Greatest Cast of Characters

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 6/11/20 at 5:55pm

What show would you say has the strongest cast of characters?

For straight plays, Id say Angels in America.

For musicals, Id say Into the Woods.

Both shows have a good number of principles (Angels in America only has principles), who get to show off both their comedic and dramatic chops, playing characters with a lot of depth, particularly the former where theyre filled to the brim with it.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 6/11/20 at 6:01pm

Absolutely agree with you. Specifically, the 2018 cast of Angels in America on Broadway. There was not one weak link in the cast. They were all thrilling and brilliant, which is really rare these days. 

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 6/11/20 at 7:00pm

Hairspray has a lot of great, memorable characters.

[C.Jack]

Posted: 6/12/20 at 1:56am

Sondheim’s shows tend to usually have strong and memorable ensembles casts, i.e. Into The Woods. One, however, I don’t see mentioned is Follies. While only four true “leads”, some of the show’s most famous numbers and characters come from its ensemble supporting cast of supporting characters such as Carlotta, Hattie, Stella, etc.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 6/12/20 at 7:23am

Ragtime.

[ImaginaryManticore]

Posted: 6/12/20 at 11:12am

My first thought was Into the Woods too. But when I think of the journeys the characters go through and the brilliant moments the actors get, my pick would be A Little Night Music.

For plays, I have to agree about Angels in America. Though if we left aside depth and were talking about the sheer number of characters who are iconic and unique, A Midsummer Night's Dream would have to be up there.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 6/12/20 at 12:07pm

OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD (in no special order):

MUSICALS:

-- Follies

-- Ragtime

-- Nine

-- Cabaret

-- Les Mis

-- Sweeney Todd

-- Chicago

-- A Little Night Music

 

PLAYS:

-- To Kill a Mockingbird

-- A Streetcar Named Desire (small but 4 great roles and totally different characters)

-- You Can't Take it With You

-- Angels in America

-- The Ferryman

-- Fences

-- The Cherry Orchard

-- King Lear

-- Hamlet

[Hot Pants]

Posted: 6/12/20 at 12:11pm

Jarethan said: "OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD (in no special order):

MUSICALS:

-- Follies

-- Ragtime

-- Nine

-- Cabaret

-- Les Mis

-- Sweeney Todd

-- Chicago

-- A Little Night Music



PLAYS:

-- To Kill a Mockingbird

-- A Streetcar Named Desire (small but 4 great roles and totally different characters)

-- You Can't Take it With You

-- Angels in America

-- The Ferryman

-- Fences

-- The Cherry Orchard

-- King Lear

-- Hamlet"

I’ll say, that in terms of pure music, Sweeney Todd has the best ensemble. All 9 principles have wildly different, yet exceptional sounds to all their music.

 

And in terms of Shakespeare shows, Twelfth Night deserves mention, as it has several standout roles.

[ggersten]

Posted: 6/12/20 at 12:25pm

Plays:

Adding: Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike -  Not a "small" or non-memorable role in this show - all memorable - well, maybe not Nina....

There may only be four characters in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, but what a foursome!

Does, "I Am My Own Wife" count - one actor, but many characters!

Musicals are tough to judge - because of ensembles and more "small roles" than in a typical play.  I'll nominate Fiddler, as even some of the smaller roles (Yenta, the Constable, the Rabbi) are strongly written and identifying (in my opinion) (Ok- Tevye's two youngest daughters barely exist). Whereas, in Into The Woods, for example, I don't think Rapunzel and her Prince and Tom's Mother are particularly "great" (in my opinion)

 

[Leaf Coneybear]

Posted: 6/12/20 at 11:59pm

I'd say Assassins. Each of them are a real historical person and Sondheim does a great job of giving them all strong personality types so the audience can assess their real-life actions.

I also totally agree with those who are saying Ragtime. Another example of a show with an incredibly high amount of characters based on historical figures, and the show does a great job of making them seem like seperate, real people, not just caricatures of them.

Updated On: 6/13/20 at 11:59 PM

[Fan123]

Posted: 6/14/20 at 7:45am

Not sure if it's the greatest, but for musicals, 'Grand Hotel' has quite a few good characters given the large number of principals. Good songs, interesting journeys, moral ambiguities.

[theatreguy12]

Posted: 6/14/20 at 11:03am

She Loves Me

[Jarethan]

Posted: 6/14/20 at 2:41pm

theatreguy12 said: "She Loves Me"

Absolutely agree.  I clearly forgot that one when I compiled my list.  Every defined character has at least one good song, and they are all so well drawn.