Most Difficult roles to perform 8x's a week?

effie in 'dreamgirls' and elphaba in wicked' come to mind.

also was wondering... do you think when writing music for a show the creative team considers the fact that someone will have to sing the song 8x's a week. or do you think they just concentrate on writing the best songs they can and don't put into consideration the difficulty of performing it 8x's a week.

Updated On: 10/13/06 at 01:30 PM

Brain surgeon comes to mind.

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Nicholas Nickleby, hands down...from The Life and Adventures of Nichlas Nickleby. It was about nine hours long with a dinner break and three intermissions. Although I sat through it twice, it would be nearly incomprehendable to perform that marathon for more than 4 times a week.

As a vocalist, I can give a few roles that would be vocally demanding to do 8 times a week. First, I think that what John Lloyd Young does in Jersey Boys must be pretty hard on his voice and would be hard to maintain 8 times a week. During the run of Jekyll and Hyde it was openly discussed how vocally demanding the title role(s) was and Robert Cuccioli didn't do matinees for that reason -- in which Robert Evan played the role. Roles that require singing in extreme vocal ranges for extended periods of time, or in styles that are hard on the voice -- like Judas or Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar -- are also very demanding. The amount of singing you have to do also applies. If you sing in almost every number with little rest time in between it can be tough for untrained singers to maintain. Add in to that mix songs in extreme ranges or a multitude of songs where you are required to sing fortissimo or in full voice -- like a power ballad -- and that can also be very taxing.

As far as composers go, I would assume that they would write the best material possible regardless of how demanding it might be. However, if they are writing for a specific performer they might tailor it better to suit their needs. I would also assume that maybe in the back of their minds when writing they will take into consideration that "if I want to see my show performed regularly" they might make some concessions on issues such as vocal demand. However, there is no guarantee when writing a show that it will be performed 8 times a week or even make it to Broadway so I would say it is better to write the highest quality material rather than the most accessible material.

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Mama Rose
Caroline Thibodeux

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Valjean

What about on the acting (emotional) side?

I'd say Sweeney Todd, Becca or Nat in Rabbit Hole, some of the people in Cabaret.

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"Eliza Doolittle. The vocal demands of the role (perhaps the switching from Cockney to head voice) reaked havoc on the voice of just about every actress who ever played the part on Broadway."

Um, upon whose voice did the role wreak havoc?

Julie Andrews played the role straight for three years in New York and London then went onto Camelot never sounding better.

Sally Ann Howes later did Kwamina and What Makes Sammy Run? She sang "I Could Have Danced All Night" without a microphone in her Algonquin Club act well into her sixties, sounding like a singer in her twenties.

Margot Moser who closed the original run went on to teach voice but may not have had the star quality to sustain a Broadway career.

Marni Nixon played it at City Center in her thirties, but continued her flawless technique for another three and half decades.

Christine Andreas may have been vocally young for the role; she sounds better today than she does on the recording.

Of course, if you are referring to Melissa Errico, she missed a lot of performances, but her training, as most training today isn't to sustain a healthy voice for eight performances a week without a microphone. Coupled with the fact that she was romantically involved with the director and emotions do affect the voice, it is understandable why she may have gotten ill.

Updated On: 10/13/06 at 02:50 PM

There is a reason why Christine in PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has an alternate I think that Erik- er the Phantom- is tough, too.

Elphaba and Glinda in WICKED are not easy, either.

Valjean is tough.

Max and Leo in THE PRODUCERS.

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I would say Frankie Valli.

When I heard JLY on Regis and Kelly after watching Hugh Jackman, his voice was scratchy and it sounded like he was having trouble. I would probably too, if I was a guy.

I would also say Elphaba, because wearing that make up would probably give me an allergic reaction. I am saying 8 times a week. Yeah.

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Difficult roles:

Elphaba in Wicked
Glinda in Wicked
Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys
The Phantom in Phantom of the Opera
Christine in Phantom of the Opera
Eliza in My Fair Lady

I am pretty sure the role of Cassie in A Chorus Line must be difficult to perform 8 times a week.
Also, Fosca in Passion more because of the emotional intensity involved with the role.
I wonder if Guido Contini is hard to play eight times a week.

I def think that both vocally and emotionally, to do them WELL, elphaba and G(a)linda are def EXTREMELY challenging to do 8 times a week. Its just a really draining show, and to pull it off you REALLY have to do it full out and be completely in the moment every single second youre on stage. And especially g(a)linda seems like a VERY hard part vocally, because there are so many different styles in it and everything. I'd be very surprised to find many other people besides kriistin and maybe megan who can sing it really REALLY well (even helen and JLT, though they seem like brilliant actresses who can TOTALLY pull off the role no problem, seem a little weaker vocally than kristin and megan)

also I think the WHOLE cast of wedding singer has it pretty hard for 8 times a weak, especially the ensemble. Not necasserily vocally but dancing wise OMG. They need a CRAZY amount of energy to pull off all the dancing in that show as well as they do

aaand there's lots more challenging roles and stuff.. but I'm too lazy to right them all out :) lol

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