Men in Musical Theater

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 3:46pm

As a male who wants to puruse a career in musical theater, I find it odd that there aren't many shows tailored to men. There's always the "romantic lead" for the starring lady, but in terms of shows where the men just have the big numbers and stuff, there aren't that many. You have "Sweet Charity" and "Millie" where the lead is pratically carrying the entire show, and then you have this season with "Grey Gardens" and "110 in The Shade." Sure, there are shows that have male leads - "Spring Awakening" or "Company" - but with the exception of maybe Company, not many of the "male lead" shows really let the male stand out as much. Do you think it's because of the talent or the way the show is written? I'm not sure if my question/comment is really making sense, but after sitting in rehearsals for "Evita" I really wish there was a show that would just let a guy rip and shatter the house with his vocals like Wicked or Evita, etc. Any comments?

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 3:52pm

Well I think it would be unfair to say that good strong roles for men are hard to come by.
Guys and Dolls
Man of La Mancha
Les Miserables
The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Last 5 Years
Pippin
Beauty and the Beast
Avenue Q
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Ragtime
The Lion King
Damn Yankees
Of Thee I Sing
You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
RENT
tick..tick..BOOM
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Cabaret
Chicago
Peter Pan
Kiss Me, Kate

All are shows with strong male leads.

Updated On: 5/10/07 at 03:52 PM

[temms]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:01pm

>>but after sitting in rehearsals for "Evita" I really wish there was a show that would just let a guy rip and shatter the house with his vocals like Wicked or Evita, etc.>>


You mean like "Jesus Christ Superstar", where there are two of those roles? Or "1776", which is a whole show full of them (and Adams is a pretty impressive tour-de-force role)? Or "The Boy From Oz", which was a full-on male star vehicle? As was "Will Rogers Follies". And "Company", as you mention. "Sweeney Todd" certainly lets the leading man rip and shatter pretty hard. "West Side Story" is a pretty great male showcase for dancers as well as singers. "La Cage" even lets the leading man be the leading lady and bring down the house with the first act finale.

"Taboo" was a male-dominated show with at least two central male roles to show off with (more, actually.) As already mentioned, "Tick Tick Boom" and "Man Of La Mancha" are male star vehicles.

There are plenty of great male roles out there that are easily the equivalent of Evita or Elphaba. Even Che comes pretty close, and I've seen productions where the Che walked all over the Eva.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:14pm

Yeah there are tons of roles. I WILL say that I think it's a lot EASIER being a guy in this business but women get more appreciation once you make it. I mean name all the great leading ladies of Broadway. Then try to name the men. True they exist but it's a lot easier to come up with names of the ladies. Or is that just me?

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:16pm

I think because there is a classic diva image associated with Broadway Leading Women. But that is not to say that men can't be appreciated in the same way.

[gumbo2]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:21pm

Don't forget The Music Man, Fiddler on the Roof, Stop the World I Want to Get Off, The Most Happy Fella, 42nd Street, Forum, A New Brain, A Year with Frog and Toad, Amour, Assassins, Bat Boy, Cabaret...I mean, I'm just going alphabetically down my iTunes and almost every show's got a great male role that I'd love to play someday.

True, a bunch of the shows that have opened this year are pretty female-heavy, but I think that's mostly because we've got all these women who are capable of starring in those roles. To say that there aren't as many starring roles for men is not the case, at least as far as I can see.

[Julian2]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:26pm

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:32pm

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Spamalot
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

[thevolleyballer]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:35pm

I would agree that there aren't as many male-lead shows as there are female-lead, but still, there is a comparable amount.

I mean, there's no "Thoroughly Modern Martin" out there, but for every Tracy Turnblad, there's a Harold Hill, I'd reckon.

[gonnapassmealaw]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:38pm

I understand what you mean, Rentboy. I can name very few male tour de force like the ones you have mentioned. Women get some of the juciest and biggest parts on Broadway. Plays, however, offer many chances for men to shine.

[JRybka]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:40pm

He He He...

Thouroughly Modern Martin....

he he he

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:44pm

I would say there are certainly male tour de force roles. Sweeney Todd and Bobby in Company come to mind.

Other examples:
Tevye
Harold Hill
Pseudlous (spelling?)
The Emcee
Coalhouse Walker Jr.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:46pm

I think some of you missed the point, I'm not saying there aren't any "male lead" shows out there, sure, there's tons, but there's not many male roles that are challenging vocally, etc. like some of these women's parts. Dirty Rotten and Wedding Singer are two recent ones where the lead roles aren't exactly the tour-de-force roles that are associated with so many ladies.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:48pm

There are definitely more shows for leading women to tear it up, but there are shows for guys too. The Scarlet Pimpernel was mentioned. That, to me, is one of the best for the male lead to shine as Marguerite doesn't really have any really big belting numbers to up stage him with. Jekyll and Hyde is good to, but almost always up staged and out shinned by Lucy's solos. Updated On: 5/10/07 at 04:48 PM

[gonnapassmealaw]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:53pm

There are plenty of male leads. There is no male equivalent to Mama Rose.

[gumbo2]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:53pm

Billy Lawler in 42nd Street is a pretty tough role to sing (and dance) though he's not really the "lead." And Billy Crocker in Anything Goes has some challenging stuff as well. Bobby in Crazy For You I'd say is almost a tour-de-force for a guy, no? What about Candide? or Jerry in The Full Monty? Or the leads in The Producers?

I mean, I understand what you're saying, there probably aren't as many powerhouse roles for the guys, but I think there are a ton of acting/vocally challenging parts.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:58pm

You'd also be surprised at how challenging some small roles are. Or at least they were to me. Or, maybe that's what I've convinced myself is the truth, but, you get what I mean...

[misschung]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:59pm

I mean, there's no "Thoroughly Modern Martin" out there, but for every Tracy Turnblad, there's a Harold Hill, I'd reckon.

lol! Also, did anyone mention My Fair Lady? Anything Goes too, definetly. Not to mention Rent

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 4:59pm

"There are plenty of male leads. There is no male equivalent to Mama Rose."

Exactly what I meant.

[BigFatBlonde]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 5:00pm

RentBoy86, my observation is that that best roles in musical theatre are written for women.

The best roles in plays are written for men.

Accept the fact that you will NEVER play Charity Hope Valentine outside of a drag show.

So if you really want to pursue a career in the musical theatre, study your craft, take what you can get, and make the most of it!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 5:04pm

Well, thanks...I guess? I mean, I AM complaining, but I'm not trying to play the female roles, I'm content with the male roles, it's just something I noticed.

[misschung]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 5:06pm

You could also write your own musical, hehe

I think that there's also no substitution for excellent stage presence, even if you don't have the "title" role. Sometimes the best performances I've seen have been from non-lead roles. But I understand your frustration - hopefully things will change

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 5:12pm

oh, no, i totally agree. It's just a strange obeservation that there aren't any "Caroline, or Change" or "Evita" or "Gypy" (s) for the men, ya know? Considering a lot of the composers are males, you'd think they'd write from that perspective, but they don't.

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 5:39pm

I think Sweeney in Sweeney Todd is certainly a "Caroline" role.

I mean, I think it's much more difficult to play and sing Sweeney effectively than half the "great" female roles for "ripping" etc etc.

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 5/10/07 at 5:40pm

The closest thing to a part like Mama Rose would be Albin in "La Cage Aux Folles"

Possibly Molina in "Kiss of the Spider Woman"