Roles that significantly changed when their originators moved on?

Last night I saw Hadestown for the first time since its preview period in 2019. The show holds up incredibly well, and I was particularly charmed by Tom Hewitt as Hades (in particular Chant Reprise, which became a flurry of fiery fury in his capable hands).

However, I couldn't help but consider how strongly the role is tied to Patrick Page's incredibly deep voice. The adjusted keys work well, and Hewitt certainly sold them, but it got me thinking about other roles that were written in such a way that adjustments have to be made for anyone who takes on the role after the originator - if memory serves, all of the Hades' understudies do the higher key options as well.

What other roles have a similar specificity, where core parts have to be altered for successive portrayals? Roles have certainly been made iconic, but I can't think of other roles where the actual physical demands have to be changed.

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I think there is a difference between normal key adjustments, and what has to happen with Hades. Page possesses a voice that is deeper than Basso Profundo, which is already an immense rarity in the musical theatre (and in modern opera, to be frank). Hewitt and all who cover the role of Hades seem to be performing a full octave up from Page - again, not a knock on them whatsoever, but I consider that to be a more substantial tonal shift than lowering a song a half step or two.

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The supporting roles in Spamalot were routinely rejiggered for celebrity guests: I don’t know what Alan Tudyk’s specialty was, but David Hyde Pierce did a Marx Brothers/Victor Borge inspired classical piano bit, and Clay Aiken got additional verses that showed off his wide vocal range.

Usher played Billy Flynn and they added additional dancing to the track to show off his talents.

In the original Little Me, Sid Caesar played the leading male roles, and many of them gave him the opportunity to improvise foreign-sounding gibberish (his signature comedic act), while being responsible for very little tune carrying or dancing. The revivals totally retooled that part; Victor Garber and James Coco split most of those roles and then some in the eighties version, and Martin Short played them in 1998. The Short version was punched up by bookwriter Neil Simon and by Short himself: it cut all the improv but gave the characters more punchlines to compensate, as well as involving them in more dancing and physical comedy and significantly more singing than Caesar did. It would have become the official licensing version, but Tams lost the archival parts in a flood.

Elphaba and Glinda in Wicked. Every Elphaba and Glinda after Idina and Kristin made the role their own rather than trying to replicate the Originals. I think of Eden Espinosa, Jessica Vosk, Kara Lindsay, Katie Rose Clarke, Lindsay Mendez, Allison Bailey, and others who took their roles in a completely different direction.

Minor point but I THINK they lowered some of Mazzie’s keys in n2n because her mix/belt was stronger in the lower ranges….so for some songs it had a better dramatic effect. As opposed to why say Imelda Staunton had a lower key than Bernadette in ‘too many mornings’ for Follies so that she could actually hit the notes.

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Persephone from Hadestown. Amber Gray - even though she is still with the show - and Kimberly Marable are remarkable. You can tell the difference in their voices and portrayals of the character.

Cady from Mean Girls.

Alexander Hamilton when LMM left.

With regards to Wicked, Mean Girls, Hamilton, etc. - I don't think that's really what the OP was asking. Different actors will always have somewhat different interpretations of their roles, and sometimes those interpretations can mildly alter the timber of the show. But I think the OP is asking about situations where the creative team actually made changes to the book, score, direction, staging, or choreography to accommodate different actors' skill sets.

Also, it's interesting to read these examples because the OP was partly asking about times when things were changed because of a LACK of ability (i.e - needing key changes because they can't sing the score as written). Whereas most of the examples in this thread are cases where the changes were made to SHOWCASE the replacement's specific abilities.

But I think that speaks more to the way things actually work. Aside form key changes or optioning up/down, it's rare that they'd simplify a role for replacements. Because there are a lot of talented people in this industry, and it's not usually that difficult to find people who can meet the technical demands of any given role - even if those technical demands are quite intense.

I think it’s an interesting question, and although changing keys for different performers (especially stars) is common, I doubt singing a role an entire octave higher (or lower) in a professional production ever happens unless it’s a gender switch. True basses are rare, and Hades might be the only true bass role in musical theatre aside from Caiaphas (which baritones can sort of growl through anyway if they don’t have the really low notes).

In terms of key changes on Broadway, another example is the title role in Jekyll and Hyde. Some of the keys were lowered from what Anthony Warlow sang on the concept recording for Robert Cuccioli when he brought the role to the stage, it was raised like a third to high rock tenor when Sebastian Bach took over (they probably changed the keys for their other stunt castings as well), and now the published MTI version is I think more or less what Warlow sang in a standard musical theatre tenor or lyric baritone range.

Updated On: 10/10/21 at 10:36 AM

I didn’t see it, but I think I read that when Eartha Kitt took over Chita’s role in Nine, the extended dance break was removed from “Folies Bergeres” to accommodate her abilities.

Mario Lopez getting the star treatment in A Chorus Line when he played Zach, being made the head of the pyramid formation when that track belongs to Paul… and the costume change from a sweater to a polo to show off his arms 😂

I think they raised the key for that Entr’acte version too; if I recall, he sings an endless high C instead of an A.

It's interesting to me to see how various Reno Sweeneys in Anything Goes have been adapted to a particular star's strengths (not to mention changes in keys, and even in who sings certain Cole Porter songs, and/or if other songs from his catalogue get interpolated)...

Merman's Reno was the original, of course, and although I certainly didn't see it (I'm not THAT old!) it's likely it was mostly a singing role with very little dancing.

Patti LuPone's version had more choreography but certainly not like what Sutton Foster gave us in Kathleen Marshall's dance-heavy (I'd so deliciously so!) version of the show and the character of Reno.

Updated On: 10/10/21 at 03:05 PM

Really a costume change rather than a change in performance, but I think every Penny Pingleton in Hairspray after Kerry Butler wore glasses in the role.

carousel94 said: "Mario Lopez getting the star treatment in A Chorus Line when he played Zach, being made the head of the pyramid formation when that track belongs to Paul… and the costume change from a sweater to a polo to show off his arms ?"

And don't forget that when his costume was changed from a sweater to a polo, they also added a hoodie for Larry (Nick Adams at the time). According to the rumor mill it was because Mario wanted to show off his arms, and also make sure that Nick's arms weren't competing with his.