Marissa Jaret Winokur's Future Roles

What other roles do you think Winokur could play on Broadway?

I hear she's up for the role of Tracy Turnblad in the upcoming Broadway revival of Hairspray!

I've heard she is a huge diva and difficult to work with. Not to mention, she doesn't quite have a face for film, and honestly there aren't a lot of legit roles for big women out there.

I would love to see her play the Bonnie Franklin part in "Applause".

Sidenote: I don't know her, I don't know if any of the diva talk is true. I do love her work though and wish for the the best for her.

It seems that two of the three women who "broke out" in this role (ironically, both the musical versions) have had a tough time securing further work.

Updated On: 6/26/11 at 01:46 AM

Being a character actress myself, it is true that there are definitely not as many roles for bigger women as there for smaller actresses. Unless you're a man where it does seem that there is less prejudice in regards to size.

HOWEVER, a big part of it has to do with your look and how you're marketing yourself. At her age Marissa actually could have relatively steady work since most female character parts are available for women who are in there 30s and beyond. The woman is closing in on 40 and she still is presenting herself as she did when she was 25. I can understand the desire for "ingenues" and "leading lady" types to want to constantly stop the passage of time but character actresses need to embrace their age because honestly that's when more work will be available to them.

Then again something's telling me she's not into these types of bit parts and wants to have a leading lady type of role like she did in Hairspray. The only notable exception currently is Drop Dead Diva and a show like that took how long to come to fruition. Marisa is clearly talented but it seems she's not willing to settle when it comes to the types of roles she believes she deserves.

Updated On: 6/26/11 at 03:07 AM