Jean Valjean is the hero of the show. It is his life journey that we follow. Jean Valjean is supposed to be stronger than other men, and so he should physically appear robust. He should carry himself confidently onstage and come across to the audience as reasaonably mature and paternal. Valjean’s capacity for change is his greatest asset throughout the story. The key to his character is his great humanity and compassion.

Javert is the inspector who serves as antagonist to Jean Valjean. Javert is unswerving in his belief that men cannot change for the better. “Once a thief, always a thief” is his mantra. At first glance, Javert might appear to be the villain of the story, but upon closer examination, it is clear that he is not an evil man. He is a dedicated policeman with a profoundly strong sense of duty. Unlike Valjean, Javert’s attitudes are rigid and unmovable. He is stern, forbidding, and lacking in compassion.

The Chain Gang consists of Jean Valjean’s fellow prisoners.

There are two solo Constables (Constables 1 and 2) in the show.

The Farmer has solo lines that are a bit difficult to sing.

The Bishop is a good man who saves Valjean’s soul through showing compassion. The Bishop of Digne’s kindness carefully establishes the premise of the show by literally buying Jean Valjean’s soul for God.

Fantine is the beautiful, young girl who, abandoned by her lover, is left to fend for herself and her daughter, Cosette. She is rejected by society and forced through circumstances to sell herself. She is a brave woman defeated by life who clings to her dignity and is sustained by her love for her daughter, sacrificing everything for the young Cosette. The audience witnesses her descent through a series of terrible events leading to poverty, hunger, cold, loneliness, destitution, and death from consumption.

The Foreman begins Fantine on her desperate, downward spiral. He is virile, commanding, and a bit sleazy around the edges.

The Docks are a depressing and dangerous place to be, occupied by prostitutes and their customers.

Three sailors begin the docks scene.

Bamatabois is the customer who taunts Fantine into violence. He is a wealthy, dissolute young man who thinks of himself as a gentleman, even dressing in expensive clothes. He is drunk and in a sadistic mood. He chauvinistically feels it is his right to buy anything, even Fantine.

The Old Woman is a nice featured role who purchases Fantine’s hair.

The Pimp controls the prostitutes at the docks. He is mean, aggressive, and abusive.

These characters make up the crowd of people onstage that witness the cart crash.

Fauchelevant is the victim of the cart crash.

The Judge or Judges are non-singing roles. They appear once in a courtroom to preside over a trial against Jean Valjean.

These characters are also non-singing. Mistaken Jean Valjean is the man who Javert believes to be Jean Valjean.

The two Nuns are non-singing and non-speaking roles. They serve to take care of Fantine in her sickness.

Young Cosette is Fantine’s daughter and the Thénardiers’ ward. She has been forced into child labor. She is underfed, beaten by Madame Thénardier, and bullied by Eponine. Make sure your Young Cosette is small and looks properly pathetic yet warms the audience’s hearts. They should be sympathetic to her plight.

She is married to Thénardier. Together, Madame Thénardier and Thénardier con the world as partners in crime. They were made for each other, and although she complains about him, she loves him dearly. She is coarse and vulgar, unhappy in her existence without knowing why. She is romantic, greedy, manipulative, evil, and larger than life. She is mean and nasty to Little Cosette and able to improvise in nearly any situation.

Thénardier is the true villain of Les Misérables School Edition . He is the embodiment of evil. That said, he should also possess a wicked sense of humor. He delights in cheating, robbing, defrauding, and blackmailing, and relishes every aspect of his schemes with glee. He is tough, greedy, brutal, lowbrow, crafty and yet irresistible. He hates society and blames it and everyone else for all his misfortune. Thénardier is also the opportunist and realist of the show. He is a thief, a liar, a cheat, and steals valuables from the dead with no remorse. He is also the comic relief of the production. However, his comedy is based in reality and shouldn’t be too exaggerated. He is married to Madame Thénardier and is father to Eponine and Gavroche (although he abandoned Gavroche to the streets of Paris).

Young Eponine is the pampered daughter of the Thénardiers. She does little except taunt Young Cosette.

Gavroche is Thénardier’s son. He is left to fend for himself and lives by his wits in the streets of Paris. His archenemy is Javert, the policeman. Gavroche is brave, witty, and arrogant, with a fantastic, unchanged voice.

Paris at this time would be full of orphans (due to years of wars and revolutions).

Eponine is the Thénardiers’ daughter. Living hand to mouth, she survives by helping her father in his life of crime. She is a young girl who is streetwise and tough but also sensitive and lonely. This tragic character is hopelessly in love with Marius, knowing that he will never love her. She bravely follows Marius to the barricades in the hope that they will die there together.

Enjolras is the student leader. He is handsome, brave, and daring, although youthful. He combines his revolutionary ideals with strong, charismatic leadership. Victor Hugo described him as “a thinker and a man of action.” Enjolras must inspire the students to fight and, ultimately, to die for their beliefs. His death at the barricade is one of the dramatic highlights of the show.

Marius is the romantic hero of the story. He is impulsive, passionate, willful, and headstrong. His moods change according to his circumstances. He is sweet and tender but also capable of great courage and compassion. In Act I, Marius plays Romeo to Cosette’s Juliet. Marius matures after “The Café Song” as a result of his experiences on the barricade.

Cosette is Fantine’s strong-willed, loving daughter. She is an intelligent, inquiring, personable girl; she is not in any sense a sappy, romantic heroine. Once she is adopted by Jean Valjean, Cosette lives a comfortable, if secluded, life. She falls instantly in love with Marius, changing her world and her priorities.

Montparnasse, Babet, Brujon and Claquesous are members of Thénardier’s gang of thieves. Brujon is physically very strong. He has the body of a bear and a pea-sized brain. A genuine gangster, he is stupid and evil.

Montparnasse, Babet, Brujon and Claquesous are members of Thénardier’s gang of thieves. Babet is physically frail but lean and cunning.

Montparnasse, Babet, Brujon and Claquesous are members of Thénardier’s gang of thieves. Claquesous is tough, dangerous, and secretive.

These are members of Thénardier’s gang of thieves. Montparnasse is a teenager who is handsome and dangerous (he kills with a knife). He is well dressed, strongly built, and agile.

Members of the ABC society: Combeferre, Feuilly, Courfeyrac, Joly, Prouvaire, Lesgles, and Grantaire. These characters compose a secret society of students and workers. The letters A, B, and C, as pronounced in French, make the word “abaisse,” which means “the underdog” or “the people below.” The members are drawn from wealthy families and have chosen to fight for freedom, in stark contrast to the poor who have no choice due to their downtrodden circumstance.

Combeferre is the philosopher and believer in peace. He is gentle, humane, strong, and brave.

Feuilly is a worker who is a self-educated orphan. He is an affectionate, warm, and poetic believer in “nationality.”

Members of the ABC society: Combeferre, Feuilly, Courfeyrac, Joly, Prouvaire, Lesgles, and Grantaire. These characters compose a secret society of students and workers. The letters A, B, and C, as pronounced in French, make the word “abaisse,” which means “the underdog” or “the people below.” The members are drawn from wealthy families and have chosen to fight for freedom, in stark contrast to the poor who have no choice due to their downtrodden circumstance.

Members of the ABC society: Combeferre, Feuilly, Courfeyrac, Joly, Prouvaire, Lesgles, and Grantaire. These characters compose a secret society of students and workers. The letters A, B, and C, as pronounced in French, make the word “abaisse,” which means “the underdog” or “the people below.” The members are drawn from wealthy families and have chosen to fight for freedom, in stark contrast to the poor who have no choice due to their downtrodden circumstance.

Members of the ABC society: Combeferre, Feuilly, Courfeyrac, Joly, Prouvaire, Lesgles, and Grantaire. These characters compose a secret society of students and workers. The letters A, B, and C, as pronounced in French, make the word “abaisse,” which means “the underdog” or “the people below.” The members are drawn from wealthy families and have chosen to fight for freedom, in stark contrast to the poor who have no choice due to their downtrodden circumstance.

Members of the ABC society: Combeferre, Feuilly, Courfeyrac, Joly, Prouvaire, Lesgles, and Grantaire. These characters compose a secret society of students and workers. The letters A, B, and C, as pronounced in French, make the word “abaisse,” which means “the underdog” or “the people below.” The members are drawn from wealthy families and have chosen to fight for freedom, in stark contrast to the poor who have no choice due to their downtrodden circumstance.

Members of the ABC society: Combeferre, Feuilly, Courfeyrac, Joly, Prouvaire, Lesgles, and Grantaire. These characters compose a secret society of students and workers. The letters A, B, and C, as pronounced in French, make the word “abaisse,” which means “the underdog” or “the people below.” The members are drawn from wealthy families and have chosen to fight for freedom, in stark contrast to the poor who have no choice due to their downtrodden circumstance.

Grantaire is the opposite of Enjolras. He believes in nothing. Although he admires Enjolras, he loves to mock him. Witty and drunken, Grantaire is happy being with the group, and they put up with him because of his good humor. He also keeps a watchful eye on Gavroche, the mascot of the group, and is the most heartbroken when Gavroche is killed. He is so devastated by Gavroche’s death that Grantaire abandons his cynicism and rushes to die on the barricade.

An ensemble of Revolutionaries at the barricade scenes.

In addition to the ensemble of Revolutionaries, the barricade scenes need actors to serve as Sentries 1 and 2.

The barricade scene needs and actor to play the Army Officer. This actor only needs to be heard from offstage; as he’s never seen onstage.

There are also four soloists for working-class Women in Scene 6 (Women 1, 2, 3, and 4) who sing about the events at the barricade.

Wedding Guests form a chorus that celebrates the wedding of Marius and Cosette.