Shows with no real "roles"
Shows with no real "roles"
Thesbijean
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/9/04
#0Shows with no real "roles"
Posted: 4/29/05 at 11:32amOther than Godspell, and to an extent Hair, what shows don't really have roles, but are made up of an ensemble??? Thanks..
popcultureboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/23/03
#1re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/29/05 at 11:40amYou could argue Is There Life After High School? doesn't have any real roles.
Nothing precious, plain to see, don't make a fuss over me. Not loud, not soft, but somewhere inbetween. Say sorry, just let it be the word you mean.
#2re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/29/05 at 11:41amI believe Closer Than Ever just has ensemble roles.
"Do you know ChrisLovesShows?" "Yes. Why, yes he does!"
cathyhyatt
Broadway Star Joined: 10/20/04
#3re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/29/05 at 11:42amsongs for a new world
"You won't fight without layers of armor
Suit on up and come brace my sword
You look back when the pieces are missing
Hollowed out hope that no time can restore."
#4re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/29/05 at 11:43amis lennon like that? i haven't seen it or know that much about it, but it seems to me that it's ensemble-based.
#5re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/29/05 at 11:55am
Ain't Misbehavin'
Listen to My Heart
And the World Goes Round
Starting Here, Starting Now
"Do you know what pledge time is, Andrew"? said the PBS Executive.
"Yes", Lloyd Webber replied. "My 50th birthday special must be one program that gets done a lot."
"No", mused the man from PBS heedlessy. "Not so much. Our Stephen Sondheim Carnegie Hall concert. That's a big one."
Spoons, forks and knives seemed suddenly to suspend their motion in horror, all around the table.
Updated On: 4/29/05 at 11:55 AM
triplethreat2
Swing Joined: 4/24/05
#6re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/29/05 at 11:58amyour a good man charlie brown, snoopy!, and I did a production of pippin where there were no leads...I think its how you put the show together. I mean, it cant be done with all shows but it can be done with something that may have not been intended to be that way.
musicnmath
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/13/05
#7re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/29/05 at 12:01pm
I am reaching 10 years back in time, so forgive me if I'm wrong: Working?
Updated On: 4/29/05 at 12:01 PM
apdarcey
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/10/04
#8re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/29/05 at 12:08pmthe show of shows with no real roles... A CHORUS LINE
#9re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/29/05 at 1:13pmi would agree with working...what about world goes round, smokey joe's cafe, and school house rock live?
#10re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/29/05 at 1:15pmapdarcey, A CHORUS LINE has very very distinct roles. In the original production Donna McKechnie won a Tony playing Cassie, Carole (kelly) Bishop won a Tony playing Sheila and Sammy Williams won a Tony playing Paul. The lead cast of A CHORUS LINE all have particularly distinct "roles." That is an integral part of the meaning of A CHORUS LINE. :)
"Blow out the candles Robert and make a wish. Want something, want SOMETHING."
MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#11re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/29/05 at 1:24pmGenerally speaking, performers in revues don't have strict roles, per se.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
#12re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/29/05 at 1:54pm
Godspell..
Although one person takes on a Jesus persona, and another takes on a John/Judas role, all the parts are pretty interchangeable and depend on the production.
"Y'all have a GRAND day now"
#14re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/29/05 at 11:20pmOnce on This Island, depending on the director.
"WHEN is the winter of our discontent?"
"NOW is the winter of our discontent!"
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EternalJayJay
Chorus Member Joined: 3/23/05
#15re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/30/05 at 3:20am
Don't forget "Putting it Together," and "And the World Goes Round," to name a few.
Updated On: 4/30/05 at 03:20 AM
#16re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/30/05 at 3:46amYAGMCB??? huh??? am i missing something???
And you think of all of the things you've seen, and you wish that you could live in between ,and you're back again only different than before...
After the Sky.
-Into the Woods (Jack)
#17re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/30/05 at 9:17am
I think some of you are confused by the question. I think Thesbijean means shows where no characters have names, and it's basically an ensemble who you have to assign roles to. Once on This Island, Titanic and Chorus Line alhave characters with names. There are a lot of characters in all 3 shows but they always have the same names.
Margo is right, mostly revues and song cycles, with the exception of Godspell and maybe a few other shows. I love reading bios for people who were in those shows-Was it Shoshanna Bean's bio, maybe-She wrote she played Shoshanna in Godspell. SHe's right though, the actors in that show usually go by their real names. I could be wrong about it being in Bean's bio, but you get the point.
#18re: Shows with no real 'roles'
Posted: 4/30/05 at 9:45amand YAGMCB has disctinct roles, too
It is ridiculous to set a detective story in New York City. New York City is itself a detective story...
AGATHA CHRISTIE, Life magazine, May 14, 1956
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