mustlovemusicals
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Madame Thenardier character development??Hi! My name is Danika. I am doing Les Miserables: School Edition at school this year, and I have the pleasure of being cast as Madame Thenardier. I know the show very well and I have read the book, but I am wondering if you have advice for character development.
Please get back to me as soon as possible as we start blocking and vocal soon! Thank you VERY much!
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Oli-Ol
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Hi! Welcome to the boards 
I'm not the best person to answer your question as I've never seen the show and am not familiar with the school edition but I'll try to give some sort of answer.
Mme Thenardier doesn't have great character progression, especially when compared to some of the other characters. But she first appears as a drunk cheat, bawdy and unhappy with her husband but loves the money that Cosette brings. All she is interested in is having as much money as she can without having to work for it.
In Beggar At the Feast she finally feels that she has come to her rightful place in society, dinign with the creme-de-la-creme of French society.
Meh. It's not very good and probably highly simplistic so you should probably ignore this whole post to be honest. I'm sure everyone else will have much better advice for you
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mustlovemusicals
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No no! That WAS helpful! The school edition is basically no different from the actual show except that Mme has A LOT more singing 
hahaha
thanks very much!
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Brackynn
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Although the Thenardiers tend to end up as comic relief in the musical, I've always preferred a scummier, darker interpretation closer to the original characterisation in Hugo. I'm paraphrasing since I don't have my copy of the novel on me, but I'm pretty sure there's a line in there in which Mme Thenardier is said to be afraid of nothing and no one except her husband. (However, if you choose to take that on board, you might have to get a bit creative with how you play her verse in Master of the House... maybe make it all bravado in front of her customers, but show an immediate contrast as soon as it's just the two of them? *shrug*)
I've always seen her as a very selfish woman who cares nothing for the lives of others, someone who is above nothing and willing to do anything in order to get what she wants -- which is usually money. I'd say she blames society (or anyone except herself) for everything that's wrong with her life, so there's certainly some bitterness in her as well -- but since she's placing the blame on others, she feels justified in cheating, blackmailing and swindling them if it means she can scramble a little higher in society.
Sorry if that's a little rambly, but I hope it's helpful Congrats on the role, too -- you're going to have such fun with it!
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mustlovemusicals
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Thanks so much!!
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