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
in On the Town. Yet it's a pretty great role.
