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Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue

Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue

NameGreg Profile Photo
NameGreg
#1Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 11:11am

Only example I can think of is Lucky from Waiting for Godot, who has a huge speech, but is otherwise silent for all of his stage time. I imagine there must be other mute, or mostly mute roles that have gotten similar awards attention though.


“Somebody stop me before I sing again” - Bazzard

cotous6
#2Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 11:44am

Sarah Norman in Children of a Lesser God.

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Jordan Catalano
#3Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 11:47am

Updated On: 1/17/21 at 11:47 AM

Jordan Catalano Profile Photo
Jordan Catalano
#4Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 11:48am

cotous6 said: "Sarah Norman in Children of a Lesser God. "

Sarah has a lot of dialogue. A LOT. It’s just not spoken dialogue. ASL is a different language but it’s still a language.

A.J.
#5Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 12:00pm

Zohra Lampert was nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 1963 for her performance of Kattrin in Mother Courage and Her Children. 

Kattrin is mute and has no spoken lines.

LarryD2
#6Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 12:55pm

Aunt Maggie Far Away in THE FERRYMAN doesn't have much dialogue aside from her long monologue at the top of Act Two. 

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dramamama611
#7Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 12:57pm

Any of the nominations for Contact or Moving Out.


If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

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blaxx
#8Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 1:11pm

LarryD2 said: "Aunt Maggie Far Away in THE FERRYMAN doesn't have much dialogue aside from her long monologue at the top of Act Two."

Love, that monologue is eternal. Certainly not a character with little to no dialogue, I didn't know if the lady would ever stop talking.


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EDSOSLO858
#9Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 1:12pm

Kate in Come Fly Away.


Oh look, a bibu!

LarryD2
#10Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 2:57pm

blaxx said: "LarryD2 said: "Aunt Maggie Far Away in THE FERRYMAN doesn't have much dialogue aside from her long monologue at the top of Act Two."

Love, that monologue is eternal. Certainly not a character with little to no dialogue, I didn't know if the lady would ever stop talking.
"

Not really. It's a two-page monologue. Maybe 10 minutes total in a play that's over three hours. And the character has about five lines of dialogue otherwise.

It's equivalent to Lucky in WAITING FOR GODOT.

Updated On: 1/17/21 at 02:57 PM

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StardustsChild
#11Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 3:09pm

Margie MacDougall in Promises Promises has 22 spoken lines before her duet at the top of Act 2, and is never seen again. The entire sequence, including the song is less than 10 minutes. Both the original and revival actresses won the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.


"Life is already so dark. If you have got the talent to make it brighter and bring people hope & joy, why would you withhold that?"

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IronMan
#12Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 4:30pm

Savion Glover was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical for his work in "Bring in 'da Noise/ Bring in 'da Funk" in 1996, and he did not speak or sing a word in the show (though there was a recorded speech he danced to). 

Bill Irwin was nominated for Best Actor in a Play in 1989  for "Largely New York" and I don't think he spoke at all, but I may be mistaken. 


"What- and quit show business?" - the guy shoveling elephant shit at the circus.

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HogansHero
#13Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 8:21pm

I would not consider any role with one meaty monologue to have "little or no dialogue." 

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wish i were here2
#14Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 9:01pm

Would you count Yitzhak in Hedwig and the Angry Inch? 

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little_sally
#15Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 9:03pm

Yitzhak in Hedwig doesn't say much


A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.

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HeyMrMusic
#16Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 10:55pm

The Swan/The Stranger in Swan Lake

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Dancingthrulife2
#17Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 11:00pm

Isn't dialogue supposed to be between 2 and more characters? You know, di- means two.

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HeyMrMusic
#18Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/17/21 at 11:05pm

Joe in Song and Dance

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Kad
#19Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/18/21 at 12:12am

He gets at least one solo number and a great deal of features vocal work, but that isn’t “dialogue.”


"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."

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HogansHero
#20Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/18/21 at 12:30am

I feel pretty confident that the OP meant speaking and not dialogue. If you ask the question about dialogue then every one person show that produced a nomination would be listed. 

ARTc3
#21Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/18/21 at 12:38am

The MC from Cabaret. The character sings and speaks a few lines within the songs, but has very little dialogue.


ARTc3 formerly ARTc. Actually been a poster since 2004. My name isn't Art. Drop the "3" and say the signature and you'll understand.

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NameGreg
#22Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/18/21 at 9:44am

I don’t think the Emcee really counts. Yes in terms of spoken dialogue, he has little, but he also has the most songs in the show, so he does a lot of singing throughout. And even then, he has a decent amount of spoken lines during his numbers.


“Somebody stop me before I sing again” - Bazzard

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henrikegerman
#23Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/18/21 at 11:51am

Helen Keller 
 
 

kevinr
#24Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/18/21 at 1:17pm

Deborah Yates in "Contact" - featured actress in a musical

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mikem
#25Tony Nominated Roles with Little or No Dialogue
Posted: 1/18/21 at 1:46pm

How about Elizabeth A Davis as Reza in Once?  I didn't see her in the role, but I was shocked when I found out someone got nominated for that role.  I don't know the show that well, but she probably has fewer than 10 lines and I'm not sure she has any solo singing lines at all.

Although no one has been nominated for a Tony for the Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd, Merle Louise in the original cast was nominated for a Drama Desk that year.  A local actress in Philadelphia also got nominated for that part for the local Barrymore Awards in 2005.  In both the Drama Desks and the Philadelphia award, the actress who played Johanna did not get nominated.  I did not see the original Broadway cast, but the Beggar Woman is a tiny part, and Johanna is quite a large one.


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