Funniest Performances You’ve Ever Seen Onstage

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 4:21pm

What are some performances that make you roll with laughter?

Some of mine are:

Joanna Gleason as The Bakers Wife in Into the Woods (Probably one of the greatest combinations of performer and character in a musical. She perfectly delivered every single punch line while still giving their role just the right amount of pathos. Gleason has ruined all other Bakers Wives for me)

Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson in Hamilton (Mostly here for his turn as Jefferson in the second act. To pull of the the already difficult pair of roles would be impressive, but its all the little comedic touches he brought out whenever possible that made an already fantastic performance truly mesmerizing)

Adam Godley as Lord Evelyn Oakley in Anything Goes (Godleys performance was so great it inspired me to audition for Evelyn at my high school [I got the part]. A bad actor could easily make the role far too over the top, but Godley used absolutely perfect comedic timing without ever overplaying any lines to create a truly endearing and hilarious character, all while having the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. Not to mention, he had probably the funniest dance number Ive ever seen)

Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad as Elders Price and Cunningham in Book of Mormon (I couldnt choose a favorite between these two. Rannells as the straight man and Gad in the more overtly comedic role are already amazing performances in their own right. But its their chemistry together that truly makes them feel irreplaceable [even though so many others have performed in the roles since them] I’ve yet to see anyone else who either made the jokes land as well as Rannells and Gad, or who made their roles [that can easily be either too unsympathetic and annoying respectively] as endearing.
 
Mark Rylance as Olivia in Twelfth Night (A truly remarkable turn. Rylance [and the other “actresses” in the production] wisely avoided playing up the fact that he’s a man acting as a woman, instead letting the brilliant comedic writing get laughs. His Olivia was both hypnotic and ridiculous, playing up many moments perfectly, with none of them ever feeling like they were for a desperate laugh, but instead feeling like a necessity for the role. It’s actually remarkable how Rylance acted the part a thousand times better from both a comedic and dramatic standpoint when compared to the women I’ve seen play the role)

Jeff McCarthy as Officer Lockstock in Urinetown (I’ll never understand how he wasn’t nominated. His performance was practically the definition of a scene stealer. Whether he was instructing Little Sally on the logic of musicals, narrating the absurd premise, or getting distracted by the show’s music, McCarthy’s perfect comedic timing and ability to effortlessly switch between acting silly and serious made him the standout in an extremely talented and hilarious cast)

Bertie Carvel as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda (Such a gloriously hammy turn by Carvel. He brought out such a deliciously evil and dark humor in this monster of a role that I’ve yet to see anyone else come close to matching. His performance of The Smell of Rebellion alone puts him on my list. It says something about the quality of his work that so many thought he was snubbed of the leading tony, despite the fact that almost everyone agrees his role is supporting)

Updated On: 6/6/19 at 04:21 PM

[broadway86]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 4:36pm

I'm sure there are plenty others, but the following performances come immediately to mind:

Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing

Katie Finneran, Noises Off!

Nathan Lane, The Producers

Jean Smart, The Man Who Came to Dinner

Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed

James Corden, One Man Two Guv'nors

Updated On: 6/4/19 at 04:36 PM

[ethan231h]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 4:48pm

Rachel Bay Jones as Catherine in Pippin.

Sas Goldberg as Kiki in Significant Other.

Julie Halston as Gay Wellington in You Can't Take It With You.

Beth Leavel as Dee Dee Allen in The Prom.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 5:45pm

Jenni Barber In “The Performers” was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. Shame that show couldn’t find an audience.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 5:53pm

Going way back for this one. 

Buddy Hackett in “If I Had a Ball”, 1967  

I wonder if anyone else here saw it. 

[temms]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 6:24pm

I love the I Had A Ball score. I’d rank it Broadway’s loudest non-rock score and that’s mostly a compliment. I wasn’t around for it, alas.

Christine Baranski in the Encores “Promises Promises” wins for me. She got a laugh on literally every single line. Katie Finneran was great in the revival but Baranski was even better.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 6:25pm

I’ve seen lots of fantastic ones, but the first one that came to mind was James Corden in One Man, Two Guvnors. Him, along with that whole cast actually. I’ve never laughed harder in the theatre. I have distinct memories of sitting in the box seats, and laughing so hard that my whole upper body curled forward onto the ledge in front of me.

A few years later, I saw a regional production of the play, and I while it was still entertaining, it didn’t even come close to that original production. I even went back and watched footage of the original and it still made me laugh. It made me realize how fantastic that original cast was. They made comedy magic on that stage!

[ABB2357]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 6:32pm

First two that came to mind were Nathan Lane in THE PRODUCERS and Sarah Steele in SPEECH & DEBATE.

[markypoo]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 7:57pm

Phil Silvers and the cast of the 1972 revival of Forum.
Hilarious and flawless.

[The Other One]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 8:00pm

Maggie Smith in Private Lives

Phil Silvers in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Mark Rylance in La Bete

Lila Kaye in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

 

Updated On: 6/4/19 at 08:00 PM

[The Other One]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 8:02pm

markypoo said: "Phil Silvers and the cast of the 1972 revival of Forum.
Hilarious and flawless."

Ha!  You just beat me to it.  And you are so very right.

 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 8:04pm

I know there are great performances that I am not thinking of right this moment.  Off the top of my head, these are the ones I think of:

Top of the List

-- Nathan Lane in the Producers, A Funny Thing, and The Man Who Came to Dinner

-- James Corden in One Man, Two Governors

-- Phil Silvers in A Funny Thing

-- Philip Bosco in Lend Me a Tenor

-- Maggie Smith in Lettice and Lovage (I somehow deleted that and am adding it back)

 

Honorary Mention

-- Mark Rylance in Boeing! Boeing!

-- Jim Dale in Scapino

-- Rita Moreno in The Ritz

-- F. Murray Abraham in The Ritz

-- Kevin Kline in The Pirates of Penzance (disliked the show, loved him)

-- Robert Lindsey in Me and My Girl

-- Lenny Baker in I Love My Wife

-- Walter Matthau in The Odd Couple

-- Beatrice Arthur in Mame

-- Jane Connell in Mame

-- Harvey Fierstein in Hairspray

-- Paul Ford in Never Too Late

-- Rosemary Harris in Hay Fever

-- Marian Mercer in Promises! Promises!

-- Michael Crawford in Black Comedy

-- Angela Lansbury in Blithe Spirit

-- The entire original London cast of Noises Off

-- The entire cast of The Norman Conquest! at Circle in the Square

AND I FORGOT ONE OF THE GREAT ONES:  Barbara Harris in Acts2 and 3 of The Apple Tree, one of the Top 5 musical performances in my life...and Dudley Moore and Peter Cook in Good Evening, probably the funniest (tied with Nathan Lane and the original cast of The Producers) time I have ever spent in the theatre.

 

I like this category...it is bringing back wonderful memories of cheerful events.

Updated On: 6/5/19 at 08:04 PM

[NoName3]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 8:14pm

As my profile pic suggests, Maggie Smith in Private Lives.

[markypoo]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 8:20pm

I love that there is admirable appreciation for Phil Silvers and that remarkable production of Forum:

Larry Blyden.
Carl Ballentine
Lew Parker.
Peg Murray, and
Reginald Owen!

Could it ever get better than that?

[BIG BALONEY]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 8:29pm

Without a doubt it was Good Evening starring Dudley Moore and Peter Cook. A classic that had the audience roaring.
.

[Julie Yard]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 9:13pm

Original cast of The Book of Mormon. (Curious how that has aged if anyone's seen it recently).

Mark Rylance as Olivia in Twelfth Night

Julie White in The Little Dog Laughed.

Laura Benanti in My Fair Lady. Lauren Ambrose was sublime, but Laura nailed every joke even though you'd heard them 100 times.

[morosco]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 10:01pm

Dorothy Loudon (and the entire cast) - Noises Off

Wee Thomas - The Lieutenant of Inishmore

[tomwsjr]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 10:21pm

All the above plus Gary Beach in the Producers

[Pose2]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 10:21pm

  Jefferson Mays in A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder.

[evic]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 10:24pm

The cast of Its Only A Play; Gary Beach in The Producers,

[jdrye222]

Posted: 6/4/19 at 11:03pm

THESE ARE MY TOP TEN:

- Mark Rylance in BOEING BOEING

- Mary McCormack in BOEING BOEING

- Katie Finneran in NOISES OFF

- Harriet Harris in IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU

- Sherie Rene Scott in AIDA

- Julie White in LITTLE DOG LAUGHED

- Norbert Leo Butz in DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS

- Mario Cantone in LAUGH WHORE

- Sherie Rene Scott in EVERYDAY RAPTURE

- David Hyde Pierce in LA BETE (that giant Rylance monologue only worked because of Pierce’s brilliant non-verbal reactions and presence).

[BroadwayAndSports]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 2:04am

Christian Borle in Something Rotten

Daveed Diggs in Hamilton

Nathan Lane in The Producers

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 5:13am

Nathan Lane and Dan Florek (onstage and off) in THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. I was stage managing, we were all young and performing the play in a bar downtown on (I think) Chambers Street. God, they were funny and never met an Equity rule they couldn't turn into an elaborate prank on the oh-so-young-and-serious stage manager!

***

Ethel Merman in CALL ME, MADAM on tour around 1967. Sondheim does not exaggerate when he calls her "a great, low comedienne". She did a good 15 minutes of business about a dress with a long train, ending with the line, "If that's a train, it must be the Super Chief!" (Trust me, you had to be there.)

***

Speaking of trains, ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY with Judy Kaye, John Cullum, Imogene Coca and Kevin Kline. (Yes, I also saw the original "Lily", but she wasn't nearly as funny, not on the night I saw her.)

***

A winter stock production of A FUNNY THING..., starring Milton Berle. Berle wasn't funny, but a number of the original cast were present (including Jack Gilford) and all the supporting cast were hysterical.

***

The first time I ever saw LIL ABNER, which was a high school production. There were a lot of them in the 1960s. I've seen the film and can imagine a funnier professional production, but I've never seen one live.

***

The original cast of SWEENEY TODD. Yes, of course, it's scary and thrilling and heartbreaking. But no musical play has ever made me laugh any harder. "No, you see the trouble with poet/ Is 'ow do you know it/ 'S deceased? Stick to priest!"

***

Robert Morse and Cyril Ritchard in SUGAR (based on the film, "Some Like It Hot". Not a great show, but those two guys were more laugh-out-loud funny than Jack Lemmon and Joe E. Brown.

***

The original cast of CHICAGO, especially when Lenora Nemetz went on for Chita Rivera. Rivera's was one of the all-time greatest performances I've ever seen, but her intensity was such that the darkness at the core of the show was hard (for me and at first) to take. Nemetz was maybe not AS good, but she was very, very good in her own right. She also had a natural sweetness that probably wasn't very Velma-ish, but let the show's many, many jokes play.

***

TAMING OF THE SHREW in the park with Meryl Streep, Raúl Julia and an amazing supporting cast!

***

Switching from "shows" to simply "funniest", the funniest stand-up I ever saw was Henny Youngman. His jokes were pure cornball, but his timing was the best I have ever seen. I only went because a neighboring theater needed papering, but was I ever glad I did! I was literally rolling in the aisle by the end of a 90-minute set.

***

Marilyn Cooper. I've only seen tapes of her Tony-Award-winning number in WOMAN OF THE YEAR (a song which has no jokes, BTW, just Cooper's piercing deadpan). I worked with her in Miami as Tessie Tura in GYPSY and as Lottie Ames (the Lisa Kirk role) in a "revisal" of MACK & MABLE: they gave her songs and most of her jokes to Tommy Tune (also terrific), yet Coopie was still a force to be reckoned with in what little was left of her part.

***

Three Curtain-up! to Curtain-down! hysterical shows: NOISES OFF, DAMES AT SEA, INTO THE WOODS (in no particular order).

***

Lea DeLaria in a Reprise: LA production of THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE. See my paragraph on Ethel Merman above, because that was the only performance to which I could compare DeLaria's, both as a singer and as a "low comedienne". She was playing opposite David Hyde Pierce and Jason Graae, no slouches themselves.


***


An off-off-Broadway production of THE BEGGAR'S OPERA at Trinity Theatre, in a church basement at 100th and Amsterdam, in 1983: the actors were given their heads (I think that's the expression with horses) and rarely have I seen a play that was so much about "play", or that took "play" so seriously yet to such humorous effect. Patrons lined up in the snow to get in, shared the one, one-seater toilet with the actors, and then many stood for the 3+ hour playing time of John Gay's opera.

***

Two performances in Christopher Durang plays: John Lithgow in BEYOND THERAPY, and Christine Ebersole in LAUGHING WILD.

And two from a Joe Orton: Brenda Bryne and Joseph Maher at the Cherry Lane in NYC and later at the Mark Taper Forum in ENTERTAINING MR, SLOANE,

Updated On: 6/6/19 at 05:13 AM

[Alex M]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 7:19am

John Mulaney and Nick Kroll In Oh Hello. Most recently Reg Rogers had me on the floor laughing during Tootsie.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/5/19 at 7:52am

- Helene Yorke in Bullets Over Broadway had me in tears from laughing so hard.

- Megan Hilty in Noises Off

- Sarah Stiles in Tootsie