KYLE JEAN-BAPTISTE, the first African-American and youngest person to ever play the role of Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables” on Broadway has died after falling off his mother’s fire escape, according to a show spokesman. He was 21.

    Jean-Baptiste died Friday night following the show’s evening performance at the Imperial Theater, said representative Marc Thibodeau, who called it a “tragic accident.”

    The actor was an ensemble member of the company and an understudy for Valjean, going onstage as the ex-convict in a history-making appearance July 23. His last performance in the role was Thursday.

    The Broadway community took to Twitter on Saturday to mourn the loss of a young talent.

    “Shocked and saddened to have lost one of Broadway’s youngest treasures,” tweeted Tony Award-nominee Joshua Henry. Former “Glee” star Matthew Morrison, starring in “Finding Neverland,” called him “such a pure voice. Heartbreaking.” Patina Miller, a Tony winner for “Pippin,” said, “My heart goes out to all who knew and loved this incredibly talented young man.”

    A spokeswoman for the New York Police Department said investigators believe Jean-Baptiste’s death was accidental.

    According to police, Jean-Baptiste was sitting on a fourth-floor fire escape of an apartment in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn with a 23-year-old woman Friday night when he stood up, slipped and then fell backward to the ground.

    The city’s medical examiner will determine his official cause of death, police said. A spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment late Saturday.

    Jean-Baptiste was born in New York and graduated from Baldwin Wallace University. The tenor had recently landed two musical roles at Playhouse Square in Cleveland — in “Murder Ballad” and “Love Story.” He also had played Enjolras last year in a production of “Les Miserables” at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival.

    The current “Les Miserables” on Broadway is the second revival of the hit show. It debuted in 1987 with Colm Wilkinson in the role of Valjean and lasted until 2003. (SD-Agencies)