LES MISERABLES Character Card: FANTINE

ON STAGE	ON SCREEN
Rose Laurens, 1980 Original French Cast Patti LuPone, 1985 London Musical Randy Graff, 1987 Broadway Musical Louise Pitre, 1989 Original Canadian Cast and 1991 Paris Revival Gemma Castaño, 1992 Original Spanish Cast Ruthie Henshall, 1992 London Replacement Cast and 10th Anniversary Concert Alessandra Maestrini, 2001 Original Brazilian Cast Kare Kauks, 2001 Original Estonian Cast Kerry Ellis, 2005 London Production Daphne Rubin-Vega, 2006 Broadway Revival Lea Salonga, 2006 Broadway Revival (joined in March 2007) and 25th Anniversary Concert Judy Kuhn, 2006 Broadway Revival (joined in October 2007) Geneviève Charest, 2008 Québec City Production Melora Hardin, 2008 Hollywood Bowl Concert Edyta Krzemie?, 2010 Musical Theatre Roma, Poland Betsy Morgan, Current 25 Anniversary US Tour 2011 Virginia Carmona, Current Spanish 25th Anniversary Production Cast Caroline Sheen, 2012 West End Production Sierra Boggess, Current West End Production through January 2013	About Fantine: A working-class Parisian, Fantine becomes pregnant after a fleeting love affair with a rich student who abandons her. Left to look after her child, Cosette, on her own, Fantine travels to Montfermeil where she meets the innkeepers, The Thenardiers, and asks them to take in Cosette so she can work to support her daughter. At the factory, a fellow worker exposes Fantine for sending money to her illegitimate child and the vengeful foreman, whose advances were previously rejected by Fantine, throws her out on the street. Without a cent to her name, Fantine's only resort for survival is to sell her locket, flowing locks and eventually her body ("I Dreamed a Dream"). Fending off an abusive customer, Fantine is arrested by Javert but Valjean steps in to demand her release. On her deathbed, Fantine pleads with Valjean to find and look after Cosette ("Come to Me" / "Fantine's Death").

About Anne: Anne recently starred opposite Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises - the third installment of Warner Brothers' Batman Begins franchise. In 2008, she starred in Jonathan Demme's critically acclaimed Rachel Getting Married for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, an Independent Spirit Award, and a SAG Award in the "Best Actress" category. The National Board of Review, the Chicago Film Critics Association, and the Broadcast Film Critics Association all named Hathaway "Best Actress" for her performance in the film. Other recent film credits are Lone Scherfig's One Day (based on the novel written by David Nicholls); Ed Zwick's Love and Other Drugs, (for which Hathaway received her second Golden Globe nomination); Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland; Garry Marshall's Valentine's Day; Bride Wars; Get Smart; Becoming Jane; Rodrigo Garcia's Passengers; The Devil Wears Prada opposite Meryl Streep; and Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain. Theater credits include Andrew Lloyd Webber's workshop of Woman in White, Forever Your Child and The Public's 2009 critically acclaimed production of Twelfth Night. In 2004-2005, she also participated in the Encores! Concert Gala as well as the Stephen Sondheim Birthday Gala. She also appeared in the Lincoln Center Encore series presentation of Carnival for which she won the prestigious 57th Annual Clarence Derwent Award.

FANTINE'S MUSIC

At the End of the Day

Fantine, who works in Jean Valjean's (a.k.a. M. Madeleine's) factory, is exposed by a spiteful coworker as having a secret daughter after receiving a letter from Thénardier. She is deemed a prostitute, using her daughter to pick up extra wages. The factory's foreman, from whom she had rejected advances, sacks her.

I Dreamed a Dream

Fantine's solo song. Fantine is abandoned, singing of dreams gone by and the man whom she once loved (Cosette's mysterious father) who abandoned her and her daughter.

Lovely Ladies

Fantine finds herself among prostitutes and proceeds to sell her locket to an old woman, her hair to a crone and ultimately herself. As she must lower herself to the life of a prostitute, she begins to grow ill.

Fantine's Arrest

One man, Bamatabois, wants to buy Fantine's services, but she rejects him. After he toys with her, she hits him. When Javert arrives, Bamatabois tells him that he "was crossing from the park" when she "attacked" him. Javert arrests her for "disturbing the peace," but Valjean intervenes. After hearing Fantine's story, he sees that she visits a doctor instead of going to jail, to the horror and objections of Javert.

Come to Me (Fantine's Death)

The dying Fantine hallucinates that Cosette is indeed there in the sickroom with her. Valjean comes in and vows to protect and take care of her daughter, Cosette. Fantine dies beside him shortly after.

The Confrontation (silent)

Valjean and Javert confront each other by Fantine's bedside. Valjean then walks to Fantine's body and promises her that Cosette "will live within (his) care" and that he "will raise her to the light."


Valjean's Death

Fantine returns as a ghost and escorts the dying Valjean to Heaven, praising him for having raised her daughter to adulthood.