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West Side Story  | ||
Jean Valjean: He is the hero of the show. It is his life journey that we follow. Valjean is supposed to be stronger than other men, and so physically should appear robust. He should reasonably carry himself as mature and paternal. His ability to change is his greatest asset. The key to his character is his great humility and compassion. Javert: He is the inspector who serves as antagonist to Valjean. Javert is unswerving in his belief that men cannot change for the good. “Once a thief, always a thief” is his mantra. At first glance Javert might appear to be the villain of the story, but on closer examination it is clear that he is not an evil man. He is aware that in society some people achieve control through evil and others through the power of the law. He is a dedicated policeman, with a profound sense of duty. Unlike Valjean he cannot change. His attitudes are rigid and unmovable. He is stern, forbidding and lacking in compassion. Chain Gang: The gang consists of Valjean’s fellow prisoners. Bishop of Digne: The Bishop is a good man who saves Valjean with his compassion. He literally buys Valjean’s soul for God. Fantine: She 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 though circumstances to become a prostitute. She is a brave woman defeated by life, sustained by her love for her daughter and clinging to her dignity. Sick with consumption, we witness her descent through poverty, hunger, cold, loneliness and destitution to death. She is a noble character, whose life becomes a series of terrible events that rob her of her pride, character and ultimately her life. Foreman: He starts Fantine on her downward spiral of desperation. He should be virile, commanding and a bit sleazy around the edges. Girl #5: She is the shop girl that fights with Fantine. She is mean, catty and selfish. She is also most likely having an affair with the Foreman and is jealous of Fantine. Bamatabois: He is the “customer” who taunts Fantine into violence. He is dressed in expensive clothes. He is a wealthy dissolute young man who thinks of himself as a gentleman. He is drunk and in a sadistic mood and chauvinistically feels it is his right to buy anything, even Fantine. Old Woman: She is the character that purchases Fantine’s hair. Pimp: He controls the prostitutes at the docks. He is mean, aggressive and abusive. Fauchelevant: He is the victim of the cart crash. Young Cosette: She is the child of Fantine. She is also the ward of the Thenardiers forced into child labor. She is a trembling little creature, underfed, beaten by Madame Thenardier and bullied by Eponine. Madame Thenardier: She is the wife of Thenardier. They are “as one.” Together they con the world as partners in crime. They were made for each other, although she complains about him, she loves him dearly. She is course and vulgar, unhappy in her existence without knowing why. She is romantic, greedy, stupid, evil and larger than life. She is mean and nasty to Cosette and able to improvise in nearly any situation. Thenardier: He is the true villain of the show. He is the embodiment of evil. He should also possess a wicked sense of humor. He delights in cheating, robbing, fraud and blackmail, relishing every aspect of them with glee. He is tough, greedy, brutal, stupid and crafty yet irresistible. He hates society and blames it and everyone else for all his misfortune. He is also the opportunist and realist of the show. He is a thief, a liar; a cheat steals valuables from the dead with no remorse. He is also the comic relief of the show. His comedy is based in reality and shouldn’t be too exaggerated. He is married to Madame Thenardier and father of Eponine and Gavroche (although he has abandoned Gavroche to the streets of Paris). Young Eponine: Little Eponine is the pampered daughter of the Thenardiers. She does little except enter the stage and taunt Little Cosette. Gavroche: He is Thenardier’s son. He is left to fend for himself and lives by his wits in the streets of Paris. His “arch enemy” is Javert the policeman. He is brave and witty. Eponine: She is a young girl who is streetwise and tough, but also sensitive and lonely. She is in love with Marius, knowing that he will never love her. She bravely follows Marius to the Barricades in hope that they will die there together. Once grown up, Eponine moves with her family to Paris where they fall on hard times. Now poor, living hand to mouth, she survives by helping her father break the law. She is a tragic character. Enjolras: He is the student leader. He is handsome, brave and daring, although youthful. He combines his revolutionary ideals with strong charismatic leadership. He is a thinker and a man of action. He should ooze with charisma. Marius: He is the handsome 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. He matures after the Café Song as a result of his experiences on the Barricade. Cosette: She is the beautiful daughter of Fantine. She is strong willed and loving. She is an intelligent, inquiring, personable girl. Once “adopted” by Valjean, she lives a comfortable but secluded life. She is challenging towards Valjean, behaving always with imagination and dignity. She falls instantly in love with Marius, changing her world and her priorities. Brujon: He is physically very strong. Body of a bear but a pea sized brain. A genuine gangster, he is stupid and evil. Babet: He is physically frail. He is lean and cunning. Claquesous: Tough, dangerous, and secretive Montparnasse: He is a teenager who is handsome but dangerous. He kills with a knife. He is well dressed, strongly built and supple. Combeferre: The philosopher and believer in peace. He is gentle, humane, strong and brave. Feuilly: He is a worker, self educated and an orphan. A believer in “nationality” He is affectionate, warm and poetic. Courfeyrac: He is a student. He is youthful, passionate and fearless. Joly: He is a medical student. Eccentric and light hearted, although sometimes morbid. His name comes from the English word, jolly. Prouvaire: He is a student of social studies. He is kind, soft spoken and at the right moments strong and masterful. He is also a poet. Lesgles: He is a student. He is cheerful, laughing at life but unlucky. His close friend is Joly. Grantaire: He is a student and is the opposite of Enjolras. He believes in nothing. Although he admires Enjolras, he loves to mock him. Witty and drunken, he 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. So much so that he abandons his cynicism and rushes to die on the barricade.
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