Jean Valjean is the hero who’s life journey we follow. Valjean is supposed to be stronger than other men, and so he should appear physically robust. He should carry himself confidently onstage and come across to the audience as mature. Valjean’s capacity for change is his greatest asset throughout the story. The key to his character is his great humanity and compassion. Jean Valjean is a vocally demanding role.  Gender: Male;  Vocal range: A4 – G#2

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.  Gender: Male;  Vocal range: F#4 – F2

The Chain Gang consists of Jean Valjean’s fellow prisoners. There are five soloists (Convicts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5). The overall vocal range of the Convicts is low in a baritone range.  Gender: Male; Vocal range: Eb4 – F2

The Factory Workers include the female characters with solo lines: Workers 1 and 2, Woman, Factory Girls 1, 2, 3, and 4. Gender: Female;  Vocal range: C5 – E4

Girl 5 (Factory Girl) is the shop girl who fights with Fantine. She is mean, spiteful, and selfish. She also is most likely having an affair with the Foreman and is jealous of his affection for Fantine. Gender: Female; Vocal range: Eb5 – F4

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.  Gender: Male; Vocal range: D5 – D3

The Old Woman is a featured role who purchases Fantine’s hair. This vocal solo requires a strong singer. Gender: Female; Vocal range: D5 – E4

The Pimp controls the prostitutes at the docks. He is mean, aggressive, and abusive. The Pimp has solo singing in “The Docks.”  Gender: Male; Vocal range: C4 – Eb3

Fauchelevant is the victim of the cart crash.  Gender: Male; Vocal range: Eb4 – B3

The Judges  appear in a courtroom to preside over a trial against Jean Valjean.

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.  Young Cosette is small and looks properly pathetic. Young Cosette will be physically small and cast from our youth program.  Young Cosette sings “Castle On A Cloud”  Gender: Female; Vocal range: C5 – A3

Thénardier is the true villain of Les Misérables.  He is the embodiment of evil. That said, he also must 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.  He is married to Madame Thénardier and is father to Eponine and Gavroche (although he abandoned Gavroche to the streets of Paris). Strong singer. Gender: Male; Vocal range: G4 – C2

Young Eponine is the pampered daughter of the Thénardiers. She is a smaller version of grown Eponine and resemble Eponine in appearance and features. Gender: Female

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. For comparison, think of a young Artful Dodger. Gavroche is a young boy.  He has a dramatic death at the barricade. Gender: Male; Vocal range: G5 – B3

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. She sings “On My Own,” and should have a contemporary edge to her voice.  Gender: Female; Vocal range: E5 – F3

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.” On the barricade, he dominates everyone else physically and vocally. He is a natural leader with charisma. Enjolras inspires the students to fight, and ultimately to die, for their beliefs.  Gender: Male; Vocal range: G4 – A2

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. Marius should have a lovely, lyrical voice with a contemporary edge.  Gender: Male; Vocal range: Ab4 – A2

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.  Gender: Female; Vocal range: C6 – Bb3

Brujon, Montparnasse, Babet 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.  Babet is physically frail but lean and cunning.  Claquesous is tough, dangerous, and secretive. Montparnasse is a teenager who is handsome and dangerous (he kills with a knife). He is well dressed, strongly built, and agile.  Gender: Any; Vocal range: C#4 – C#3

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. Additional characters in the ABC Society, besides Enjolras and Marius, include the following: 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.”  Courfeyrac is a youthful, passionate, and fearless student.  Joly is an eccentric and light-hearted (although sometimes morbid) medical student. His name is derived from the English word “jolly.”  Prouvaire is a kind, soft-spoken, and, at the right moments, strong and masterful poet and student of social studies.  Lesgles is a cheerful, laughing-at-life (but unlucky) student. He is a close friend of Joly.  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. (Male)