The Most Unique/Original Voices on Broadway

[je veux te voir2]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 2:42pm

I don't mean "Who are the best belters?" I'm wondering what you think some of the most original and distguishable voices on broadway are. Meaning...no Lea Michele's or Annaleigh Ashfords. lol. While they're great, I wouldn't exactly call their voices unique.

You don't even have to like the voices necessarily. Just realize that they're definitely unique and different than what we usually hear.

Some that come to mind...

Marisa Jaret Winokur, definitely.
Bernadette Peters
Nathan Lane
Dan Fogler's voice always...stuck out to me.
Patti Lupone definitely has that distinctive mix of vib/head voice.
Daphne Rubin-Vega. Though I never much cared for her voice, its very different from what we usually hear on stage.

Any others you can think of?

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 2:44pm

Maybe Mandy Gonzalez and Karen Olivo? You can always hear them stick out on the In the Heigts CD.

[LeaGirl]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 2:47pm

Alice Ripley

Her voice is really different. And absolutely amazing in my opinion.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 2:48pm

Oh, I second Ripley. I love her! How did I not think of that?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 2:50pm

Orfeh.
Chita Rivera.
I want to say Idina Menzel, but I'm not really sure. I mean, she definitely has a rocker/soul edge to her voice.

Oh well. That's my list. :)

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 2:52pm

Harvey Fierstein
Megan Mullaly in YF

[commasplice]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 2:56pm

Carol Channing
Angela Lansbury
Carolee Carmello
Jenn Colella (she's got a liiittle bit of twang that's pretty unique, I think)
Mary Testa
Mandy Patinkin

Updated On: 8/25/08 at 02:56 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 3:04pm

Chenorama, for sure.

[NGD47]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 3:05pm

Ethel Merman.

[Jane2]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 3:09pm

Why Raul, of course!

[Pippin]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 3:10pm

Alison Fraser

[musicalmaster703]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 4:10pm

Raul and Lin Manuel Miranda

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 4:14pm

The entire cast of Passing Strange.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 4:14pm

The entire cast of Passing Strange.

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 4:20pm

Bernadette Peters
Patti LuPone
Daphne Rubin Vega
Kristen Chenoweth (I don't know if unique but very distinct)
Leigh Ann Larkin
Jaime Lee Kirchner

"Maybe Mandy Gonzalez and Karen Olivo? You can always hear them stick out on the In the Heigts CD."

I somewhat agree. I can see why you would think that. They both have a lot of power but I think Karen's voice is just power not different, you can always hear her. And Mandy is very powerful and she can sometimes have a very noticeable voice.


And there are many other different voices.

[TheatreFreak05]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 4:23pm

Sherie Rene Scott has a very recognizable voice.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 4:27pm

I second Alison Fraser.

[dry2olives]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 4:31pm

He's only been on Broadway once but since you don't come across tenor-based sopranoists every day you might want to consider Brian Charles Rooney.

[toanythingtaboo 2]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 4:33pm

Jennifer Holiday!

Harvey Fierstein!

Lin Manuel's style of rap/singing is very unique.

Kristen Chenoweth is spottable from a mile off.

Adam Pascal's voice can stand out...but not hugely.

Kerry Ellis's voice is quite different from the norm, its kind of rock musical belting with an english accent...interesting!

Em...I'll think of some more.

[brandontwin2]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 4:52pm

Julia Murney has a pretty unique voice in my mind

[dayao]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 5:05pm

Tammy Grimes and Glynnis Johns both had a distinctive, unique vocal sound that set them apart from other performers. Also Elaine Stritch has a highly recognizable but limited vocal range that she uses with great skill and effect to serve the song she is performing better than more technically superior singers could.

Larry Kert had a seamless youthful light tenor sound that was so perfectly suited to the music of Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim & Kander-Ebb that to this day I prefer his vocals of the songs in "West Side Story" and "Company" over anyone else’s.

[MCfan2]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 5:16pm

Barbara Cook
Betty Buckley
Angela Lansbury

[oohshizz146]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 5:17pm

Harvey Feirstein
Angela Lansbury
Orfeh
Kristen Chenoweth...when shes speaking, not singing.

[twogaab2]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 5:28pm

I find that currently, most "Broadway" voices are very much alike in timber, color and size. I have a very hard time differentiating one voice from another on recordings without looking at the listing on the label. This is not being critical, it's just an observation. I suppose this makes it easier to replace people from one cast and another . That being said there are many performers whose style and techniques that I admire enormously, I still don't find very much difference between one voice and another. There are a few (Judy Kaye, LuPone, Peters, Esparza), but they are few and far between.


Just my opinion, I may be wrong.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 8/25/08 at 5:30pm

Twogaab, I agree completely (for what that's worth).