Most Difficult Supporting Roles

Hot Pants said: "Whenever theres talk of theatres hardest roles, its almost entirely made up leads, so I thought its be interesting to discuss what the hardest supporting roles in theatre are. Im certain theres others that Im forgetting, but these were the ones that first came to mind:

Anatole from Great Comet - The actor needs to hit stratospheric high notes, play the violin, and be able to do both of those while dancing, all while pulling off a confidence that blurs the line between sexy and ridiculous

Hades from Hadestown - The performers has to find the perfect balance of terrifying and sympathetic, and needs to pull this off while singing notes so inhumanly low that it makes Caiaphas sound like a tenor

Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson from Hamilton - Two very different characters played by the same actor who needs excellent comedic timing, and has to tackle arguably the most vocally difficult (Burr is still the overall most difficult, though) role in the show, due to some extremely fast paced and tongue twisting raps."

100% agree with you. I would also add Persephone from Hadestown. She is so broken and uses unhealthy coping mechanisms, has compassion for other people, yet also complies with what is going on in Hadestown. Don't even get me started on her relationship with Hades. She resents him, but also wants to bring back the love that is gone in her relationship. She is such a complicated, beautiful character, and I adore her so much.

Raoul in Phantom has to sing the entire Final Lair scene with a noose around his neck. Carlotta also has several really big/high notes while consistently wearing quite heavy costumes.

Glinda-I know many will debate this but she feels secondary and she has a lot of heavy lifting only to kind of trail off with a loss of her arc.

Jarethan said: "Clearly not an exhaustive list, but they would include:

Joel Gray won a supporting Tony for Cabaret. That it was ever a supporting role is, of course, debatable.

Is Big Daddy a supporting role?If so, most definitely add him.

Is Scout in TKAM really a supporting role? If so, most definitely add her.

Is Che in Evita really...If so, add him.

Bananas in The House of Blue Leaves.

Absolutely agree re Lafayette / Jefferson. I still don't know how Deveed Diggs got all the words out. The others I have seen did, but their words were not as succinctas his.

Moritz in Spring Awakening.

To do it well night after night, the role of Genie must qualify.

The role of the wife (can't remember her name) in King Hedley 2.

Birdie in The Little Foxes.

The Black wife in Slave Play.

Smikein Nicholas Nickelby.

James Thunder Early in Dreamgirls.

Honey in Virginia Woolf.

Josie's father in Moon for the Misbegotten.

James Tyrone Jr. in LDJIN.

Laura in The Glass Menagerie.

Sister Agnes in Agnes of God.

Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman.

Horst in Bent.

"

Some of these that you mentioned will be contentious, I’d say are leads, such as the Emcee and Che, which are indeed very hard, even ranking up fairly high on leading roles.

Also, for the poster who mentioned Persephone in response to my original post, I agree. I actually considered putting her there, but I changed it at the last second. She’s definitely on a similar level or acting difficulty with Hades, as those two are by far the most developed roles in the show. I didn’t put her in initially because while difficult, her vocals are nowhere near as hard as Hades’. But the more I think of it, her singing is so different from other roles, and she also has to do some truly unique dancing, so she’s definitely high up on the more difficult supporting roles, although I still think Hades is the most difficult role in the show. Funnily enough, I’d say Eurydice is by far the easiest role in the show despite being a lead. Compared to the other parts, her music is a lot more straightforward.

Does Harper in Angels in America count? Because I think she’s a very challenging role to pull off. It’s a fine balance between being sympathetic and irritating and Denise Gough in the last production IMO moved the needle too far towards irritating.

Doolitle in MFL. Two big production numbers and lots of Shavian dialogue.

My only quarrels with the OP's list is that the roles he identifies were originated by an actor with unique vocal talents (or instrumental abilities). And in the case of Anatole and Hades, they are also identified with a particular actor. A few people have seen understudies for those roles at Great Comet and Hadestown, but most people have never seen those characters played by anyone other than Lucas Steele and Patrick Page.

Future productions of Hadestown will have to figure out how to make the show work without Page's bass. I think it can be done. The show also will have to figure out how do without other elements that are pivotal in the Broadway production.

As for Anatole, there's no rule that he has to play the violin. Steele was terrific doing so, but it's not a requirement. Marya D would be a tough role for an actor trying to replicate Grace McLean's vocal performance.

Hamilton is a different story, because there are lots of actors who have played those roles by now. Lafayette/Jefferson is the most difficult. The obvious reason, again, is because I've yet to see an actor pull off Daveed Diggs' rapid-fire yet understandable rapping as Lafayette. But Jefferson is also a tricky character, as he must be funny but also a worthy, serious rival of Hamilton, Actors often struggle with Jefferson because the balance that Diggs mastered isn't quite there and he's played a little too much for laughs. The other supporting character in Hamilton who is tough to pull off is Angelica, because "Satisfied" is a really difficult song.

Hamilton is a different story, because there are lots of actors who have played those roles by now. Lafayette/Jefferson is the most difficult. The obvious reason, again, is because I've yet to see an actor pull off Daveed Diggs' rapid-fire yet understandable rapping as Lafayette. But Jefferson is also a tricky character, as he must be funny but alsoa worthy, serious rival of Hamilton, Actors often struggle with Jefferson because the balance that Diggs mastered isn't quite there and he's played a little too much for laughs.The other supporting characterin Hamilton who istough to pull off isAngelica, because "Satisfied" is a really difficult song."

Agreed. I get tired of all the hyperbole that some posters on this board throw out, starting with the use of the word legend. But here I go with what is arguably hyperbole. For all the reasons that you have mentioned, I have felt for some time that Diggs gave the single best performance by any supporting actor in a musical in my 55+ years of theatergoing. I thought that the first timeI saw him, and that view has intensified every timeI have seen a different performer in the role. Admittedly, there have only been three others, but none came close to Diggs in that role.