Most Demanding Role — Page 2

CindersGolightly said: "I certainly think Elle Woods is incredibly demanding."



No. No, it's not. Definitely not. The character barely dances and is all fluff, requiring very little in the acting department. Try again...

Like wonderfulwizard11 said, demanding can b defined differently. Some role demands require differeant things. Everyone already knows and has said Elphaba is pretty beastly on the voice, but does get a good chunk off offstage time. No the character writing isn't 100% stellar, but it's a lot better than most other musicals that are based off a super popular source. I can only imagine the same will be said for the future role that will be 'Elsa'.

Elle...I won't lie and say it isnt 'fluff' acting, but lets remember it's a comedy, and an O' Keefe one at that. That's the kind of show he writes. But that role is pretty hard to sing actually. There's a reason Laura Belle got nodes from it. I hate Legally Blonde anyway, problem is it never should have been a musical, hence the 'fluff acting' stigma. Most shows that adapted from sources that should never be on stage to begin with tend to be that way.

Evita because duh. BEASTLY sing, but still must be acted well. J and H, obviously a beast for a man, still not well written but merely for the constant change in 'mindset' of the actor is toll taking for sure. Lucy is a hard sing honestly, not necessarily because it's belty but because it lies in pretty uncomfortable places in the female voice. Somewhat like Elphaba, but Lucy has even MORE offstage sime than Elphaba.

I just saw SoR and yeah, it's prrreetttyyyyy close to male Elphaba/Evita status. Dewey is barely ever offstage, and while he doesn't sing all over the place, the amount of energy needed for when he DOES sing it's crazy.

I've found roles that are considered demanding are written two different ways. The one that's almost never leaves the stage, but the energy is sustained throughout, it's not necessarily always on such a super high energy level (Monty, future Anna, Glinda to some respect, Mama Rose sort of, ValJean, it's just his vocals that are nuts, etc. or the role that while not always on stage, when they ARE it's 'go go go super high energy' almost the entire time, roles I like to call high-wire acts (Phantom, Elphaba, future Elsa, D'ysquith Family, Dewey is half of each kind in a weird way, Javert, etc.)

'Deamanding' roles seem to have certain qualities about them that MAKE them demanding whether it'd be vocally, emotionally, psychically, etc.

Billy Elliot. I think he's on for all but like 16 minutes and had many exhausting numbers. And he's still a kid.

Hamilton is more of an ensemble where the work load is spread out among the principle cast.

Bat Boy

Mary Tyrone in LDJIN

wonderfulwizard11 said: "I think the definition of "demanding" can also vary. Elphaba, for example, is an incredibly demanding part vocally, but the actor playing her gets a decent amount of time offstage, whereas a role like say, Monty in Gentleman's Guide, is less vocally taxing but leaves the stage for all of about three minutes during the whole show.

I have to disagree with you on that. Elphaba makes her entrance 10 minutes into the show, gets maybe a couple of short breaks in Act 1 and she's not in the first scene in Act 2, the actress is still getting into her Act 2 makeup and she's pretty much on for the rest of Act 2.

Elle Woods is also a bear of a part, IMHO.



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Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Jenna Hunterson in Waitress, Eva Peron in Evita, Diana Goodman in Next To Normal.

Jesus/Judas in JCS. Tevye. Jean Valjean/Javert. Ensemble of A Chorus Line. Recent Ensemble of Dames at Sea. Agree with Sweeney, Mama Rose, Evita.

ksilver117 said: "CindersGolightly said: "I certainly think Elle Woods is incredibly demanding."

What, like it's hard?



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Maybe the role doesn't require demand in terms of nuanced acting skills, but I think the way people are using demanding is in the physical and/or vocal sense. That role surely is more physically and vocally demanding than many other roles. Not suggesting it always is a good thing - Evita's singing seems incredibly demanding to me but for my ears personally it is rather unnecessary and pointless - I'd rather listen to a less 'demanding' score that is more pleasant on the ears and doesn't involve screeching notes that are probably more in the range of dogs than humans.

qolbinau said: "ksilver117 said: "CindersGolightly said: "I certainly think Elle Woods is incredibly demanding."

What, like it's hard?



"

Maybe the role doesn't require demand in terms of nuanced acting skills, but I think the way people are using demanding is in the physical and/or vocal sense. That role surely is more physically and vocally demanding than many other roles. Not suggesting it always is a good thing - Evita's singing seems incredibly demanding to me but for my ears personally it is rather unnecessary and pointless - I'd rather listen to a less 'demanding' score that is more pleasant on the ears and doesn't involve screeching notes that are probably more in the range of dogs than humans.



"



I believe they were making a joke. In Legally Blonde when Warner says that Elle can't get into Harvard her response is. "What, like it's hard?"

Aimee Simple (Scandalous), Diana (Next to Normal), Daisy and Violet (Side Show), Monty (Gentleman's Gudie), and probably a billion more.