Roles on Broadway that are not normally wigged?

[StardustsChild]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 1:00pm

Got into a discussion with a friend after seeing Waitress last night about the use of wigs in regards to female characters vs male characters - what female tracks are normally not wigged? And on a related note, male roles that are normally wigged? (Excluding gender bending shows such as Kinky Boots, Tootsie, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, etc). 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 1:03pm

Most of the white guys in Mormon and Beautiful

Most of the principals in Jersey Boys

Almost everyone in Oklahoma (?)

I don't think most of the men in either Broadway production of Miss Saigon wore wigs, either. And maybe some of the women.

[TheSassySam]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 1:09pm

I was thinking about wigs while watching Come From Away last night. 

I believe the Beverly/Annette role is no wig, but the Beulah and Hannah roles are wigged. 

Updated On: 8/2/19 at 01:09 PM

[taylortrensch]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 1:09pm

usually unwigged females: alana (deh), natasha (tgc), all alisons (fun home), all females in ooti except for timoune (i might be mistaken but most have their hair up for most of the show?) & female papa ge, hermione granger (hp:tcc)

usually wigged males: alexander hamilton (ex. jevon mcferrin, ryan vasquez, donald webber jr), spongebob/patrick/plankton, telephone guy (tbv), draco & scorpius malfoy (hp:tcc), dametas (hoh), beetlejuice

Updated On: 8/4/19 at 01:09 PM

[trpguyy]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 1:14pm

Current Hamilton, Austin Scott, has short hair and does not wear a wig. Some of the women in the show are wigged, some are not.

Almost none of the women in Chicago are wigged.

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 1:26pm

I don’t believe the ladies of Hadestown are wearing wigs but I could be wrong. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 1:28pm

The long-short answer is, it really depends on the show and the actor. There's no set answer, and oftentimes things change within a run

It can be much easier to build a wig and style it, instead of dealing with an actor's natural hair –– even if the wig is nearly identical to the actor's hair (like Idina Menzel in If/Then, or Bernadette Peters in every show). It can be a lot of wear-and-tear on thin hair. Sometimes actors switch from real-hair to a wig after a few months in a show.

Wigs are less common on men, though it certainly happens (playing multiple characters, aging up, covering baldness, long hair, etc). Kelsey Grammer wore a wig in LA CAGE, which was as much a character choice (George would care about his outward appearance) as an aesthetic one.

Gizel Jiminez said she's using her natural hair for WICKED (she's currently playing Nessa); that's not the case with every Nessa.

[Lot666]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 2:03pm

The title role in Phantom of the Opera is always double-wigged. There is an outer, dark, full head of hair, and beneath that is an alopecia wig that is only seen at the end of the show when Christine fully unmasks him just before the final lair scene. 

Most of the other male (and female) roles in Phantom are also wigged, but interestingly, the character of Raoul almost always performs with only his natural hair.

Updated On: 8/2/19 at 02:03 PM

[raddersons]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 2:47pm

taylortrensch said: "usually unwigged females: alana (deh), natasha (tgc), all alisons (fun home), all females in ooti except for timoune,female papa ge, hermione granger (hp:tcc)"

I seem to recall an interview with Kate Shindle when she was cast as Big Alison on the Fun Home tour -- I think she wanted to do a wig, but the producers made her cut her hair. 

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 6:40pm

taylortrensch said: "usually unwigged females: hermione granger (hp:tcc)”

 

Didn’t Noma Dumezweni wear a wig? She has short, closely cropped hair. 

 

[AADA81]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 6:41pm

Daddy Warbucks

[joevitus]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 6:42pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "The long-short answer is, itreallydepends on the show and the actor. There's no set answer, and oftentimes things change within a run

It can be much easier to build a wig and style it, instead of dealing with an actor's natural hair ––even if the wig is nearly identical to the actor'shair (like Idina Menzel inIf/Then,or Bernadette Peters in every show). It can be a lot of wear-and-tear on thin hair.Sometimes actors switch from real-hair to a wig after a few months in a show.

Wigs are less common on men, though it certainly happens(playing multiple characters, aging up, covering baldness, long hair, etc).Kelsey Grammer wore a wig in LA CAGE, which was as much a character choice (George would care about his outward appearance)as an aesthetic one.

Gizel Jiminez said she's using her natural hair for WICKED (she's currently playing Nessa); that's not the case with every Nessa."

Does Peters always wear a wig? Did she in Sunday? I never knew this!

[MollyJeanneMusic]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 8:20pm

poisonivy2 said: "I don’t believe the ladies of Hadestown are wearing wigs but I could be wrong."

Eva doesn't wear a wig, but Amber does, I believe.  I don't know about the Fates, but I think their turbans cover the hair anyway, so a wig isn't really necessary.

[StephieElise]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 8:26pm

TheSassySam said: "I was thinking about wigs while watching Come From Away last night.

I believe the Beverly/Annette role is no wig, but the Beulah and Hannah roles are wigged."

Interestingly the wigs for Come From Away vary between productions. In Australia Beverly/Annette wears a chin length strawberry blonde wig (while Zoe Gertz has longer blonde hair), in the UK the wig is a similar style but a darker colour and then it certainly looks like on Broadway they don’t wig. It looks like for quite a few roles they use wigs very similar to the actor’s natural hair. From what I can see it looks like Hannah is the only consistent wig. 

[Broadway Buddy]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 9:06pm

In Tootsie, Sarah Stiles doesn’t wear a wig but her understudies do, and they still don’t look like her hair.

[bmgills]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 9:40pm

I don’t believe any of the Zoes in Dear Evan Hansen have worn wigs.

[Sampatches]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 10:33pm

taylortrensch said: "usually unwigged females: alana (deh), natasha (tgc), all alisons (fun home), all females in ooti except for timoune,female papa ge, hermione granger (hp:tcc)

usually wigged males: alexander hamilton (ex. jevon mcferrin, ryan vasquez, donald webber jr), spongebob/patrick/plankton, telephone guy (tbv), draco & scorpius malfoy (hp:tcc), dametas (hoh)"

All of the women in the most recent OOTI revival save for Kenita Miller were wigged. Cookie Jordan is one of the best designers and wig makers in the business for black hair :)

[Clyde15]

Posted: 8/2/19 at 11:23pm

raddersons said: "taylortrensch said: "usually unwigged females: alana (deh), natasha (tgc), all alisons (fun home), all females in ooti except for timoune,female papa ge, hermione granger (hp:tcc)"

I seem to recall an interview with Kate Shindle when she was cast as Big Alison on the Fun Hometour -- I think she wanted to do a wig, but the producers made her cut her hair."

I believe it was the other way around. I think the producers offered her a wig but she wanted to cut her hair to help her dig into the character. But I could totally be misremembering the article 

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 8/3/19 at 5:41am

"I believe [that in Come from Away that] the Beverly/Annette role is no wig, but the Beulah and Hannah roles are wigged."

Currently on Broadway, I think the only woman that is wigged in CFA is Hannah. Beverly/Annette and Beuluh definitely are not, and I don't think any of the men are, either. 

[Marianne2]

Posted: 8/3/19 at 9:58am

ghostlight2 said: ""I believe [that in Come from Away that]the Beverly/Annette role is no wig, but the Beulah and Hannah roles are wigged."

Currently on Broadway, I think the only woman that is wigged in CFA is Hannah. Beverly/Annette and Beuluh definitely are not, and I don't think any of themen are, either."

This would make sense to me because I think when I saw the show in 2017, Alex Finke had just joined the cast and had blonde hair.  When I saw it two weeks ago, she had brown hair. 

 

[John Adams]

Posted: 8/3/19 at 10:21am

I think the show that has the most wigs for men might be 1776 (possibly Hair?).

I think ErmengardeStopSniveling has the most complete and accurate response RE: when and why wigs are used.

I see wigs as an extension of costuming, and a very convenient way for an actor(-tress) to be consistent in their appearance from show to show.

 I also think unless an actor is bald, women's wigs tend to look more natural than men's.

Updated On: 8/3/19 at 10:21 AM

[spikethebunny]

Posted: 8/3/19 at 11:44am

Patrick Page wears a hairpiece for Hadestown. He showed the before and after on his instastories and joked it was Hades’ Hairclub for Men.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/3/19 at 12:20pm

Fun fact:

Mike Nichols was totally bald from age 4 onward, and the legendary Paul Huntley used to create wigs AND eyebrows for him.

[SneakySylveon]

Posted: 8/3/19 at 12:20pm

poisonivy2 said: "I don’t believe the ladies of Hadestown are wearing wigs but I could be wrong."

Persephone is wearing a wig. They showed it in one of the broadway.com backstage things

Updated On: 8/3/19 at 12:20 PM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/3/19 at 5:57pm

TheQuibbler said: "taylortrensch said: "usually unwigged females:hermione granger (hp:tcc)”

Didn’t Noma Dumezweni wear a wig? She has short, closely cropped hair."

Yes. There's a photo in the souvenir program showing her being fitted for her wig prior to a performance.