Characters played by the opposite sex

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 8:36pm

If you could, what characters would you have as either drag roles or change the character's sex completely.
I'd love to see a drag Madame Morrible and I've seen some footage of Paul O'Grady as Miss Hannigan and it works brilliantly!

I'd be interested to see Eponine changed to a boy for a production. It would add a whole new level to the unrequited love the character has for Marius.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 8:43pm

Maxine Bialystock, the Queen of Broadway. Played by a female AS a female... Maybe gender bend THE PRODUCERS as a whole like they did THE ODD COUPLE.

[Visceral_Fella]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 9:37pm

I want a drag witch in into the woods. I want the male actor to play a woman, but I want him dressed in drag. I also want a drag Hannigan.

Eponine as a boy is such a wonderful idea Plannietink08. I never would have thought of that. That really has my mind going. I love it!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 9:38pm

Evita already is a drag queen, right?

[all that jazz]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 9:42pm

Well, Grizabello would be one of my dream roles...

I really think a baker's husband in ITW could work amazingly.

[jackieoh]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 10:11pm

The regional theatre I perform at had a man in drag play Fastrada in Pippin and it was INCREDIBLE.

[jv92]

Posted: 8/1/13 at 10:16pm

Vera Charles. That is all.

[ComingUpRoses2]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 3:35am

Vera would be hysterical with a drag queen.

For selfish reasons, I'd like a drag Madame Rose. I think it could work.

[BornThisWay]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 3:57am

I could honestly see Jinkx Monsoon playing all these roles. She is one of the most talented people in show business.

[After Eight]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 4:43am

Charles Busch played Mame in a benefit perfprmance of Auntie Mame. He played it honestly and straightforwardly but the play felt a little off with him in the role. The best performer of the evening was Peggy Cass repeating her original role as Agnes Gooch, who was warmly received. What thrill to see her.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 8:28am

When I was in school, due to casting pool limitations, there were occasional gender switches. Some worked better than others. The most prominent example I remember was in ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD, where one of the titular pair (lord help me if I remember which) was a woman. That change did very little to affect the text, for better or worse, since those two are deliberately such empty vessels. The more interesting change was having a female Player King, but given facial hair and a codpiece along with her own considerable attributes. Having an extremely androgynous Player King made the role very theatrically exaggerated, and I think it worked more than it would have otherwise had they not made that strong choice.

[Younger Brother]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 8:39am

Jinkx would make a great Miss Hannigan! I know she's only, what, 25?..but she'd be hilarious! Maybe also Golde in Fiddler On The Roof in 20 years?

I think it would be interesting to see a female Emcee in Cabaret but it would probably ring too similar to the re-imagined, female, Leading Player in Pippin. Then again, I've always kind of felt the Emcee was somewhat of a androgynous character for some reason.

[Patash]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 8:48am

"Maxine Bialystock, the Queen of Broadway. Played by a female AS a female... Maybe gender bend THE PRODUCERS as a whole like they did THE ODD COUPLE."

hmm sounds good at first, but raising the money from whom? -- a whole bunch of little old horny men. Sorry, but little old horny men on walkers just isn't as funny as little old horny ladies on walkers. Or are we talking about a lesbian female producer? Ooops. Who wants to think about a lesbian having sex with all those little old ladies? And then, doesn't it ruin or spoil the whole "keep it gay" thing? And would Bloom have to be a female also, or would there be a fight over Ula between a man and a gay woman? Wow. None of the original show is left intact!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 8:53am

Cabaret with a female MC has been done. Cambridge's ART (Diane Paulus, artistic director; orignating theater of both the Pippin and Glass Menagerie revivals) did it with Amanda Palmer in the role.

She (and the production) was wonderful.

[gchris11]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 12:13pm

I want to see a Female Bobby in "Company". Cougar or MILF it up a little. Make it SEXY! Why should the men get to have all the fun.

Posted: 8/2/13 at 12:49pm

For selfish reasons, I want Cinderella, the Baker's Wife, and the Witch to be played by men.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 2:22pm

" The most prominent example I remember was in ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD, where one of the titular pair (lord help me if I remember which) was a woman. That change did very little to affect the text, for better or worse, since those two are deliberately such empty vessels."

I've seen this several times, and it's always been a female Rosencrantz (which worked great). Love to see it the other way around.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 2:33pm

Who wants to think about a lesbian having sex with all those little old ladies?

Who wants to think of Nathan Lane having sex with them?

[NoName3]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 5:15pm

Years ago I saw a production of Nine at NYU in which the character of Liliane La Fleur was played as an outrageously flamboyant gay man, replete with beads and large feather boa during Folies Bergère. It worked fine.

If I remember correctly, this production incorporated ideas from early drafts of the script before Tommy Tune became involved and decided that Guido would be the sole male character in the show. Arthur Kopit gave special permission for this and the other book changes; this version of the show isn't commercially licensed.

I also tremendously enjoyed Lea DeLaria playing Marryin' Sam in drag as a man in Encores! Li'l Abner, although I know not everyone shares my enthusiasm for that performance.

Whose Life Is It Anyway was slightly rewritten to change the lead from a male character to female so that Mary Tyler Moore could play the part on Broadway. I can't remember if it was a revival or if she was a replacement for Tom Conti in the original.

I believe Jerry Herman has refused requests to have Dolly portrayed by a female impressionist with the exception of Danny LaRue in London many years ago. I heard that there was a production in San Francisco in the 1970's that used a popular local impressionist as Dolly but it was done without permission.

Likewise Edward Albee has flatly refused numerous requests to allow Virginia Woolf to be performed by four men.

There have been several female Hamlets, including Sandra Bernhardt in the 19th century and a silent film wherein Asta Nielsen played Hamlet as a woman forced to disguise herself as a man. And of course all of Shakespeare's women were originally played by boys.

And then there's Lady Bracknell....

Updated On: 8/2/13 at 05:15 PM

[jnb9872]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 5:24pm

One I wish I could have seen was Cate Blanchett's Richard II in Sydney Theatre Company's WAR OF THE ROSES series. Given the right actress, that one's fascinating as a trouser role.

Updated On: 8/2/13 at 05:24 PM

[DEClarke]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 6:23pm

For selfish reasons, I want Cinderella, the Baker's Wife, and the Witch to be played by men.

I saw an ITW where Cinderella's mother was played by a man in drag. It worked beautifully! The guy looked like Christine Baranksi when he was in make-up and wig.

[Jonwo]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 6:43pm

I'm sure Rocky Horror has had female narrators but I always thought it would be cool if they merged the part of the Usherette and the narrator so that she's telling the story of Brad and Janet to the audience.

[Movidude742]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 7:08pm

In High School I was Bert Cates in Inherit the Wind and as such I was defended by Henrietta Drummond

Posted: 8/2/13 at 8:41pm

I saw a local production of Avenue Q with Christmas Eve played by a white drag queen.

And someone is doing Joseph this summer with a middle-aged red headed woman in the title role.

[justoldbill]

Posted: 8/2/13 at 9:56pm

A legit answer to this question is Mary Sunshine in CHICAGO and Edwin Drood in DROOD. Not to mention opera's legit pants roles such as Cherubino and Count Orlofsky.