Question about make-up.

[gymdudeva]

Posted: 3/11/07 at 5:14pm

OK, help me settle an argument.

Do most male actors still wear make-up in Broadway shows these days? Or do most forego it now?

(This actually came up on a bodybuilding forum...having to do with the tanning stuff competitive bodybuilders put on before going on stage...)

Thanks.

[Weez]

Posted: 3/11/07 at 5:20pm

I'm fairly certain they must at least foundation and powder themselves so they don't look *too* pasty and/or sweaty. And I really really hope the guys in 'Sweeney Todd' were wearing make-up, 'cos if they weren't, they were having some TERRIBLY late nights.

[yankee_fan907]

Posted: 3/11/07 at 5:22pm

Yes, of course males still have to wear make up... And it really doesn't bother you after a while...

[Gingersnap2]

Posted: 3/11/07 at 7:06pm

Hugh Panaro mentioned this in an interview we did for "Company" in Seattle. It was a follow-up to a question regarding the most difficult thing about playing Bobby.

Question: So what was the easiest thing?

Um. You’re gonna laugh. It’s sounds so silly, but the easiest thing compared to so many of the roles I’ve done in the last, you know, few years is that I don’t have to wear a wig! I don’t have any prosthetic makeup, I don’t have any fake blood on me. I get to come to work, um, put on one costume, you know, a very nice comfortable suit, I don’t have to do a wig, barely any makeup for the show, you know, cover up your zits for the night or a little bit of eyeliner. But you know, the easy part is, I have to say, after doing these big shows, the cosmetic part is so much easier, it’s nice you can come in and just focus on the acting or singing, it’s not like, you know, “oh, I have to go to wigs now and get my mic glued to my face.”

http://www.hugh-panaro.net/Transcript.htm Updated On: 3/11/07 at 07:06 PM

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 3/11/07 at 8:05pm

It also depends on the show's lighting design, etc.

I know that in The Woman in White, almost no one in the cast wore much makeup besides some basic stuff (the three female leads wore more because they either had to look a lot alike or, as in Friedman's case, change hair color, and thus complexion). Fiddler on the Roof 2004 also had very minimal makeup.

Shows like Wicked, POTO, etc, are huge shows with complex lighting designs, and everyone in the show wears caked makeup (especially in POTO).