The single greatest character to walk the stage of Broadway- Page 4

[paradox_error]

Posted: 11/17/04 at 8:33pm

LyTeMyCanDyI - Yes Orsino is the Duke of Illyria in Twelfth Night, and does begin the show with "if music be the food of love, play on..."

meagan9848 - I don't know about you, but I have always felt very welcome on this board. I am only 17, but I love to get involved in the discussions, and am happy to be corrected by some of the more knowledgeable minds here. Perhaps this is because I am always willing to learn from them. You claim they are not accepting and encouraging of the new blood, but i ask you, have you ever let them be? Perhaps if you listened more, rather than jump to hasty conclusions, you might find you can learn much off them. I read MargoChanning's post, and found nothing offensive about it. In fact, I was thinking the same thing. I agree that the older generations need to accept what is being created now, but does that give you the right to forget about historical contributions to theatre. Margo simply wanted to bring light to the fact that the majority of the posts contained characters that had been written in the last fifty years, let alone from the past season.
I have learnt more off Margo in the last few months of posting than I knew before I came onto this website. Appreciate the fact that someone is so knowledgeable, and that they are willing to impart what they know. Be careful, because if Margo were ever to stop posting, as with many of the other posters here, this board would be at a great loss.
Don't forget that there are shows like Pal Joey, Babes in Arms, Annie Get Your Gun, Fiorello!, The Glass Menagerie, The Iceman Cometh, The Skin of Our Teeth (one of my personal favourites), Our Town, Glengarry Glen Ross, Speed-The-Plow...I could go on forever. These shows are all part of the incredible history of American Theatre, and even if you were not to like them, you can always appreciate them for what they are.


I would like to add Sabina from The Skin of Our Teeth to the list. She is one of my favourite characters.

Posted: 11/17/04 at 8:55pm

Effie :)

[edenespinosalover]

Posted: 11/17/04 at 9:26pm

The Narrator in "Joseph..."

JUST KIDDING

Posted: 11/17/04 at 11:26pm

haha. funny man.

[paradox_error]

Posted: 11/18/04 at 12:54am

bump

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 11/18/04 at 1:44am

I HAVE to add:

Peggy Sawyer - 42nd Street
Guido Contini - Nine

[EVIE]

Posted: 11/18/04 at 2:34am

Judas

Posted: 11/18/04 at 2:57am

lol@edenlover........

But i would like to add Vera Charles & Mame Dennis

[mirandajrs]

Posted: 11/18/04 at 3:55am

Dolly Gallagher Levi

[DancerGirl16]

Posted: 11/18/04 at 1:58pm

Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovette for sure

But I also liked Peter Allen - Hugh Jackman lol

[Sant]

Posted: 11/18/04 at 2:29pm

Norma Desmond of SUNSET BOUKEVARD.
"She is the greatest star of all..."

[JLfrom NYC]

Posted: 11/18/04 at 3:09pm

I think the problem with this question is that it asks us to pit classic theater characters against newer characters whose staying power has not yet been tested. Meaning--it seems ludicrous to some (at present) to say that Elphaba from WICKED or Caroline from CAROLINE OR CHANGE is the greatest female character in musical theater history, but in 20 years, WICKED's staying power and CAROLINE's staying power will have been tested, and we have no way of knowing whether or not the next generation of theater fans will take to WICKED or RENT or CAROLINE as older theater fans have taken to GYPSY, SWEENEY TODD, and THE MUSIC MAN.

I mean, think about it; over the years, (since the 1920s) there have been HOW many new musicals? Hundreds? Thousands? And of those thousand new musicals, HOW many of those do we actually remember and embrace as classics, with characters we think are brilliant? 30 or 40? MAYBE? And of those 30 or 40, how many does the casual Broadway-lover remember, GENERALLY? 10? At best? So in that way, perhaps we are ALL a little short-sighted. So really, I think it's silly to mock newer Broadway lovers for picking Elphaba as the "greatest female character on stage" because, quite frankly, their list of characters is limited--just as the rest of our lists are limited, in a way. NONE of us is the supreme authority, because to be the supreme autority, you'd be selecting characters from the entire list.

As of right now, I can't imagine that newer characters have enough "age," so to speak, to really say whether or not they're "the greatest in history," but without wear, we can't really rule them out, either. Who the hell knows what people will be thinking in 20 years? When GYPSY first came out in the 1060's, there was no internet. Who is to say whether or not theater goers in those days (at the time) would have said, "Rose? The Greatest female character? Please."

Having said that, MY personal favorites (and I'm working from my own limited list, and I'm not saying these are the greatest characters EVER, just--in my opinion--the hardest to get across successfully on stage) are:

Dramatically/Comedically--Acting-Wise:
Sally Bowles (CABARET)
The Emcee (CABARET)
Rose (GYPSY)
Caroline (CAROLINE, OR CHANGE)
Eliza Dolittle (MY FAIR LADY)
The Baker's Wife (INTO THE WOODS)
Dot/Marie (SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE)
Harold Hill (THE MUSIC MAN)
Officer Lockstock (URINETOWN)
Glinda (WICKED)

Vocally:
The Phantom (THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA)
Cunegonde (CANDIDE)
Marian Librarian (THE MUSIC MAN)
Emma (SONG AND DANCE)
Georges Seurat (SUNDAY IN THE PARK...)
Rose (GYPSY)

Now, you have to keep in mind--like I said--I am drawing from my OWN list. I never saw LES MIS, or CATS, or COMPANY, or SWEENEY TODD, or RAGTIME. So again, I am drawing on what I know (as we all are.) And again, those are the roles that I think are either vocally the most challenging to do properly on stage, or theatrically challenging to get across effectively on stage.

[Albin]

Posted: 11/18/04 at 3:29pm

Why don't we rename this thread "The single most ridiculous thread ever posted on Broadwayworld.com!"

There will be as many opinions as there are characters and a general consenus will never be reached.

We could also rename it "My single most favorite character to walk the stage of broadway" because this is little more than a popularity contest.

[LyTeMyCanDyI]

Posted: 11/18/04 at 9:16pm

show2n, do u mean effie from countess?

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 11/18/04 at 9:55pm

Caroline Tibodeaux.

Oh, how I wish I was a black woman.

[dotmarie]

Posted: 11/18/04 at 10:13pm

John Merrick, The Elephant Man... oh, brings tears to my eyes.

As for female... I love The Baker's Wife from Into the Woods. I think she's my hero. And Mother from Ragtime. Funny how neither of them have actual names.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/18/04 at 10:24pm

Sir Percival Blakeney.

[kangaroo]

Posted: 11/18/04 at 10:27pm

I would have to say
Miss Saigon: Kim (Lea)
and The Boy From Oz: Peter Allen (Hugh)