As reported by Baz Bamigboye - Wilkinson will be the Biship and Ruffelle one of the whores.
>>>The original stars of the stage version of musical Les Miserables will join Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe in the big-screen version, which begins rehearsals on Monday.
Colm Wilkinson, who was the first Jean Valjean, and Frances Ruffelle, who created the part of Eponine, have been given feature roles in the movie.
Wilkinson will play the Bishop of Digne. ‘He shows Valjean the road ahead, after Valjean has robbed him of silver candlesticks,’ says Cameron Mackintosh, who produced the musical on stage and who is also involved with Working Title and Universal in making the picture, which Oscar-winner Tom Hooper will direct.
‘“I have bought your soul for God!” the bishop says to Valjean — and it’s a beautiful moment,’ Cameron told me.
Wilkinson, who played Valjean in London and on Broadway, said that as he takes on the role of the bishop, his journey with Les Miserables has ended ‘and I have come full circle’.
Cameron also revealed that Ruffelle will play ‘the most fabulous whore’ in the movie, and while she won’t have a song of her own, she will be part of the group of prostitutes who sing the number Lovely Ladies.<<<
And I actually suggested Wilkinson should play the Bishop many (many) threads ago. Obviously, I wasn't alone with that sentiment. I'm glad they did it on their own, although I'm sure they just PORE through these threads to get all their ideas.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
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There have been rumours that there will be new songs and more from the original French show(and or the novel) would be included. Michael could then play Monsieur Gillenormand - Marius' grandfather...
Other possibilities: Bamatabois, one of the constables or factory foreman.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Ms. Lupone will not be appearing in that role. I believe you are thinking of the role Faith Dane has already signed on to play: "Old Whore with Trumpet"
In the original London cast, some of the female leads would also double up for the whores who sang LOVELY LADIES - two of them were Rebecca Caine ( who played Cosette) and Frances Ruffelle ( who played Eponine).
I'm sure if Frances felt the whore part was cruel, she would have turned it down.
Since she played the part of a whore in the original production, I don't think it'll bother her, any more than it bothered Chita Rivera to play an old prostitute in 'Chicago' (a great cameo, by the way, the first time I saw it in the movie theater, someone in the audience actually gasped out loud when he recognized who it was!).