Hardest Role In Musical Theater- Page 2

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 2/4/07 at 11:13pm

I ditto swings in general...


every time I meet someone who is a swing I'm like "wow, you're amazing"...I can't imagine doing that!

[theaterkid1015]

Posted: 2/4/07 at 11:16pm

I think that if you look at any show, you will find one demanding role in it. It's not like you can through any show on auto-pilot and work in this business very long.

[Neverandy]

Posted: 2/4/07 at 11:33pm

We did this three months ago!
Anyway-
Eva
Jekyll
Judas
Jesus
The aviatrix(wink wink)

[nealb1]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 12:10am

Norma Desmond - "Sunset Blvd"
Mama Rose - "Gypsy"
Mame - "Mame"

[mattonstage]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 12:13am

Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller in the Miracle Worker. To do that dinner fight scene 8 times a week. Oy!

[Liverpool]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 12:30am

"can through any show on auto-pilot and work in this business very long."

Michelle Federer did just that in wicked for 3 years and it doesn't seem to have hurt her.

[gumbo2]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 12:32am

And Steve Blanchard in BatB

[EugLoven]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 1:14am

I say ensemble 100%. Principles aside, I really don't think anyone works harder in a show than the ensemble.

"Urinetown" comes to mind.
Not only is it physically demanding with all the dancing and movement in general, but there are about 7 costume changes and they are in about 16 of the 20ish songs (with crazy 5 or 6 part harmonies)

The ensemble works their butt on in any show!

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 1:42am

I agree with Diva on the fact that this is a subjective idea, as in it's all in personal taste. There really is no definite hard role, because everyone's thought on what makes for a hard role is different from someone's else's.

George M perhaps? You literally dont leave the stage and sing most every song.

I saw George M. Cohan Tonight!, which is pretty much almost like George M. and it is a challenging piece. There's no intermission and the only breaks the actor gets is basically taking a sip of water every once and a while. It takes a very talented person to pull the show off.

[blaxx]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 2:38am

It might be subjective, but there are certainly roles that carry extreme challenges. One of Margo's examples, Emma in Song & Dance, where there is only one woman to carry a whole act - that is certainly something not any performer can truly succeed at.

[gumbo2]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 2:40am

May I add Jaimie/Kathy in The Last 5 Years. Carrying the entire show, onstage alone just about the whole show, not to mention hard songs voice-wise (I don't care if it IS right in your range, singing all those songs throughout the whole show is tough), and very intense emotions going on throughout.

[blaxx]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 2:44am

As hard a the songs might be, they still alternate musical numbers, so it is challenging, but I doubt they are the hardest.

[Quasi]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 6:32am

I think a tough role is Elisabeth in the musical of the Austrian empress. Its vocally demanding and you have to play a women whose age on stage is from 16 up to over 60. Pia Douwes still is the best choice for that part.

Greetings from Germany

[sing_dance_love]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 6:58am

Don Lockwood - Singin' in ths Rain

When i played this part i think i left the stage for what one whole scene in the whole show. Vocally its not super inetense, but you have to dance the crap out of that show, with an 8 minute +/- depending on how you do it ballet, and oh yeah, tapping in rain.

Lets just say it was really really really hard. But so rewarding. Oh and i had not even exaggerating like 18 costume changes, with about 17 of them being intense quick changes

[mike L G]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 7:04am

There is no dought in my mind that Mama Rose in Gypsy is
the Hardest role ever written, I have seen so many lose it during
just limited roles of this show,not even to mention the long runs.

[pianoman215]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 8:17am

I concur with Mamma Rose.

[LittleFish8386]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 8:59am

Kim in Miss Saigon. What a vocally and emotionally challenging role.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 9:40am

I agree that Mama Rose is hands down the most demanding role in musical theatre.

I agree with many others said, but I'll also add Christine in Phantom. She's on stage for almost the whole show, and is still usually overshadowed by the Phantom. It's really up to her to carry the show.

And since the subject says "hardest" I'm gonna take that to mean something aside from most demanding--for instance Tony in West Side Story...well, it isn't a walk through the park...some of those high notes...damn. But also having to win the audience over is very hard for this character...when the Jets and Sharks get these amazing show off numbers like Cool and America, and even Maria comes to life at the end...it's really hard to be a standout Tony.

I guess some people could say similar things about Bobby in Company.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 10:32am

Being an audience member for more than half of what's playing is by far the most difficult role!

[folkyboy]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 11:23am

what about anyone in that past Sweeney revival? singing octives rarely seen on a register whilst playing a cello and acting fearful seems pretty hard to me!

[2373]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 1:10pm

I played "Florence" in Chess and I think that role is among one of the hardest roles in Musical Theatre. It was very demanding but I loved it!

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 1:28pm

I disagree completely about Christine in Phantom of the Opera. She might be on stage for most of the night, but I've never once thought of a mediocre Christine or Raoul, "Wow, that person really ruined the show for me." A bad Phantom, on the other hand? Absolute murder for the show. Christine is just one of the least emotionally complex roles in theater. That's not to say that the difficulty of a role is in any way based on how important the audience finds the character, but I don't think that Christine is a role that demands a first-class performer. Ingenue roles in general don't strike me as as challenging as many of those listed here. And I wouldn't even place the Phantom in this category, while we're at it.

The first role that came to mind was George in Sunday in the Park with George, if only because so much of the success of the show depends on his being the right mixture of qualities to portray the emotionally closed-off painter without alienating the audience. There's also the consideration that he's playing two characters in the different acts. Dot/Marie is very difficult, as well.
Updated On: 2/5/07 at 01:28 PM

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 3:24pm

Mama Rose in GYPSY. In the OBC, Ethel Merman is said to have spent the intermission sitting with her head in her hands, exhausted, just having sung "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and waiting to start off Act Two with "Together" and awaiting the ultra demanding "Roses Turn". She pulled it off, as did Angela Lansbury and Tyne Daly and, to a lesser extent, Bernadette Peters.

[madbrian]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 3:31pm

I've got to get on the Mama Rose bandwagon; it was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the title of this thread. I also thought of Mame, Fanny Brice, and Tevye.

[2373]

Posted: 2/5/07 at 3:34pm

I also concur with the "ensemble." I did a tour of "Joseph" and we worked our butts off throughout the show to make the leads (and our show in general) look great. Do you believe our Narrator at the time , who will remain nameless as she is very well known in the B'way community had the AUDACITY to say to a chorus girl, "I don't know why you even bother warming up, not only don't you chorus girls do anything in this show, no one is watching you anyway."

It took everything I had in me to refrain from punching her in the face. All she had to do was stand there and sing. We had to dance and sing and it was a workout.
Updated On: 2/5/07 at 03:34 PM