cross-gendering roles — Page 2

I would love to see a woman do the Emcee in Cabaret.. although a costume adjustment would be necessary.

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I've never heard of a woman playing Hedwig. I know that Yitzhak (Hedwig's backup singer) is usually played by a woman.

I just read a play called "Anton In Showbusiness" which is a cast of all women, and some of them play men, some play both men and women...it's really clever and I'd love to see/be a part of a production of it.

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A year or two back my school had a production which had a man playing Martha...though still as a woman. Even that was illegal so they changed the title of the show. It was interesting though I didn't quite know why the director made that choice.

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no no no not same sex, a man and a woman but a man playing martha and a woman playing george

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One of my favorite gender ambiguities, however, is that of Pippin's Leading Player. I'm a female and would love to play that role.

But the Leading Player is sex-less, it's just a narrator, there really is an ambiguity that could go either way - kind of like the Narrator in Into the Woods (if it's not double cast as the Mysterious Man).

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I think Velma Kelly is a role I'd love to see played by a guy who could actually dance like Velma Kelly is supposed to. Also the characters of Rosie and Tanya could be played by men. I don't know what roles could be played by women that are usually men, maybe George from Sunday, I don't know, I just made that up.
Why would Albee block all productions of Virginia Woolf starring same-sex couples? Is it a homophobic statement or he just believes that it would hinder the theme of the show?

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Dolly in "Hello, Dolly!"
Mame
Miss Hannigan
Mrs. Lovett

"Pretend you are dealing with 2 gay couples, all men... see how that story grabs ya then!"

I had understood that is how the play was originally envisaged by Albee, but it was deemed too outré for the time.

No, Virginia Woolf was never intended to be a gay couple. Albee has said repeatedly that if he wanted to write about a gay couple, he would.

Cabaret with a lesbian emcee sounds like divine decadence--clearly that production was just bad.

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All right people...this is getting a little silly.

I think that it's safe to say this: there are some (albeit very few) roles that could be played by an actor of the opposite gender. However, there is a point where such a decision would no longer be about being true to the author's vision, but would instead be about the fun of seeing someone in drag, and that's not right. There's nothing wrong with drag performances, but there are some places where they do not belong. Mama Rose should not be played by a man. Period. Neither should Velma Kelly. Or Mame. Unless you wanted to make the show about something other than what it was meant to be.

"Mama Rose should not be played by a man. Period. Neither should Velma Kelly. Or Mame. Unless you wanted to make the show about something other than what it was meant to be. "

Where does it say this? Can you point out the piece of scripture that lays this law down? 400 years ago Juliet would not have been played by a woman. Period. It was, obviously, successful played by a boy actor but it is certainly limiting to stick with that view.
It's an incredibly short-sighted view of things. Can a male or female not bring their talent to bear on a part - opening up a new view or bringing a particular sensibilty to a role? Drag (as it has now become understood) is not what I'm talking about here, it's an actor - of either sex - playing a role and communicating with an audience.

Catching up here:

Cabaret/Emcee... i think it would be REALLY interesting to see a woman play the role. this is such a touchy area and if you have a bad actor playing the part, i could see the concept going down the tube. I don't think of the Emcee as a gendered character to begin with, so for me its inherrently arbitrary.

Ally Sheedy was HORRIBLE in HEDWIG. It's interesting though, no one from the production has ever said anything publicly bad her, however in private they'd be willing to admit otherwise.She was the only person who ever publically trashed herself. She was just bad. She was often drunk and didnt stick to the script. There are horror stories about her refusing to sing songs in the middle of the show or refusing to do monologues unless Yitzak kissed her hand in the show. She once walked off stage in the middle of the show- making yitzak sing wicked little town. Apparently once she spent 30 minutes talking about Jeans and the Vagina monologues. She killed the show.

Anyways...

The easiest parts to translate as a drag role are older women characters who are in the show for comic relief- these being the Mdm. Morrible, Dutchess from Chitty, Miss Hannigen characters. Other roles that would work well as drag roles are the over the top overbearing (& sometimes campy) characters: Mamma Rose, Auntie Mame etc... And then there are the roles that would be VERY hard to cross gender. Velma, Roxie, Queenie, The Bakers Wife, Maureen etc....

Women playing men are harder to sell- its less sensational (in the jerry springer sorta way.) its not as exciting. its certainly less taboo. Think about this. if a woman wore men's clothes out on the street would anything think much? Probably not. But put a man on the street in womens clothes and everyone stares for miles. Thats part of the reason why women playing men are less intriguing. Sad- but true.

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This has been a fascinating thread, and while a lot of good points were made on all sides, I think I tend to agree with Distinctive Baritone and TheatreDiva. Just because it's interesting or possible to cross-dress a role, doesn't necessarily make it a good choice. In my experience, where this has been tried, it only rarely works or enhances the audience's perception or deepens its understanding of the play or musical. Much of the time it's incredibly distracting, with the audience more concerned with the shock-value or change than with the material being presented. That does a disservice both to the cast and to the material, in my opinion.

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