ranking the size of the roles in Les Miserables- Page 2

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 1/9/18 at 11:38am

This thread reminds me of when Andy Mientus was on show people, he mentioned the Marius track was onstage more than any other person in the show.

[VeryMiserablephantom]

Posted: 1/9/18 at 2:18pm

So clueless haha!
I can’t stand Andy Mientus.

[mikey2573]

Posted: 1/15/18 at 8:15am

I think "Size of roles" vs. "Importance of characters" or even "amount of stage time per character" are all different depending what you are looking at.  For example, in the original Broadway production of "Les Miserables" the actress who played Eponine was actually a member of the ensemble prior to becoming Eponine; she was a whore in "Lovely Ladies" and a female worker in "At the End of the Day" and appeared in numerous other ensemble parts at the beginning of Act 1.   Also, if I remember correctly, the little boy playing Gavroche was sometimes required to don a dress and go on as Young Eponine during the part where Madame Thernadier is fawning over her pretty dress.  If the "Size of an actor's role" means how long an actor is onstage, that would need to be taken into consideration as well. 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 1/15/18 at 10:51pm

hm well importance of role is vastly different than size. Fantine is among the most important in the entire book / musical but is only on stage for about 20 minutes.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/15/18 at 10:56pm

The two largest/ most important roles in the show are unquestionably Valjean and Javert. Any debate about that is foolish and silly.

Beyond those roles, however, it certainly gets dicey. You could make a case for any number of roles being being next in importance.

[thebookofwhizzer]

Posted: 1/16/18 at 12:02pm

I know I'm late but- 

1. Valjean 

2. Javert 

3.Fantine 

4. Cosette 

5. Marius 

6.Thenardier 

7. Eponine 

8. Enjolras 

9. Madam Thenardier 

Now, this is solely based on the importance of the character rather than their amount of stage time. Javert is always second. I ranked Cosette 4th because most of the show revolves around what Valjean does for her. Her character isn't present all that much but she is extremely important to the plot.

 

Updated On: 1/16/18 at 12:02 PM

[VeryMiserablephantom]

Posted: 1/17/18 at 2:36am

mikey2573 said: "I think "Size of roles" vs. "Importance of characters" or even "amount of stage time per character" are all different depending what you are looking at. For example, in the original Broadway production of "Les Miserables" the actress who played Eponine was actually a member of the ensemble prior to becoming Eponine; she was a whore in "Lovely Ladies" and a female worker in "At the End of the Day" and appeared in numerous other ensemble parts at the beginning of Act 1. Also, if I remember correctly, the little boy playing Gavroche was sometimes required to don a dress and go on as Young Eponine during the part where Madame Thernadier is fawning over her pretty dress. If the "Size of an actor's role" means how long an actor is onstage, that would need to be taken into consideration as well."

 

Im not sure about other productions but in London, everybody is also in the ensemble except for Valjean and Javert. Even Fantine (after she dies) is a beggar in Paris for Look down. I saw the show a while ago but my best friend played Young Cosette and she took me backstage at London a few years ago and that’s what her chaperone told me.

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/17/18 at 5:14am

Yes, that's usually true, as it is in many supporting roles in most shows.  That has little to do with the size of the role of Fantine. 

Updated On: 1/17/18 at 05:14 AM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/17/18 at 5:59am

The actress playing Fantine only appeared in a single ensemble scene in the original staging because Patti was successfully able to “hide” for much of the rehearsals when other scenes were being staged. It had nothing to do with the size of the role. She talks about this quite humorously in her memoir.

Updated On: 1/21/18 at 05:59 AM

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 1/21/18 at 3:29am

With a show like Les Mis, I don't think it's necessarily fair to rank characters' importance by the size of their roles onstage. I mean, the Bishop is arguably a major player in Valjean's arc, yet he's only onstage in the prologue. (And also at the very end in the movie, a change I really liked.) 

With that, I'm sorry, but I really, really don't see how people keep arguing that Eponine is more important than Cosette. Cosette is not only the poster child (literally) for the entire show, but also the character who connects Jean Valjean to most of the rest of the story and contributes greatly to his character development. Valjean promises a dying Fantine he'll save her daughter and raise her, gets in trouble with the Thenardiers when he buys Cosette from them, finds out what it is to truly love when he adopts Cosette, later gets involved with Marius and the whole barricade plot because of Cosette, and then is able to die peacefully with Cosette by his side at the end of the show. For much of the narrative, Cosette is the glue holding things together and making different characters' arcs relevant to Valjean's story. The only two characters who aren't connected to Valjean's journey through Cosette are Javert and the Bishop, and that's because they're already involved from the very beginning. Eponine, meanwhile, really only has major relevance in the Marius arc, and the most important thing she does for the central narrative is deliver the letter to Valjean that prompts him to go help Marius out at the barricade (again...for Cosette). Cosette may not have a big, flashy solo like Eponine's, but her actual role in the story far surpasses her stagetime.