ah-rob. (Office purists insist it's Lay Meez-ah-rob.) Bob Chapman, the civic center manager, was saying ``Le Miz-ah-rab'' the other day. He was close.