Weight specific roles?

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Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 1:54am

I'm doing research on roles in shows that have to be a certain weight. I need examples of both extremes. I was thinking of Tracy for the "fat" example, but if anyone can think of any more that would be a great help! Thanks.

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 1:56am

Sally Durant Plummer in Follies refers to herself being fat.

"How do you like THAT 'misanthropic panache,' Mr. Goldstone?" - PalJoey

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 2:00am

I've never seen a "fat" Sally Durant Plummer in FOLLIES though, so I assume she is calling herself that in self degradation...

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 2:02am

Yeah, I suppose you're right, though Barbara Cook was pretty hefty in the concert.

"How do you like THAT 'misanthropic panache,' Mr. Goldstone?" - PalJoey

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 2:06am

Well...that was a concert and she was a replacement for Barbara Harris who is decidedly thin - as was Dorothy Collins and whats her toes who played her in the last revival.

"Jan" in GREASE is referenced as being chubby, but if you really want to dig into plays that dig much deeper into issues regarding weight - you should check out things like Neil LaBute's FAT PIG.

Updated On: 2/13/06 at 02:06 AM

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 2:18am

In theater, nearly every role not referred to specifically as being a "fat" role or what have you, is expected to be played by a relatively thin actor/actress.

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 2:25am

And even then - a lot of the girls who have understudied and played Tracy in HAIRSRPAY aren't fat at all. They are padded. So I'm not sure if that even plays into weight specific roles except in the sense that you can have a 110 pound Tracy ("the fat girl") and a girl playing Amber (the "skinny") girl who is the relative same size...

I think there are actually are a lot more roles that are specific in terms of height than weight.

Updated On: 2/13/06 at 02:25 AM

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 4:49am

Count Fosco in WOMAN IN WHITE is played in a fat suit. I don't know if there are lines about him being fat in the show, but he is described that way in the original novel.

Mr. Bumble and Widow Corney in OLIVER - in the song "I Shall Scream", Bumble sings to Corney:
SINCE MY LOVEY-DOVE IS CHUBBY
WOULD SHE HAVE A CHUBBY HUBBY?

In THE PRODUCERS, Leo calls Max "Fat Fat Fattie!"

In the musical FANNY, the character of Panisse is often teased about his weight by his best friend Cesar.

In CATS, Jennyanydots, Bustopher Jones, and Old Deuteronomy are played fat.

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 7:23am

I'm not sure this is weight specific, but isn't the girl who plays Roxie always super-skinny? I mean, didn't Renee Zellweger lose a ton of weight for the role?

"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife

#10

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 8:05am

I guess I should be more specific...i'm talking about parts that in the character description for auditions they say something about the character's weight.I remember when I was looking into auditioing for Hairspray the description of Tracy specifically mentioned her being overweight. I'm writing a monologue in a show that has to do with how "chubby" people (esp. women) get the bad end of the deal when it comes to theatre. You are too fat for the "skinny" roles but too skinny for the "fat" roles. So that's why i'm trying to find some research on this topic. Again thank you for all the help!

#11

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 8:20am

Count Fosco in WOMAN IN WHITE is played in a fat suit. I don't know if there are lines about him being fat in the show, but he is described that way in the original novel.

^^ The actor however does not have to be fat. And yes there are lines such as
" A Lust for life as big as...me" - Count Fosco says that

#12

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 8:46am

eDIT: AlmostFamous beat me to it!

http://www.beintheheights.com/katnicole1 (Please click and help me win!) I chose, and my world was shaken- So what?
The choice may have been mistaken, The choosing was not... "Every day has the potential to be the greatest day of your life." - Lin-Manuel Miranda "And when Idina Menzel is singing, I'm always slightly worried that her teeth are going to jump out of her mouth and chase me." - Schmerg_the_Impaler

Updated On: 2/13/06 at 08:46 AM

#13

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 9:13am

lol im sorry Dancingthrulife

#14

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 9:14am

What about Max Bialystock? "Gimme those books you fat fat fatty!"

"You ask four guys, you get four different versions" ~ Tommy DeVito, Jersey Boys

#15

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 9:24am

In Seussical, Horton refers to himself as "slow and fat."

#16

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 9:34am

what about "Fat Pig"?

"You've gotta have a swine to show you where the truffles are."

#17

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 11:28am

You might want to make the point in your monologue that if you as an actor are actually overweight, you will, by industry standards, be considered "too fat" for even the fat roles. In the entertainment biz, even ten pounds over the norm is considered "fat." It's pretty ruthless.

#18

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 11:59am

Effie in Dreamgirls has to be played by someone overweight.

Isn't Piangi in Phantom supposed to be overweight?

Some characters, while not specified, CLEARLY need to be played by people of certain weights. For example, the dancers in A Chorus Line can't be overweight - it would make no sense (though a cast of ALL overweight actors might actually be interesting...) It would give a whole new meaning to Dance Ten, Looks Three...

Overweight gangs in West Side Story aren't going to cut it.

There are some roles I don't think it would matter in the least - like Henry Higgins, Daddy Warbucks, or the King of Siam, but I don't think you're going to do very well with a large Eliza Doolittle or a chubby Curly in Oklahoma.

Hi, Shirley Temple Pudding.

#19

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 12:15pm

norman bulansky in THE BOYS NEXT DOOR is fat.

Mind is Mantra.

#20

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 12:19pm

Effie doesn't have to be fat. I dunno why people keep saying that. I think it would help if she were a little thicker but she def doesn't have to be fat. While Jennifer Hudsons chuncky, I wouldn't call her fat. As far as it being mentioned in the show the only place they say it is in the argument "...getting bigger all the time". At that point she's getting bigger because she's pregnant.

I don't think big dancey shows HAVE to have someone thin. It's just that most dancers are really thin. They do a lot of working out etc. It's a lot easier to dance when you're thin. There is a certain look to a dancer's body I'll grant that. But I'm not sure if you're talking fat or just 10-20 lbs overweight

#21

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 12:30pm

I haven't read the character description in the play but I would assume Prior Walter in Angels in America should be thin.

Those Blocked: SueStorm. N2N Nate. Good riddence to stupid! Rad-Z, shill begone!

#22

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 2:30pm

well in "Cabaret" I'm playing Fraulein Schneider right now and she can be overweight and she can also be thin as well. They give you lyric options in her song "So What", like "When I had a man my figure was boyish and flat" and also "When I had a man, my figure was dumpy and fat" "Now I have what he missed and my bosom is full" and "Now I have what he missed and my figure is trim" etc. It's pretty cool there are some roles that are written to go either way and it's ok. Especially the character, older actress roles.

"Have a child for warmth and a baker for bread and a prince for... whatever!"

#23

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 2:46pm

I don't know if this thread is going to be much help to find what you are looking for but almost any role can give the actor padding!

#24

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 4:40pm

I'm not sure this is weight specific, but isn't the girl who plays Roxie always super-skinny? I mean, didn't Renee Zellweger lose a ton of weight for the role?

Yes and no. Renee Zellweger did lose weight for the role, but not because Roxie is supposed to be very skinny. For one thing, she started Chicago right after Bridget Jones', which she gained a ton of weight for and she had to lose it all. She lost additional weight as well because being extremely thin was fashionable during the 1920's- it was part of the flapper look. However, I don't think that anyone who plays Roxie on Broadway needs to lose weight. It was a choice Renee Zellweger made to make her performence more believeable.

There's a lot I am not certain of...

#25

re: Weight specific roles?

Posted: 2/13/06 at 4:50pm

but even if there is a character description that refers to weight, which is rare, it is easier for a playwright to create a "fat" character rather than a "skinny" character b/c fat can be created with padding if the actor is a good actor but not fat enough, but with "skinny", you can't really create that illusion so the director is left looking not so much on the basis of talent but on size alone, which is never good.

Don't f*ck with me fellas. This ain't my first time at the rodeo.

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