What Are Great Musical Roles That Don’t Sing Much

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 12:34pm

Most great roles in musicals usually get at least one big number, but occasionally theres ones that dont get that but can still be a major standout regardless. What are some examples of these?

The idea for this topic came to my mind because I was thinking of The Bands Visit, and how Tewfiq only sings a couple of bars even though hes one of the leads. Despite not singing much, the part is a great, three dimensional, funny and tragic character.

[binau]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 1:12pm

It will be hard to find a better example than the one you posted but I suppose Desiree in A Little Night Music?

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 1:22pm

Professor Higgins in MFL doesn't really sing. Does some sing-speaking but no actual singing.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 1:43pm

Man in Chair is a plump comedy role while only singing a few bars

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 2:03pm

poisonivy2 said: "Professor Higgins in MFL doesn't really sing. Does some sing-speaking but no actual singing."

I wouldn’t really count roles like Henry Higgins or King Arthur, as while they’re performed as talking instead of singing, they still have their fair share of musical numbers.

Another example I thought of was Sir Lancelot and all the various roles that actor plays in Spamalot. He only gets a few scant solo lines, even in his big number, but he makes up for it by getting to play an assortment of scene stealing characters.

[goodlead]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 2:06pm

Fiorello in "Fiorello."

[Carol Channing, or Change]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 2:12pm

qolbinau said: "It will be hard to find a better example than the one you posted but I suppose Desiree in A Little Night Music?"

Desiree doesn't have to be a great singer, but she has her fair share of songs, what with "The Glamorous Life," "Send in the Clowns," "You Must Meet My Wife," and the finale.

[joevitus]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 2:43pm

Jeff Douglas and Harry Beaton are two pretty great roles in Brigadoon who never sing at all. Neither do Jean MacLaren or Mr. Lundie.

Ivy Smith never sings (well, she's supposedly part of the chorus in the "Carnegie Hall Pavanein" in On the Town. Yet it's a pretty great role.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 9:19pm

Makarova won a Tony for playing the ballerina in On Your Toes.  I don't think she sang a note in the show.  She was actually terrific in there role and gave a great comedic performance in addition to her dancing.

Disagree re Henry Higgins.  Those are songs. The fact that Rex Harrison talked (mostly) rather than sang them was due to his great diction and lousy singing voice.  

Re Desiree, for the lead role in the show, she really does have very little singing; one solo (a short song at that), part of the entire ensemble in The Glamorous Life, and not a You Must Meet My Wife, essentially some sung dialogue.  I doubt there is another female role out there is which the leads less singing.  

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 11:04pm

My favorite example of this phenomenon would be the title character in THE KING AND I. King Mongkut barely croaks out the rhythmic speaking in “A Puzzlement” and a couple of lines of “Shall We Dance”. Did I miss anything else?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 11:15pm

Someone in a Tree2 said: "My favorite example of this phenomenon would be the title character in THE KING AND I. King Mongkut barely croaks out the rhythmic speaking in “A Puzzlement” and a couple of lines of “Shall We Dance”. Did I miss anything else?"

I would lump that into the "cheating" category with Higgins and King Arthur. Sure, it doesn't have to be melodic singing and it's largely an acting role, but "A Puzzlement" is still a 5-minute song.

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 12:13am

The King also has Song of the King. Not a big song, but it's there.

[joevitus]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 1:27am

Saying Henry Higgins or the King doesn't sing is like rather saying Hamilton--or anyone in that show's cast--never sings.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 1:54am

As far as I remember Pellinore in Camelot doesn’t sing a note but it’s still a fairly large comedic role for a character actor.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 9:37am

Mr. Applegate just has the one song in Damn Yankees

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 3:43pm

There’s another thread on this subject, but other “principal” roles that don’t sing AT ALL include both Doc and Schrank in WSS and Roy in The Light in the Piazza. The Warden in Kiss of the Spider Woman is a decent sized acting role, but he sings like maybe 32 bars in the whole show.

Someone mentioned Jeff Douglas in Brigadon, which is a rather large non-singing role (although he sings in the movie).

And yes, the Lancelot track in Spamalot is I believe a completely non-singing role except maybe a couple full company things. King Arthur also sings very little considering he’s basically the lead.

[InTheBathroom1]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 8:52pm

More recently Tewfiq in The Band’s Visit

[toottoot]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 9:37pm

Everyone in Contact for sure! (h'yuk yuk) Most/all of these are supporting roles though. 

First that comes to mind is the Narrator / Mysterious Man track in Into the Woods. A great role, and is essential to 4 songs in particular, only actively singing in 2 of them ("No More" being the one with the biggest emotional impact). It's a role that has often gone "Rex Harrison" in casting. I know the Mysterious Man has also been doubled with Cinderella's Father in other productions, and even with that - it still stands.

And while we're on the subject of Narrators, the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show is a fantastic role that requires virtually no singing as the character rhythmically talks their bits through "The Time Warp", "Superheroes", "Eddie's Teddy", etc. 

Tzeitel and Chava in Fiddler on the Roof also sprung to mind. They're featured in "Matchmaker Matchmaker", and have ensemble singing duties, but can easily be cast with actors who sing. (I'd include Fyedka in this, but I wouldn't go as far to say it's a great part, plus some productions double him and the Russian Tenor as the same which would make the point moot.)

Frenchie in Grease most notably stands out as she's the only one in the principal cast who doesn't have a song either of her own, or to share. She does, however, get sung at during "Beauty School Dropout."

On the smaller role side, Mrs. Higgins in My Fair Lady is a great example, and the recent revival took full advantage of casting actor-y actors in the role, to great effect (as did the film, though even if she did sing - the film probably would have dubbed her anyway).

Parthy in Show Boat doesn't sing at all, if I'm remembering correctly. Maybe a little bit during the opening, right before Frank and Ellie do their dance on the wharf. Of course, Elaine Stritch was given "Why Do I Love You?" in the Hal Prince revival and performed the hell out of it, making a compelling argument that having Parthy sing it at the top of act two is as good a way to kick off the second half of that show as any. 

In the original production of The Sound of Music, Max and Elsa sing in 2 different numbers (which I'd argue are essential to the b-story and opt to stay in). They are frequently cut from productions aiming to provide the audience a closer take to the film, which then leaves the characters open to casting non-singing actors in (unless you double them, as the actor playing Elsa could easily lend her voice to the nun chorus). 

Do Wendy, Michael, and John sing anything other than "Tender Shepard" in Peter Pan...? Young Tommy also doesn't sing much in Tommy, but that's because - duh. 

I feel like I'm missing a few key ones... hmm.

Updated On: 7/15/20 at 09:37 PM

[ggersten]

Posted: 7/16/20 at 1:10am

Zach in A Chorus Line?

[msmp]

Posted: 7/16/20 at 3:51am

Horace in *Hello, Dolly!* comes to mind from pre-2017 incarnations; he only had "It Takes A Woman" then, plus a couple bars in the reprise of the title number in the final scene. The revival added back the cut "Penny In My Pocket" to open Act II, though, so I'm not sure it *still* qualifies.

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 7/16/20 at 4:56am

Narrator/Mysterious Man from Into the Woods - especially when split, in that case the narrator sings just a few bars.

Nick from Girl from the North Country 

[Loopin’theloop]

Posted: 7/16/20 at 6:47am

poisonivy2 said: "Professor Higgins in MFL doesn't really sing. Does some sing-speaking but no actual singing."

Speak singing is the choice of the performer and team. They are still songs. If someone spoke their way through Anything Goes, it wouldn’t alter the fact it’s a song. The poster is asking about roles with limited songs not roles for limited singers. 
 

Also, the music for Henry Higgins has been sung as written several times. Jonathan Pryce sings it in the London Revival Recording and there have been others - it is written with a melody.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/16/20 at 7:37am

Tewfiq

Desiree and Charlotte

Franklin, Jefferson and several others in 1776

Fraulein Kost  

 

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 7/16/20 at 9:55am

henrikegerman said: "Franklin, Jefferson and several others in 1776"

I do find it interesting how Franklin and Jefferson never get a song of their own, even when minor roles like Lee, Martha Jefferson, and the Courier do. I guess you could say The Egg is their song, but they also share it with Adams, and it doesn’t offer either one of them all that much in terms of solos.

[helvizz]

Posted: 7/16/20 at 3:42pm

The grandmother in Pippin. She pretty much only sings her solo, and is out for the rest of the show (except for a few times where she' ontage, but doesn't even sing or talk at all). It got Andrea Martin a Tony.

The role of the buttler in La Cage aux Folles. Robin de Jesús and Michael Benjamin Washington stole the show in that tiny part and had the audience roaring with laughter, myself included, when I watched the productions of La Cage they were in. Robin even got a Tony nomination (granted, it was a very weak season). The role pretty much only sings chorus parts (except for a few lines in Cocktail Counterpoint).

Herr Schultz in Cabaret only has a few lines in Married and duets It Couldn't Please Me More, but gosh, that character can break your heart. None of those numbers are 'big', the strength of the role is in the book. It got Ron Rifkin the Tony. I never saw him, but I saw Danny Burstein and loved the character.

The drunk lady in Promises, Promises. She's only onstage for one song, which is a duet, but it can be exquisite. Katie Finneran stole the show in the (dull) 2010 production of Promises, Promises in the role. She also walked out of the show with her second Tony.

Maybe Anatole in The Great Comet. I'm not a fan of the show, so I don't really listen to the cast recording, but I remember Lucas Steele's character was what caught my attention in the show, and, if I recall correctly, he didn't have much to sing either, he only sang a few lines in the big numbers.

Updated On: 7/16/20 at 03:42 PM