Running Time: Approximately 120 mins, 96 pgs.

Cast: 26 M, 20 F, 1 flexible (With Doubling: 18 M, 14 F, 1 flexible)

CLASSIC. Adapted from the novel by Victor Hugo. Convict Jean Valjean is released from a French prison after serving 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread. No one is willing to give him food or shelter because he is an ex-convict until he meets a bishop who treats him with kindness. Valjean repays this kindness by stealing the bishop’s silverware. When the police arrest Valjean, the bishop claims the silverware was a gift. After Valjean is released, the bishop gives Valjean two silver candlesticks and asks Valjean to use the money from the candlesticks to make an honest man of himself. In the years that follow, Valjean changes his name, becomes a prosperous factory owner and the town’s mayor, struggles to stay a step ahead of a zealous police officer, and raises his adopted daughter Cosette with love and compassion. Easy to stage. A tour de force!