Description:

Do Your Hear the People Sing?

In nineteenth century France, Jean Valjean is released from years of unjust imprisonment and finds nothing in store for him but mistrust and mistreatment. He breaks his parole in hopes of starting a new life, initiating a lifelong struggle for redemption as he is relentlessly pursued by police inspector Javert, who refuses to believe Valjean can change his ways. Finally, during the Paris student uprising of 1832, Javert must confront his ideals after Valjean spares his life and saves that of the student revolutionary who has captured the heart of Valjean's adopted daughter. Epic, grand and uplifting, Les Misérables School Edition has thrilled audiences all over the world with its story of love, passion, sacrifice, and redemption.

Les Miserables School Edition is CharacterWorks' 2019 summer Masters Camp production, performed by a cast of high school students at the conclusion of a two-week camp. For more information about Masters Camp and camp registration, click here.
 
*Please note: Masters Camp productions often deal with issues and themes that are more mature than the shows during our school-year season. CharacterWorks does not recommend this show for audiences under the age of 12. Parental guidance suggested.*
 

Dates / Times:

  • Friday, Jun 28th @ 7:00pm
  • Saturday, Jun 29th @ 2:00pm
  • Saturday, Jun 29th @ 7:00pm
  • Sunday, Jun 30th @ 2:00pm
  • Saturday, Jul 6th @ 2:00pm
  • Saturday, Jul 6th @ 7:00pm
  • Sunday, Jul 7th @ 2:00pm
Tickets go on sale Tuesday April 30, 2019 at 5:00pm

Ticket Prices:

  • $16.00: Standard Ticket Price
  • $13.00: Group Ticket Price
    (Ticket Minimum: 15)
  • $11.00: Senior Ticket Price
    (Min Senior Age: 65)
  • $11.00: Military Ticket Price
  • $18.00: At Door Price

Lora M. Robins Theatre (Steward School):

11600 Gayton Road
Richmond, VA 23238

Show Notes:

Masters Camp is for rising 9th -12 graders, ages 14-19. All students registered in Masters Camp must audition on the dates listed below. Specific Masters Camp questions should be directed to Brooke Abrahamsen, CharacterWorks Artistic Director, brooke@cworkstheater.org.
 
MASTERS CAMP REGISTRATION  (NOTE: MASTERS CAMP WILL FILL UP VERY FAST!)
  • Sun, Feb 3, 2:00 - 4:00pm - Early Masters Camp registration (current 11th-12th grade students in the 2018-2019 school year) 
  • (Please note that registration will close between 4:00 - 5:00pm)
  • Sun, Feb 3, 5:00pm - General Masters Camp registration opens (current 8th-12th grade students in the 2018-2019 school year) 
COST and REFUND POLICY
Masters Camp Registration begins Feb 3 at 2:00pm.
Masters Camp cost is split between tuition ($290) and production fee ($290).
Tuition ($290) must be paid in full in order to register online.
Last day for a MASTERS CAMP tuition refund is April 14.
Refunds are subject to a $50.00 processing fee.
NO tuition REFUNDS on or after April 15.
Production Fee ($290) must be paid by midnight April 27 (BEFORE auditions on Sun, April 28.)

AUDITIONS (KingsWay Community Church)
Auditions: Sun, April 28 (3:00 - 9:00pm)
Callbacks: Sun, May 5 (2:00 - 9:00pm) & Mon, May 6 (5:00 - 9:00pm)

CAMP DATES (The Steward School)
Fri, June 14 (5:00 - 9:00pm)
Sat, June 15 (9:00am - 5:00pm)
   NO CAMP SUNDAY
Mon, June 17 (9:00am - 5:00pm)
Tue, June 18 (9:00am - 5:00pm)
Wed, June 19 (9:00am - 5:00pm)
Thur, June 20 (9:00am - 5:00pm)
Fri, June 21 (9:00am - 5:00pm)
Sat, June 22 (9:00am - 5:00pm)
   NO CAMP SUNDAY
Mon, June 24 (1:00 - 10:00pm)
Tue, June 25 (1:00 - 10:00pm)
Wed, June 26 (1:00 - 10:00pm)
Thur, June 27 (1:00 - 10:00pm) Final Dress 7:00pm

7 PERFORMANCES (The Steward School)
Fri, June 28 (7:00pm)
Sat, June 29 (2:00 & 7:00pm)
Sun, June 30 (2:00pm)
Sat, July 6 (2:00 & 7:00pm)
Sun, July 7 (2:00pm)

Characters:

Jean Valjean

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 should carry himself confidently onstage and come across to the audience as reasonably 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. Jean Valjean is a vocally demanding role.

Javert

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.

Fantine

Fantine is the beautiful young girl who, abandoned by her lover, is left to fend for herself and her daughter, Cosette. 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.

Eponine

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.

Marius

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

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.

Enjolras

Enjolras is the student leader. He is handsome, brave, youthful, and daring. He combines his revolutionary ideals with strong, charismatic leadership. Victor Hugo described him as “a thinker and a man of action.” He should be a natural leader oozing with charisma. 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.

Thenardier

Thénardier is the true villain of Les Misérables. 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. He is a thief, a liar, a cheat, and steals valuables from the dead with no remorse.

Madame Thenardier

She is married to Thénardier. Together, they 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.

Gavroche

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. For comparison, think of a young Artful Dodger.

Bishop of Digne

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.

Young Cosette

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 Eponine

Young Eponine is the pampered daughter of the Thénardiers.

Grantaire

A revolutionary, Grantaire is the opposite of Enjolras. He believes in nothing. Although he admires Enjolras, he loves to mock him. Witty but foolish, 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.

Combeferre

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

Feuilly

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

Courfeyrac

A revolutionary, Courfeyrac is a youthful, passionate, and fearless student.

Joly

A revolutionary, Joly is an eccentric and light-hearted (although sometimes morbid) medical student. His name is derived from the English word “jolly.”

Prouvaire

A revolutionary, Prouvaire is a kind, soft-spoken, and, at the right moments, strong and masterful poet and student of social studies.

Lesgles

A revolutionary, Lesgles is a cheerful, laughing-at-life (but unlucky) student. He is a close friend of Joly.

Brujon

A member of Thénardier’s gang, 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

A member of Thénardier’s gang, Babet is physically frail but lean and cunning.

Claquesous

A member of Thénardier’s gang, Claquesous is tough, dangerous, and secretive.

Montparnasse

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

Foreman

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

Factory Girl (Girl 5)

The shop girl who fights with Fantine. She is mean, spiteful, and selfish.

Bamatabois

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 chauvinistically feels it is his right to buy anything, even Fantine.

Old Woman

She buys Fantine’s hair.

Fauchelevant

The victim of the cart crash

Army Officer

Officer of the Army, fighting against the student revolutionaries.

Ensemble

Chain Gang, Constables, Farmer, Laborer, Factory Workers, Lovely Ladies, Sailors, Onlookers and Bystanders, Judge, Mistaken Jean Valjean And Family, Nuns, Revolutionaries, Sentries, Women, Wedding Guests