This is a question I've been pondering for some time. When discussing in print the characters in plays and films, should the names of the characters be placed inside quotation marks? Or shouldn't they? Or does it matter? Like, listing Vivian Blaine as "Adelaide" in press releases and scholarly journals. Or, casting notices like, "EPAs for the role of "Tony" in "West Side Story," or, in novels: "When I grow up, I want to be like "Stanley Kowalski" and tear my undershirt!" Is this practice clear, or mannered? What say ye, Message Board?
And yet, I see this is press releases all the time. Maybe it's so that when they get to "Third Man" and "Girl with Tray" and use quotes there, it makes some sense alongside the characters who have names?