Biggest Voice on Broadway- Page 2

[parislover87]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 1:55am

sara ramirez


oh and brandi chavonne massey sang LOUDER then jennifer holliday in dreamgirls in ATL this summer

[buffyactsing]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 2:37am

I heard Audra sing Edeweiss unmiked. It was delicious and very audible.

[jewishboy]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 1:49pm

For someone who has been to all three Broadway Unplugged events at Town Hall I would echo a lot of Ray's people and give you this list:

Debbie Gravitte
Mary Testa
Marc Kudisch
Emily Skinner
Barbara Walsh
Mary Bond Davis
Euan Morton
Alice Ripley
Chuck Cooper
Martin Vindovic
Christiane Noll

[*brina-doll*]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 2:11pm

I always thought Lillias White had a pretty impressive 'big voice'.

[Marcus2]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 2:34pm

Singing without a mike is not a great idea especially in some of the barns of theatres these days. Also with demanding scores of which older stars did not have. They could do the scores 8 shows a week un-miked becuase it wasn't so demanding! Imagine how much people could ruin their voices singing say Elphaba un-miked of lady of the lake! Ha.

[Anti-Romanticist]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 3:41pm

I haven't been to all that many live performances, seeing as I live out in the boonies away from NY, LA, etc., BUT I think Steve Blanchard, despite his terrible diction when I saw him, seems to have a big voice. Howard McGillin is notable too--there was a point he didn't even seem to NEED the mike when I saw him at Phantom of the Opera a couple of years ago. Others I can think of off the top of my head (that I've actually seen) are Drew Sarich, Anneliese and James Patterson (understudy of Gaston I saw).

[friedrichVT]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 3:57pm

Don't mistake huge range with huge sound...VOices that can scream in the stratosphere,ie: any Elphaba,Drew,ALice RIpley,do not have huge voices, they're actually not huge at all,and very lean,thats why they can carry their "full" tone all the way up there. Many of our sceaming divas of today do not have large voices. If that sound (pure huge belt were carried all the way up there) they would not have very long careers.The y would blowout their voices. Of course there are some exceptions: Orfeh,she can belt ,and LOUDLY.The majority of the rest have healthy mixes that can reach stratospheric proportions but most definitely need mic'ing

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 4:06pm

Betty Buckley, at her last concert sang 'With One Look' without a mike at the end of her first act. Every word was articulated and the "I've come home at last....." hit the back wall and came back. Now that was a BIG voice. When we bumped into her later at a bar and complimented her on song, she said, "what can I say fellas, I've got a big voice."

[bwaygal1]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 4:20pm

Bettyboy-wrong song. THe song you're quoting is "As if We Never Said Goodbye".

Feel need to comment regarding what she said, (What can I say fellas I've got a big voice-yeah she does-and very little modesty about it!)
LOL.
My pics would be Christine Ebersole, Betty Buckley, Kristin Chenoweth, Patti LuPone, Sutton Foster seems to have a reasonably large voice as well.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 4:26pm

Oh right, actually, I picked the right song, wrong line. She sang "With One Look" and it was the "I'll Be MEEEEEE...." that she nailed.

And to comment on her response, it was very sweet and casual-not at all haughty. I don't find anything wrong with an artist feeling good about their talent instead of always playing the blushing modesty card.

Like when I met Cherry Jones after Faith Healer and commended her on her performance. She thanked me and proceeded to say how hard she worked on it and how she felt good about what she was doing.

[kellybean2]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 4:42pm

Someone mentioned Anika Noni Rose. I was sitting in the second row when I saw CAROLINE and and oddly, I could hear her "over" her mic at one point in a song. Her unmic-ed voice was not very big, frankly.

The night I saw NEVER GONNA DANCE, Karen Ziemba's mic went out during a song (sorry, can't remember which one) and you practically never would have known it. I was sitting in pretty much the furthest seat away from the stage, lol, and I had no problem hearing her at all. So I'll add her to the list.

[bwaygal1]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 4:44pm

All right Bettyboy, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. She's entitled to be proud of the big voice.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 5:30pm

Titus does have a great voice, but when I saw him in "Songs for a New World" sitting very close to the stage, the other 3 singers drowned him out. True, it could have been a mic issue, but I still don't think he has a big voice.

[me2]

Posted: 8/17/07 at 5:53pm

When I saw Kelly Fournier as Amneris on tour in AIDA, the second time I saw it, I was in the way back (the only seats available). At one point during "My Strongest Suit", you could hear the mic click out, then back in. Had I not been familiar with it, I never would have known, she was sending it out so well.
Broadway Blog: If They Don't Like the Way I Look

[Coolness_]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 4:22pm

Lisa Brescia
Orfeh
Sherie Rene Scott
Idina Menzel
EDEN ESPINOSA

[FutureAladdinOnB'Way]

Posted: 8/19/07 at 4:29pm

Megan Mulally!

[BreeDaniel]

Posted: 8/20/07 at 12:25pm

Coolness has a great list. As for my personal favorites, Orfeh, Sara Ramirez and Sherie Rene Scott not only have some of THE biggest voices but they're pretty voices and you can understand every word they sing. You can't say that about every name mentioned on this thread.

[chris d]

Posted: 8/20/07 at 3:22pm

Ana Gasteyer has a pretty big voice, methinks.

[RockabyeHamlet]

Posted: 8/20/07 at 4:57pm

"Also with demanding scores of which older stars did not have. They could do the scores 8 shows a week un-miked becuase it wasn't so demanding! "

I completely disagree with you. Scores are in no way more demanding then they were 50 years ago. A different type of singing maybe, but no more difficult.

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 8/20/07 at 7:03pm

The thing is people are no longer being taugh to project. So, plenty of young people with big voices still require mikes to be heard anywhere but the first row.

Projection doesn't require a big voice. What's most impressive, to me, is when a performer can sing a note softly and still makes it travel to the back of the house.

Just because you have a "big voice" doesn't mean you can project. I have a few friends like that.

Look at Mary Martin. No means a BIG VOICE, but one that could project.

Patti LuPone has a HUMONGOUS voice that she can project.

I love being technical!!!!

[lawyerman]

Posted: 8/20/07 at 8:43pm

Shayna Steele.

[KQuill]

Posted: 8/20/07 at 11:00pm

Let's not forget about Hugh Panaro!

[jewishboy]

Posted: 8/20/07 at 11:47pm

I like what theaterkid1015 said about being able to hear a note sang softly. At the second Broadway Unplugged Sutton Foster did an astonishing beautiful version of "Where or When" and you could hear every note perfectly.

[Gingersnap2]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 6:01pm

Let's not forget about Hugh Panaro!

About a year ago, I was at a charity cabaret he did and it was plagued with mic problems. He shrugged, laughed, and said, "Hey, I sing on Broadway. I can project. If I'd known this thing wasn't on, I'd have just sung louder!" His voice wasn't really at its best that night since he was sick from a very nasty spider bite, but hearing him do "Moonshine Lullaby" without the mic was great.

I've been lucky enough to hear him without a mic a few other times, but mostly when he's just been showing off/joking around. However, when I saw him in "Company," he had some mic problems..I don't know how it all sounded from the mezzanine, but from where I was sitting, you barely noticed the difference.

[Dirty_Rotten_Guy]

Posted: 8/21/07 at 6:11pm

Sara Ramirez

one of the biggest voices, in my opinion, of actors/actresses in recent years