What are Female Heavy Plays with a Male Lead?

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 7/9/20 at 9:32am

Just had this random thought and wanted to ask it. I was thinking more along the lines of straight plays, but Im open to any answers, and Im not excluding plays that also have female leads, and a more limited number of male supporting players.

For the record, I already have two that come to mind: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike for plays and Nine for musicals. But let me know what other shows apply to this criteria that Im missing.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 7/9/20 at 10:28am

From a musical standpoint, Stop The World I Want To Get Off is another good example (only 1 male character who is the lead with an all-female ensemble and either 1 woman playing all the other female principal roles or the roles can be split among multiple women).

The first play that comes to mind is Some Girls by Neil Labute (I guarantee there are far better plays that fit this description, this is just the first one I thought of for some reason).

[LarryD2]

Posted: 7/9/20 at 10:35am

Significant Other

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 7/9/20 at 11:31am

Jake’s Women by Neil Simon

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/9/20 at 11:38am

Hot Pants said: "Just had this random thought and wanted to ask it. I was thinking more along the lines of straight plays, but Im open to any answers, and Im not excluding plays that also have female leads, and a more limited number of male supporting players.

For the record, I already have two that come to mind: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike for plays and Nine for musicals. But let me know what other shows apply to this criteria that Im missing."

I don't think your Sonya example holds up.  It has a cast of 5, I think.  Two mean, three women.  It is an ensemble cast if there ever was one.  The role of Vanya is not the lead  IMO...he has that big scene late in the play, but that doesn't mae him the lead.

I agree with Nine.  That was the first thing I thought of.  

[ScarletSongs]

Posted: 7/9/20 at 12:56pm

There's the musical "No one called ahead" by Paul Gordon (1 man, 5 women - and each one has at least one solo song).

"Little Women" and "We are the Tigers" are other female heavy musicals but since I haven't seen either I can't say if there's a real male lead role as well...

I know you are looking more for straight plays but I can't really think of one.

 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 7/9/20 at 4:33pm

This is a tough one. After scrolling through the list of shows I've seen, the best example I can think of for plays (not musicals) is Teenage Dick, by Mike Lew.

The lead is male, and there is one more male supporting character, while the other 4 supporting characters are all women. So the cast is 66% female, with a male lead. 

 

[ViniFromBrazil]

Posted: 7/9/20 at 6:00pm

Present Laughter!

[ViniFromBrazil]

Posted: 7/9/20 at 6:00pm

Present Laughter!

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 7/9/20 at 11:40pm

Women Laughing Alone Eating Salad is a play about the commodification of femininity, and it's central character is a man.

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/14/20 at 7:57am

Women and Wallace - Jonathan Marc Sherman

Last of the Red Hot Lovers - Neil Simon

The House of Blue Leaves - John Guare

Updated On: 7/14/20 at 07:57 AM

[toottoot]

Posted: 7/15/20 at 9:47pm

Boeing-Boeing 

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 7/18/20 at 11:26am

Can think of two Neil Simon ones, Last of the Red Hot Lovers and something with Alan Alda... Jake's Women I think it was called
The Loves of Anatole. 
Platanov/Wild Honey/The Present
Ivanov 
Strindberg's The Father 
The Ferryman (of course it's also male heavy, duck heavy, goat heavy...) 
Don Carlos

 

[TakumaTanaka]

Posted: 11/2/22 at 2:58am

ça vient de m'arriver Maison des feuilles bleues - John Guare

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 11/3/22 at 3:51pm

Blithe Spirit. 2M 5W. The only other male besides Charles is a smaller supporting role.