Nathan Lane’s Greatest Performance

[NameGreg]

Given Nathan Lane is widely seen as one of the theatres all time greats, what would you point to as his best performance?

My choice would have to be Angels in America. He dove headfirst into that role and the results were frighteningly magnificent.

[JGPR2]

I only saw him in "Guys And Dolls" and "The Producers and he was wonderful in both shows but I would give slight edge to "The Producers".

[Sutton Ross]

His Roy Cohn was absolutely brilliant. He was astounding in the role and his Tony was well deserved. I love listening to the audio book of that show. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Ever? “The Birdcage”.

[JBroadway]

Comedically, it's gotta be "The Producers." As for his more recent dramatic work...I would've said "The Iceman Cometh" except that his otherwise-fantastic performance devolved into mindless screaming in Act 4, which was such a disappointment. So I'd probably go with Angels as well. 

[BrodyFosse123]

 

 

[DramaTeach]

Nathan Detroit. Period.

[Wee Thomas2]

Definitely NOT Gary

[Smaxie]

Far and away - The Lisbon Traviata,

[PutonyourWarPaint]

Hand in a toilet, Difficult People 

[BrodyFosse123]

 

[jv92]

The press clips of that stunning “happy endings in musicals” alone leads me to believe that, historically, it probably was LOVE! VALOR! COMPASSION!, but of the ones I’ve seen, THE NANCE. 

BTW, he was excellent in GARY, which is a worthy play I’m glad was seen on Broadway. What Lane does really well is turning emotion on a dime— going from funny to suddenly devastatingly sad. There was a moment in THE NANCE where he did that, and he did that in the LVC monologue, too. 
 

 

[NJGUY]

Having seen him about 11-12 times on Broadway/Off-Broadway, I would say Angels in America for dramatic acting and The Producers for musical comedy.  Yet I enjoyed Gary; for me, just to watch him perform on stage is a treat,

[castlestreet]

His performance in Love! Valor! Compassion! for me ranks as his greatest stage role ever. He was equally funny and heartbreaking in a role that was written for him. To this day his major monologue brings tears to my eyes.

I also believe his screen role as Albert in The Birdcage is a triumph. There are so many moments in that movie where he alone finds the heart of the piece-my favorite being right after he discovers that it is in fact Val who is home, and goes into his room to check on him - pure quiet brilliance. He obviously nails the comedy and it was casting genius to have Williams play the more subdued of the two leads because everyone at that point was used to his over the top performances. Lane again is equally funny as he is poignant and the movie for all of its many laughs has real heart - mostly due to his very touching performance.

[Jarethan]

On stage, I have seen Lane in A Funny Thing, Guys and Dolls, The Producers, It's Only a Play, Butley, The Front Page, The Nance, November, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Odd Couple, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Love Valor Compassion, and Gary. Even given that I HATED Gary, I have never seen him give a lee-than-wonderful performance,

 

I did not see the  Angels in America revival, nor was I able to see Waiting for Godot, as neither worked with my out-of-towner calendar.

 

With that background, the decision is very easy for me.  I think Lane gave the greatest musical performance I have ever seen by a actor, with Christopher Plummer in Cyrano being second.  I know that people like to diss The Producers now, but they need to remember that they are dissing it because they feel it is not as good as they thought because Nathan Lane left.

My second favorite Lane performance: The Nance or The Man Who Came to Dinner, two wildly different roles.

[Jarethan]

On stage, I have seen Lane in A Funny Thing, Guys and Dolls, The Producers, It's Only a Play, Butley, The Front Page, The Nance, November, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Odd Couple, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Love Valor Compassion, and Gary. Even given that I HATED Gary, I have never seen him give a lee-than-wonderful performance,

 

I did not see the  Angels in America revival, nor was I able to see Waiting for Godot, as neither worked with my out-of-towner calendar.

 

With that background, the decision is very easy for me.  I think Lane gave the greatest musical performance I have ever seen by a actor, with Christopher Plummer in Cyrano being second.  I know that people like to diss The Producers now, but they need to remember that they are dissing it because they feel it is not as good as they thought because Nathan Lane left.

My second favorite Lane performance: The Nance or The Man Who Came to Dinner, two wildly different roles.

[brian1973]

He’s pretty much just Nathan Lane in everything though so not sure I could single out one performance.

I guess The Producers at a push.

[Kad]

I don't think Lane has ever given a bad performance. But for his screen work, Birdcage for sure. For stage, hard to say, as I didn't get to see him live when he was at his peak for musical comedy (Guys and Dolls, Forum, The Producers). His performance in Angels was exceptional, an unexpected masterstroke of casting.

Even at his worst (which, in his case, would be at his most schticky and self-indulgent), he ends up elevating a production.

[brian1973]

He is always very good. But he’s always the same too.

[Mitch101]

I happen to be one of the lucky few who saw Nathan Lane play Mr. Toad in Wind in the Willows.  It was a case of a star is born. He stole the show with his brilliant comic antics.  I seem to recall he borrowed liberally when he created Max.  He did it first as Toad.  

[ViniFromBrazil]

Lips Together, Teeth Apart!

[broadwaybabywannabe2]

Smaxie said: "Far and away -The Lisbon Traviata,"

i saw this production when it came to Los Angeles, and fell in love with Nathan Lane at that point!!...i totally agree...

[devonian.t]

Here to kiss ass, since I can't think of a bad performance.  Loved him most in Forum, though.

[MCW1227]

I’ve seen him several times and he’s always outstanding but I think my favorite performance was the Nance. He had to switch gears constantly to portray a terribly tormented man while also being a hilarious vaudevillian performer.. Very different and very powerful.  

[rosscoe(au)]

I only had the pleasure of seeing him in The Addams Family , I was one of the few who absolutely loved that show ( was it perfect. Far from it. Was it an enjoyable entertaining night of theatre. F**K Yes )

Lane performance of Happy Sad from that above mentioned show was beautiful heartbreaking.

How I wished I had the chance to see Angels.

How I wish that the Birdcage was a musical ( well I wish they just did La Cage )