Why Don't More Broadway Divas Work Together?

[Soaring29]

Because their divas!!! Lol, well maybe a little, but I digress. Why don't more Broadway Divas actually star in a show together? Look we have The Rink, we have Side Show, we have War Paint, we have Wicked. But shows with two female leads are ridiculously hard to find and there are more women working in musical theatre then men. And it's not like two female leading shows would be a box office flop  with the right elements. Why haven't Kristin Chenoweth and Kelli O'Hara starred together in a show? Why don't Laura Benanti and Audra McDonald star together in a show(Sound Of Music is not starring together)? Why can't Idina Menzel and Sutton Foster star in a show? Do producers think that two female lead shows just won't make any money? 

[NOWaWarning]

I guess the shows just aren’t being written.

[BrodyFosse123]

Sorry, I gave up reading the OP's post due to ALL the grammar though I can quickly assume safely what they are asking. 

ALL Broadway Divas would LOVE to work together.  Projects are rare where there are female headliners, unless they adapt Luce's THE WOMEN as a Broadway musical (no, not adapt the musical film adaptation THE OPPOSITE SEX but a new Broadway musical adaptation).  

We're lucky we had GREY GARDENS, WAR PAINT, SIDE SHOW, etc. 

[HogansHero]

"there are more women working in musical theatre then [sic]men."

there are? 

[SomethingPeculiar]

I think you are getting at something that goes beyond Broadway: It's less common to have 2 women at the center of a story than it is to have 2 men or man+woman. Sure, there are plenty of examples of work with 2 female leads, but there could/should be more. (Especially in theatre, where women often make the ticket-buying decisions.) Some people view this as subtle sexism. Would that change if more women were writing, producing, directing, and running theatres? Maybe.

This is something that has been in the conversation recently with THREE TALL WOMEN and the fabulous new movie THE FAVORITE.

[dramamama611]

HogansHero said: ""there are more women working in musical theatre then [sic]men."

there are?"

I think she meant TRYING to work in theater...which if you look at HS programs and community theater is true, I'm sure it's less so professionally.

 

Has to do with who is writing, and what they're writing about.  

[jbird5]

Then there’s this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legends!

[GeorgeandDot]

I just don't think writers are writing musicals with two female leads very often. I wish they would. I'd love to see Patti Lupone and Bernadette Peters onstage together or Kelli O'Hara and Laura Benanti. I just don't think the musicals are being created for whatever reason.

[HogansHero]

dramamama611 said: "HogansHero said: ""there are more women working in musical theatre then [sic]men."

there are?"

I think she meant TRYING to work in theater...which if you look at HS programs and community theater is true, I'm sure it's less so professionally.

Has to do with who is writing, and what they're writing about."

OK I obviously get that, though not from the original. And yes it does have to do with who is writing and who is producing although if you look at the substantial number of women who are writing for the theatre right now, the dearth of female buddy shows would seem to warrant a different explanation. (Also note that every single example of a 2 woman show in this thread was written by a man. Could it be that men are more into seeing 2 women together than women are? Just asking, and

[Soaring29]

dramamama611 said: "HogansHero said: ""there are more women working in musical theatre then [sic]men."

there are?"

I think she meant TRYING to work in theater...which if you look at HS programs and community theater is true, I'm sure it's less so professionally. 

 





Has to do with who is writing, and what they're writing about."

 

She is a he and yes partly but I think that there are more musical theatre ACTORS who are women then men. 

 

[HogansHero]

@Soaring29 you seem to be confounding the topic you raised. Originally you were asking about Broadway Divas, but then you started talking (apparently generally) about women in musical theatre. I am unclear about on what level you mean. If you mean what dramamama says, then how are we to make sense of your stated topic? There are a finite number of "Broadway divas." We can argue about who is and who isn't and how many precisely, but I don't see the nexus between that and how many young women aspire to be employed in musical theatre. 

Can you un-mish-mash this for us?

[Soaring29]

That was just a side point regarding the fact that there are more female MT actors then males. I guess I could change the title to "Why Don't More Female Actors Costar In Broadway Shows together?" but it seems like hair splitting at this point. 

[haterobics]

Soaring29 said: "I guess I could change the title to "Why Don't More Female Actors Costar In Broadway Shows together?" but it seems like hair splitting at this point."

Seems like the real question is why there is less material written with two female leads. It's not like there are a ton of shows for two female leads, and people are refusing to do them.

The diva concern would be a more concentrated version of that same issue.

[HogansHero]

I don't see how that changes anything. There is no correlation between the relative number of men and women who are MT actors and the reason more divas don't work together. That makes no sense. This is a potentially interesting subject you started with, but it has come off the rails except for the reductive idea that it's because the people writing and the subjects they are writing about don't create these combinations.

[GavestonPS]

And nobody has mentioned CHICAGO or WICKED?

Or shows not currently running: MAME, FOLLIES, ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, DREAMGIRLS, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES and SIDE SHOW.

And while we're on the subject, how many musicals really have two "vehicle" roles for men? There's only so much you can do in 2.5 hours.

If anywhere, I suspect it's in the supporting roles where you find the imbalance. We have the misfortune to live with a narrative culture where men take action while women stand around and have feelings. (I'm binge-watching DEADWOOD at the moment.)

[haterobics]

GavestonPS said: "And nobody has mentioned CHICAGO or WICKED?"

Wicked was one of the OP's examples in the initial post.

[qolbinau]

" We have the misfortune to live with a narrative culture where men take action while women stand around and have feelings."

My claim is this is why female roles in musicals are typically 'better' than male roles - feelings lend themselves well so much to singing and musical moments. Action doesn't. Even the female Bobbie in "Company" is in my opinion more interesting than the male one because she can actually express a range of emotions in songs like "Someone is Waiting" and "Being Alive" that no male could get away with. 

 

[SweetLips22]

Diva---a self important person [usually female], who is temperamental and difficult to please.

Prima Donna-behaves like a goddess or queen.

Question is--who are the above then go write a show.

 

[everythingtaboo]

I think when you are developing a show (and I'm assuming a musical) the number of "divas" is dwindling, so you have to figure who you're writing for from who is left, do you write to both divas strengths and is there enough material to split between them, all assuming the divas stick with the project through to opening night? And you have to assume what you write will actually work. Take a look at War Paint, which had a good score but a book that was hampered by a "this happened to her, something similar happened to her..." over and over again. And when you write for a diva and they have to replace a hip, a la War Paint, there goes whatever advance you might have and you have to close early. I think writing or producing for more than one just has too many landmines for modern Broadway.

[GavestonPS]

qolbinau said: ""We have the misfortune to live with a narrative culturewhere men take action while women stand around and have feelings."

My claim is this is why female roles in musicals are typically 'better' than male roles - feelings lend themselves well so much to singing and musical moments. Action doesn't. Even the female Bobbie in "Company" is in my opinion more interesting than the male one because she can actually express a range of emotions in songs like "Someone is Waiting" and "Being Alive" that no male could get away with.

"

I don't agree re Company; much as I love the LuPone interpretation, nobody could express a broader range of feeling than Dean Jones did with "Being Alive".

But I think you are spot on in terms of writing. Since musicals became "integrated" with Oklahoma! and theater songs have been based on character, most of the best songs have been written for female singers. Of course, there are exceptions; we don't have to list them all here.

[GavestonPS]

haterobics said: "GavestonPS said: "And nobody has mentioned CHICAGO or WICKED?"

Wicked was one of the OP's examples in the initial post."

So it was. Thank you.

I've reached the point where my short-term memory doesn't last for more than 10 posts.

[South Fl Marc]

SweetLips22 said: "Prima Donna-behaves like a goddess or queem
"

 

The term "Prime Donna"  (translated first lady) means  the leading singer of an opera company. It does not mean behaves like a goddess or queen (not queem - spellcheck is your friend). That definition is more modern and is WRONG.

 

[SweetLips22]

South Fl Marc said: "SweetLips22 said: "Prima Donna-behaves like a goddess or queem
"



The term "Prime Donna" (translated first lady) means the leading singer of an opera company. It does not mean behaves like a goddess or queen (not queem - spellcheck is your friend). That definition is more modern and is WRONG.

"Re-check my post--I typed QUEEN-  and there is no 'edit'--think you've partied with far too many queems or been hanging out with a spellchick.

'She's a prima donna' is definitely for someone who behaves as I said and does relate more to opera than musicals---at least you got that part right.

 

[Lot666]

"Because the big cats can't share a cage."

- Fran Drescher