For me the first name that came to mind was Christine Ebersole. But that's just me.
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We must have different Gods. My God said "do to others what you would have them do to you". Your God seems to have said "My Way or the Highway".
I find it interesting that everyones answer to this question has come in the form of a musical actress. They are not the be all end all of the Broadway community. Cate Blanchett is not a musical actress. I think that Elizabeth Marvel is the clear answer to this question. Or maybe Amy Morton. Intense and brilliantly talented dramatic actresses - non musical.
Belleof14thStreet, Audra has distinguished herself to be more than just a musical actress as evidenced by her heartbreaking turn in Raisin in the Sun! It just happens that most of her parts are in musicals.
All are versatile, have Tonys (or in Burton's case, Tony-worthy), and are relatively young.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
I was gonna say Cherry Jones, but I think she's sort of in a class all by herself.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
Belleof14thStreet, "intense and brilliantly talented dramatic actresses - non musical" is your interpretation of what constitutes a Cate Blanchett equivalent, but it's not the sole explanation of the question as stated.
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Just saying. Although I am a fan of all of the mentioned musical actresses - Christine Ebersole, Audra McDonald, and Sutton Foster - none of them made sense when the purpose was to draw a comparison to Cate Blanchett. All I'm saying. I will second the Cherry Jones mention, however. She is one of our luminaries of the American stage.
But, I feel like the Academy LOVES to nominate Cate every single year, even if the movie was slammed (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, anyone?). So, I feel like Sutton Foster would also be an equivalent because she tends to receive Tony nominations for a good amount, proportionally, of her shows.
I don't think its fair, since most of us haven't heard Blanchett sing, to compare who to musical theatre actors. It is a different craft. There ARE non-musical actors on Broadway.
The reason I would compare Donna Murphy (primarily a musical theater actress) with someone like Blanchett, is because of Murphy's meticulous approach to each character she plays, her immense versatility, and of course the class that she immediately brings to any role (and subsequently any production) she is in. Same could be said for Jones, Burton, and perhaps Laura Linney. I think Sutton Foster is insanely talented but I don't think she can be compared to Blanchett in any way, except for the fact they are both female actors.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
What i meant when i was making this thread is that who can transform into so many kinds of roles doing brilliantly in everyone. For example Cate played both Queen Elizabeth and Bob Dylan and landed oscar nominations. She also won an oscar for playing Katherine Hepburn and played an elf. She is versatile in the way that she is performs brilliantly in all of her movies. So i just wanted to see your ideas on who had this main talent. It does not matter if the are musical or non musical. It does not matter if they are regulars on broadway or rarely seen. If they just have this quality it is fine.
Current Avatar:The sensational Aaron Tveit in the soon to be hit production of Catch Me If You Can.
Right. It's not a matter of singing or non-singing. It's a matter of transforming oneself so completely that each and every performance is markedly different yet equally brilliant.
As much as I enjoy Sutton Foster, she's got a long way to go before I consider her as brilliant and versatile an actress as those I mentioned above.
And yes, I do think that Donna Murphy is the best comparison.
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