long running perofrmances in long running shows

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 12:05am

anyone out there you think gives amazing performances after being in a show for so long (let's say 2+ years for arguments sake)...

for me i really liked Howard McGiillin in phantom when i saw him last year... can't believe he had been in the show for several years... felt like i was watching someone perform the role for the first time... amazing

[BDavis0092]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 12:51am

Jennifer Barnhart in Avenue Q.

[Mark Loves His Scarf]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 2:05am

Does Avenue Q count as a long running show? For me, it would have to be John Owen-Jones in Phantom of the Opera. Longest running Phantom in the West End; personally, I think he is the ideal Phantom. I love his voice and everything he does on stage =)

[myManCape]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 2:10am

"Jennifer Barnhart in Avenue Q."

Shes left the show, her roles are now being played by Aymee Garcia.

[Copeman63]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 2:12am

I saw JO-J on "the site which CAN be mentioned except when it comes to bootlegs", and I thought he was AWESOME! But I think that Howard was AWFUL when I saw it! I was a bartender there for a bit, and I was so happy when his understudy went on!

My vote would be for Carolee Caramello (SP) in Mamma Mia!, because I adore Louise, but her Winner Takes It All is f***ing fantastic!

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 9:31am

Steve Blanchard in BATB.

[Anon2]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 9:36am

Although He's leaving - Mark Hutchinson in Blood Brothers UK. Seems to have been on for an enternity!

[BDavis0092]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 10:56am

When did she leave? I just saw her last Saturday.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 10:59am

Going way back, Ethel Merman did the entire run of "Gypsy."

And, unless I misread Theatre World, Jerry Orbach didn't leave "Chicago"

[sybil7]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 11:13am

ok - being a fan I'd have to say J. Mark McVey as Valjean - no matter when I saw him and no matter how 'tired' the ensemble seemed - he was always spot-on and incredible. JMO

[myManCape]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 11:28am

"When did she leave? I just saw her last Saturday."

Maybe she came back to the show recently. For a few months (Jan & Feb) Garcia was billed. I did not know Jennifer would be returning.

[BDavis0092]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 11:37am

According to broadway.com Jennifer is Mrs. T./Bear/Others. When I saw her she was on as Kate Monster/Lucy The Slut/Others. She is with the show now. I didn't know she ever left though.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 11:49am

Merman did the entire Broadway run of ALL of her shows, I believe, including all 1500(?)+ performances of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 11:57am

Hugh Panaro was my fav Phantom...I'm not sure if he meets the standards set in this thread, but he's given enough performances to count IMO.

[Sondheim_Geek]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 12:07pm

Agree about Panaro.

I'm suprised nobody said George Lee Andrews yet. Even though he has bounced around the roles a bit (Firmin and Andre, mostly), he has made a career out of Phantom on Broadway.

[Weez]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 12:13pm

Steve Blanchard is not really a very good Beast. I was pretty disappointed when I saw him a couple of weeks ago. You could tell he has a really good voice, somewhere under there, but he just wasn't using it effectively at all and I didn't enjoy him at all.

I've seen some nice comments about Angie Schworer on this board in recent months. Considering how long 'The Producers' has been running and that she's only the second Ulla, she definitely counts.

[Gingersnap2]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 12:14pm

"Hugh Panaro was my fav Phantom...I'm not sure if he meets the standards set in this thread, but he's given enough performances to count IMO."

Hugh did 1,005 performances in the role (not counting when he was Raoul). That makes him the second-longest running Phantom with the Broadway company.

I was going to mention George, actually, since I was just talking about him elswhere.

[gymdudeva]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 12:21pm

I believe the record is Marian Seldes in Deathtrap (1,793 performances). That's a lot of screaming!

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 3:58pm

As was already mentioned, Ethel Merman did the entire run of GYPSY (702 performances) and then took it on tour for an additional 6 months. What star of today of Merman's quality would do that?

[blaxx]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 4:07pm

Donna Murphy

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 4:07pm

Hasn't there been a cast member in Phantom since it opened?

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 4:14pm

Hasn't there been a cast member in Phantom since it opened?

George Lee Andrews.

[jynni]

Posted: 4/6/07 at 4:24pm

IRRC, there was an actress who was with Cats for its entire run. I remember reading an article where she talked about starting out in the chorus and eventually got promoted up to playing Bombalurina.