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#26

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/9/09 at 10:47am

>>The character of Sweet Charity is in almost every scene, song, and dance of that show. Who ever performs that role has to go home exhausted every night. <<

While true, Charity is not in some of the biggest numbers - she's not in Big Spender, sits out Rich Man's Frug and most of Rhythm of Life. So, she does get a few breaks. Not many, though.

#27

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/9/09 at 11:10am

Kim- Miss Saigon... i'd say she's on stage for a good 90% of the show

#28

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/9/09 at 3:18pm

I think Millie is a role that carries the show.

I recently played Lt. Cioffi in Curtains, and while I had other people with me onstage (Carmen, Georgia, Aaron, Nikki and Chris), that role is quite demanding as well.

#29

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/9/09 at 4:05pm

No one has mentioned CAROLINE, OR CHANGE, which is an ensemble piece, but Caroline is almost always on stage and sings a good part of the score.
I feel like Eva Peron, Fanny Brice, Caroline Thibodeaux and the female lead from THE APPLE TREE are all massive roles in terms of stage time. Momma Rose is of course the mother of musical theater roles, even if she is not on stage all the time, she does sing so many songs in the score, I feel Reno Sweeney is a similar role too.
I agree with Margaret Johnson as well.
To go with male lead roles, there's Guido Contini from NINE which I've heard is one of the most demanding roles in terms of stage time and the vocals.
And how about the female lead in GREY GARDENS who has to play Big Edie in ACT I and Little Edie in ACT II?

"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"

#30

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/9/09 at 4:28pm

I disagree with George in SITPWG. A lot of that show is shared with Dot.

#31

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/9/09 at 5:25pm

Speaking of Phantom, isn't he only onstage for about 15 minutes each performance, yet gets the last bow and the leading actor Tony Award?

#32

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/9/09 at 5:41pm

I'm a little confused... is the question "which ACTOR carries their show"? Because it sounds like a lot of conversation about which CHARACTER carries the show.

#33

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/9/09 at 6:35pm

Gypsy is carried primarily by Rose, seeing as she is in every scene short of the All I Need Is The Girl scene.

#34

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/9/09 at 6:49pm

Charlotte von Mahlsdorf- I Am My Own Wife

#35

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/9/09 at 6:51pm

Gypsy is carried primarily by Rose, seeing as she is in every scene short of the All I Need Is The Girl scene.

While there's no doubt that Rose carries the show, she also has plenty of off-stage time. In addition to "All I Need Is The Girl, she's also absent for "Baby June and her Newsboys", "Little Lamb", "If Momma Was Married", "You Gotta Get A Gimmick", and of the course the 7-8 minute long "Gypsy Strip" sequence.

Going back to the original topic, Seymour is on stage for most of Little Shop of Horrors and either sings or is involved in the majority of the songs in the score. I don't know if you could say that he carries the show though.

"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible

Updated On: 8/9/09 at 06:51 PM

#36

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/9/09 at 8:02pm

I can think of five:

I Am My Own Wife
The Oldest Confederate Widow Tells All
An Evening with Mark Twain
The Belle of Anherst
Elaine Stritch at Liberty

If it weren't for the lead actors in these shows, the supporting performers would have been non-existent.

Updated On: 8/9/09 at 08:02 PM

#37

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/9/09 at 8:31pm

Cyrano.

#38

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/9/09 at 8:38pm

I think it is a gross overstatement that Bobby carries Company. He is the lead but that show needs everyone to be pitch perfect to truly work.

#39

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/10/09 at 3:18am

Um. Hamlet. Death of a Salesman. Lenny. Man of La Mancha. Mame. Tartuffe. Foxfire. King Lear. Irma La Douce. Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Annie Get Your Gun. Barnum. Funny Girl. A Thousand Clowns.
Torch Song Trilogy. The Will Rogers Follies. Me and My Girl. Sweet Charity.

#40

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/10/09 at 5:10am

Drowsy Chaperone: Man in Chair.

"How bout a little black dress?"~hannahshule "I have a penis, not a vagina." ~munkustrap178

#41

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/11/09 at 2:18am

people could argue that the company revival was carried primarily by raul esparza. I don't believe company has to be carried by bobby but in this case it sort of was.

#42

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/11/09 at 5:41am

Christine in Phantom of the Opera...she's in (and is the focus of) almost every scene of the show.

Belle in Beauty and the Beast...sings most of the score, is in almost every scene.

Dolly in Hello, Dolly! She gets time off, but if you don't have a perfect Dolly, the show is dead in the water.

#43

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/11/09 at 6:30am

Will never forget Cliff Gorman in LENNY.

#44

re: Shows carried primarily by one actor

Posted: 8/11/09 at 7:44am

I'm a little confused... is the question "which ACTOR carries their show"? Because it sounds like a lot of conversation about which CHARACTER carries the show.

I think actor works because if one actor plays multiple roles that, combined, carry the show, that would count. Not referring to one specific person who played the role.

A good example would be Georges/George in SITPWG. Although I agree that much of the show is shared with Dot/Marie and it doesn't qualify.

I would say Bobby in Company is the strongest example of this I can think of. There is no point in the show that doesn't involve him.

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