Most Famous "Theater Person"
Most Famous "Theater Person"
#1Most Famous "Theater Person"
Posted: 3/6/11 at 9:01pm
Who is currently the most famous "theater person" working? By that I mean someone who, though known, preferably well-known to the theater public, is most known or most successfully employed in theater, not film or TV- hence none of the Glee cast quite qualify, as their runaway TV success has made Glee, not Hairspray or Spring Awakening, their number one achievement so far. Not a film superstar who does some Broadway- a person who can be definitively called "mostly a theater person" who is still well-known and recognizable.
The two that are jumping to mind for me are Jane Krakowski and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
#2Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 9:07pmAre Bernadette Peters, Donna Murphy and Patti LuPone all 'theater people'? I mean I know they have done other things, but they are most known and most successfully 'employed' in theatre.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
CarHoop
Featured Actor Joined: 5/6/10
willep
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/08
#3Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 9:12pmI would eliminate Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Jane Krakowski for the same reason you eliminated the cast of Glee...
#4Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 9:16pm
Hunter Foster
Jen Cody
Merideth Patterson
But not in that order.
"Broadway...I'll lick you yet!"
#5Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 9:22pm
Patti LuPone is probably the most famous theatre person without primarily being known for a particular TV or Film credit.
Jane Krakowski is immediately known from 30 ROCK and Jesse Tyler Ferguson is known for both MODERN FAMILY and CLARISSA EXPLAINS IT ALL. It's hypocritical to say that Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele should be disqualified because of GLEE, and not those two.
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
--Aristotle
#6Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 9:35pmPatti LuPone.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#7Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 9:35pm
Jesse Tyler Ferguson is known for Clarissa Explains it All?
#8Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 9:40pmI think you have Jesse Tyler Ferguson confused with "Clarissa Explains it All" actor Jason Zimbler (yes, I had to look it up). The resemblance is uncanny, but from what I can google, it's a different guy.
#9Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 9:40pmWOW. I always thought he was Clarissa's younger brother. IMDb proves me wrong. Well I be...
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
--Aristotle
#10Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 9:43pmI think they must be twins separated at birth.
SondheimFan5
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/10
#11Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 9:50pmIf we are discussing the broad topic of "theater people", then Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim immediately come to mind. However, if you are referring to simply actors, I would recommend that you specify.
#12Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 10:07pm
Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Angela Lansbury, Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth
and more recently: Jane Krakowski, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kristin Chenoweth, Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison
"Oh look at the time, three more intelligent plays just closed and THE ADDAMS FAMILY made another million dollars" -Jackie Hoffman, Broadway.com Audience Awards
#13Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 10:09pmMaxwell Sheffield is pretty well-known.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
#14Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 10:35pm
The reason for the Glee exemption is that the amount of high-profile tv work the Glee cast have, being in a show that became a massive phenomenon and sold huge amounts of soundtrack material, essentially overshadows most of the theater work they did in terms of success.
Jesse Tyler ferguson is a Broadway character actor who has performed in some well-known shows and currently plays a role on a fairly successful sitcom, but the bulk of his career success lies on the stage. Ditto for Krakowski, who was a hugely successful stage star who parlayed that into being a character actress on TV.
The success and popularity of Glee renders "Light in the Piazza" or "Spring Awakening" secondary in a way that Modern Family or 30 Rock, good shows but not ICONIC television of the past few years, don't necessarily do for "Putnam County Spelling Bee" or "Nine."
i_love_megan
Stand-by Joined: 3/29/07
ahhrealmonsters
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/11/10
#16Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 10:37pm
While they've gained fame from other mediums (media?), the following are, in my mind, the most famous for their theatre roles and as theatre actors:
Bernadette Peters
Patti LuPone
Angela Lansbury (this is debatable depending on what generation you are- she began on TV, but many people don't know her from "Murder She Wrote")
Elaine Stritch
Audra McDonald (minus Private Practice, which I really don't know how many people watch)
Joel Grey
I feel there should be another category of people who have done pretty much exclusively famous and are not "famous" per se, but they've been extremely successful:
Marin Mazzie
Sutton Foster
Christine Ebersole
If you are talking about most employed, as in people who get cast constantly, it's different. There are people like Marin Mazzie who are cast in many great roles, but the most employed are generally the gypsies, who go from ensemble to ensemble. Jen Cody (as someone else said) comes to mind.
#17Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 10:37pmBernadette Peters, Angela Lansbury, Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth, Jane Krakowski, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kristin Chenoweth, Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison all are well-known in Hollywoodland. ESPECIALLY Oscar- and Emmy-winner Angela Lansbury. MURDER SHE WROTE, anyone?
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
--Aristotle
#18Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 10:42pmAngela Lansbury has 3 Oscar nominations. No wins.
#19Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 10:43pm
darquegk, your logic is flawed. In one single episode of MODERN FAMILY, Jesse Tyler Ferguson has been seen by more people in one hour on the small screen than he will have ever have accumulated in a lifetime of theatre performances. If a "theatre star" gets a recurring role on a hit TV show, their career is SET. In the world of "celebrity" they will ALWAYS be known for their film/TV work by more people who would recognize them for their theatre career.
If you show a picture of Jesse Tyler Ferguson to all of your non-theatre friends and ask them why he is famous, they will tell you that he is on MODERN FAMILY. No one will know that he was in SPELLING BEE or his other theatre work. Same with Lea Michele, et al.
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
--Aristotle
#20Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 11:31pmJulie Andrews?
"Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok. Have you guys heard about fidget spinners!?" ~Patti LuPone
Broadway_Boy
Broadway Star Joined: 10/22/05
#21Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/6/11 at 11:40pmThere was an article a few months ago that I can't find now, on playbill.com I believe, that had the 100 most important Broadway people. Nathan Lane was number 52 I believe, but he was the first actor on the list.
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#22Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/7/11 at 1:58am
Julie Andrews only had the four theatre roles, huh? Yeah, they're iconic Broadway roles, but ask a random person off the street who originated Eliza in My Fair Lady on Broadway or Guinevere in Camelot, and watch their expression go blank. Hell, ask them to name anything she did beyond Mary Poppins and Sound of Music, and odds are at least even you'll get the same look (and they diminish sharply if the person is neither a gay man [and thus likely to know Victor/Victoria] or a twelve-year-old girl [and into the Princess Diaries...]).
I love Julie Andrews to bits and pieces and wish people knew her for more than MP and SoM, but I don't think they do.
ETA: Also, Julie Andrews isn't currently working in theater... certainly not singing, anyway 
Updated On: 3/7/11 at 01:58 AM
#23Most Famous 'Theater Person'
Posted: 3/7/11 at 2:12amI'd say Idina Menzel would be up high on the list.
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