#26
Posted: 7/8/15 at 11:58am
newintown, would you not put Sutton Foster in Millie on that list?
Successful Broadway actors who still haven't had a "big break" — Page 2
#27
Posted: 7/8/15 at 12:11pm
I thought about Foster, but then I always ask myself - does my sister-in-law in Iowa even know who she is (let alone thinks of her as a "star"), and she says she doesn't (even after Bunheads and that other show, which I guess aren't all that big).
Nathan Lane, however, might be added, but I couldn't say if that break was in theatre (Guys and Dolls?) or film (The Birdcage?).
#28
Posted: 7/8/15 at 12:29pm
Re Mc Clure
His first big role in Chaplin earned him a Tony nod. Enjoyed Chaplin but it did not catch on. He deserved one for Honeymoon which closed prematurely.
It is all a big crapshoot
Poster Emeritus
#29
Posted: 7/8/15 at 12:55pm
I agree with Betsy Wolfe. I'm hoping she gets her big break with "Up Here".
#30
Posted: 7/8/15 at 1:07pm
Some would argue that simply working consistently is the real "big break."
#31
Posted: 7/8/15 at 1:18pm
newintown: I think it has happened this century. Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth got the national bump with Wicked. Idina won the Tony. But, the scale of the success of Wicked propelled both of them.
I would think Erin Dilly fits the OP. She has worked as consistently as any broadway actress. Got the potential star vehicle with a lead in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and a Tony nomination only to have the show's engine sputter and conk out. 6 broadway credits 20+off-broadway, tour and regional credits and 20+ tv and movie credits.
Updated On: 7/8/15 at 01:18 PM
#32
Posted: 7/8/15 at 1:32pm
You may be right, ErinDillyFan, but it seems awfully hard to tell now that the variety show is dead and gone.
It seems to me that MittelAmerika doesn't know Menzel or Chenoweth or Foster anywhere near as well as they knew Merman and Channing and Martin and Mostel and Raitt and Kiley etc. etc. etc. back in the 50s and 60s.
#33
Posted: 7/8/15 at 2:34pm
Should I have said Adele Dazeem?
Certainly, the entertainment industry is more fragmented than ever before. But, if Idina is not a star that broadway can claim then we don't have one. Certainly with the success of Frozen, she has to be on the name recognition scale above most pop stars except for maybe Taylor Swift and Beyonce.
Kristin has been a frequent guest on just about every talk show day to night for years. They might not know what she has done, but enough have seen her to consider her a star...
Updated On: 7/8/15 at 02:34 PM
#34
Posted: 7/8/15 at 4:30pm
I would say that most pop culture-minded people at least know Sutton, Idina, and Audra. Dina's got the huge bumps from Wicked and Frozen, Audra has six Tonys plus being the best part of Sound Of Music Live, and Sutton is rising with Younger and Bunheads.
Jenn Colella has been getting consistent work, but she hasn't gotten that Tony-worthy role just yet. Here's hoping it comes soon!
"I saw Pavarotti play Rodolfo on stage and with his girth I thought he was about to eat the whole table at the Cafe Momus." - Dollypop
#35
Posted: 7/8/15 at 4:48pm
Rebecca Luker she has always played the ingenue in major revivals of classic musicals (Show boat, The Music Man, The Sound of Music) but never really had a major break out role yet. And now that she is older I hope it happens for her!
Side note:
I always consider Kelli O'Hara todays Rebecca Luker seeing how Kellie is go to girl for ingenue role for major revivals of classic musicals. Slowly Laura Osnes is taking over as the new go to girl for ingenue role for revials lol
Updated On: 7/9/15 at 04:48 PM
#36
Posted: 7/8/15 at 6:26pm
Every actor mentioned in this thread so far HAS had a breakout role. Playing a principal in any non-flop Broadway show puts them in a category a small percentage of stage actors ever achieve.
#37
Posted: 7/8/15 at 8:15pm
how about erin mackey....broadway debut as glinda in wicked, sondheim on sondheim, anything goes,chaplin and now amazing grace along with several great review regional shows. She is an incredible actress in Amazing Grace.
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