Carol Channing in HELLO, DOLLY! Pearl Bailey in HELLO, DOLLY! Patti LuPone in GYPSY Elizabeth Ashley in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF Angela Lansbury in DEAR WORLD Angela Lansbury in GYPSY Gwen Verdon in SWEET CHARITY Liza Minnelli in CHICAGO Zoe Caldwell in MASTER CLASS Patti LuPone in MASTER CLASS Angela Lansbury in MAME
Robert Goulet in THE HAPPY TIME Richard Kiley in MAN OF LA MANCHA John Cullum in SHENANDOAH George Hearn in LA CAGE AUX FOLLES Jeremy Irons in THE REAL THING Alec Baldwin in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE Eric McCormack in THE MUSIC MAN Jerry Orbach in PROMISES, PROMISES Martin Short in THE GOODBYE GIRL Morris Carnovsky in THE TEMPEST James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer in OTHELLO
Ok, these are my faves from what I have seen on Broadway and Off Broadway In no particular order…
Patti LuPone in Sweeney Todd Bernadette Peters in Gypsy Tammy Blanchard in Gypsy Sutton Foster in The Drowsy Chaperone Julie White- Little Dog Laughed (so so good!) Dennis O'Hare – Take Me Out (loved him!) Christine Baranski in Regrets Only Christina Applegate in Sweet Charity Blythe Danner in Suddenly Last Summer Julianne Moore in The Vertical Hour Ashley Judd in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
female Male Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens Raul Esparza in Company Lachanze in The Color Purple David Hyde Pierce In Curtains Audra Mcdonald in 110 in the Shade Hadley Fraser in The Pirate Queen Idina Menzel in Wicked Gavin Lee In Mary Poppins Kristen Chenoweth in Wicked Matthew Morrison in Piazza Victoria Clark in Light In the Piazza Hugh Jackman in Boy from Oz Sutton Foster in The Drowsy Chaperone Norbert Leo Butz in Dirty Rotten Marissa Jaret Winokur in Hairspray John Lithgow in Dirty Rotten Bernadette Peter in Gypsy Nathan Lane in The Producers Debra Monk in Curtains Matthew Broderick In Producers
Current Avatar:The sensational Aaron Tveit in the soon to be hit production of Catch Me If You Can.
I only came up with 7 of each. They may not make sense to you, but they do to me. In no order other than how they popped into my head. And yes, I included off-Broadway in a couple of places.
Male: Andrew Scott ~ The Vertical Hour (I give it to him over Bill Nighy because of the growth in Philip over the course of the show's run. Bill was pretty much the same from preview #3 to closing.) Steve Kazee ~ 110 in the Shade (Again, superb growth through the run.) Frank Langhella ~ Frost/Nixon Michael Sheen ~ Frost Nixon Michael Ceveris ~ LoveMusik Bob Martin ~ The Drowsy Chaperone Steve Blanchard ~ Beauty and the Beast
Female: Julianne Moore ~ The Vertical Hour (Again, growth through the run. And when you really got the character, you understood WHY she was "subdued" during Act I.) Eve Best ~ A Moon For the Misbegotten Vanessa Redgrave ~ The Year of Magical Thinking Audra McDonald ~ 110 In The Shade Donna Murphy ~ LoveMusik Nilaja Sun ~ No Child... Rutina Wesley ~ In Darfur
Experience live theater. Experience paintings. Experience books. Live, look and listen like artists! ~ imaginethis
LIVE THAT LESSON!!!!!!
DONNA MURPHY in Lovemusik MARIA FRIEDMAN in Passion ANGELA LANSBURY in Sweeney Todd BERNADETTE PETERS in Gypsy VICTORIA CLARK in The Light In The Piazza KRISTIN CHENOWETH in Wicked SUSAN EGAN in Cabaret MARIN MAZZIE in Ragtime MARIN MAZZIE in Kiss Me, Kate BERNADETTE PETERS in Annie, Get Your Gun
MICHAEL CERVERIS in Sweeney Todd BRENT CARVER in Kiss Of The Spider Woman PHILIP QUAST in The Fix DANIEL EVANS in Grand Hotel DANIEL EVANS in Sunday In The Park With George PHILIP QUAST in South Pacific RAUL ESPARZA in Company MICHAEL CERVERIS in Lovemusik BARRETT FOA in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee BARRETT FOA in Avenue Q
THEATRE 2020: CURTAINS**** LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE GIRLS***** WICKED***** KEITH RAMSAY TAKING NOTES WITH EDWARD SECKERSON***** KAYLEIGH MCKNIGHT CONCERT***** RAGS***** ON MCQUILLAN'S HILL** DEAR EVAN HANSEN***** THE JURY***
Tonya Pinkins in Caroline or Change Bernadette Peters in Gypsy Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens Victoria Clark in Light In the Piazza Donna Murphy in Follies Patti LuPone in Gypsy
Angela Lansbury in GYPSY Carol Channing in HELLO DOLLY! Imelda Staunton in INTO THE WOODS Julia Mackenzie in FOLLIES Colm Wilkinson in LES MISERABLES Gwen Verdon in CHICAGO Chita Rivera in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN Bernadette Peters in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE Colleen Dewhurst in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF
Hal Holbrook in KING LEAR Jerry Ohrbach in CHICAGO Mandy Patinkin in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE George Hearn in LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
Wow, incredibly difficult. I'm sure my answers would change if you asked me tomorrow! Limiting my responses to 10 performers in musicals (plays is a whole 'nother list!)
Men: Tim Shew in Les Miserables (Valjean) Raul Esparza in Company Brian Stokes Mitchell in Sweeney Todd (Sweeney, Kennedy Center), Man of La Mancha, Kiss Me Kate and Ragtime Boyd Gaines in She Loves Me Gregory Hines in Jelly's Last Jam John Lloyd Young in Jersey Boys Matthew Broderick in the Producers Nathan Lane in The Producers, Forum, Guys and Dolls Hugh Panaro in Les Miserables (Marius) Wilson Jermaine Heredia in Rent
Ladies: Victoria Clark in Piazza Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens Lea Salonga in Miss Saigon and Les Miserables (Fantine) Faith Prince in Guys and Dolls Donna Murphy in Wonderful Town, Passion Laurie Beechman in Les Miserables (Fantine) Kelli O'Hara in Piazza Randy Graff in City of Angels Audra McDonald in Carousel, Ragtime and 110 Sally Murphy in Carousel
"This is wanting something, this is reaching for it,
This is wishing that a moment would arrive.
This is taking chances, this is almost touching, what the beauty is." --The Light in the Piazza
Hooray for Tom148502, Dollypop, and philcrosby who have actually seen some of the legendary performances on the American stage. Reading the other lists just makes me feel old and kinda sad (I mean, really, what kind of world is it that Christina Applegate can be compared to Colleen Dewhurst?)
'Our whole family shouts. It comes from us livin' so close to the railroad tracks'
Best12bars you got to see Geraldine Page in Agnes of God, may god what a treat that would have been.
Philcosby and Dollypop you guys have seen some perfomances that i would have killed to see.
But let me add the cast of Angels in America to the list.
Well I didn't want to get into it, but he's a Satanist.
Every full moon he sacrifices 4 puppies to the Dark Lord and smears their blood on his paino.
This should help you understand the score for Wicked a little bit more.
Tazber's: Reply to
Is Stephen Schwartz a Practicing Christian
The single best performance I've ever seen on any stage (from Broadway to Regional) is Natasha Richardson in CABARET. Astonishing, astonishing, astonishing.
"I'm so looking forward to a time when all the Reagan Democrats are dead."
Hooray for Tom148502, Dollypop, and philcrosby who have actually seen some of the legendary performances on the American stage.
I don't know why you say "hooray." It's not like any of us have a choice for when we were born.
"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife
Male Robert Morse How To Succeed... Anthony Perkins Equus Robert Duvall Wait Until Dark Brian Dennehy Death of a Salesman Richard Burton Camelot Brian Stokes Mitchel Kiss Me Kate Joel Grey George M! Robert Sean Leonard Long Day's Journey Into Night Robert Goulet Camelot Alec Clunes My Fair Lady
Female Julie Andrews My Fair Lady Suzanne Pleshette The Miracle Worker Patty Duke The Miracle Worker Michele Lee How To Succeed... Carol Channing Hello, Dolly! Angela Lansbury Gypsy Angela Lansbury Mame Vanessa Redgrave Long Day's Journey Into Night Lee Remick Wait Until Dark Julie Andrews Camelot
There have been many, many great performances, and many other great moments within performances, but these are the ones that stand out vividly in my memory. I've probably missed more of the great ones than I've seen simply because I don't live in NYC. My list of performances I WISH I'd seen is sadly much too long. Thank goodness PBS has preserved some of them on DVD. Here are my live highlights in no particular order:
Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, THE GIN GAME Donna McKechnie, A CHORUS LINE Rachel York, RAGTIME and DESSA ROSE Kevin Spacey, MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN Victoria Clark, LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA Patti LuPone, GYPSY Bernadette Peters, GYPSY Julie Harris, THE BELLE OF AMHERST Julie Harris, LETTICE AND LOVAGE Ned Beatty, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF Jonathan Pryce, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS
Patti LuPone in Gypsy Christine, Mary, and Erin in Grey Gardens Audra McDonald in 110 in the Shade Eve Best in A Moon for the Misbegotten LaChanze in The Color Purple
Raul Esparza in Company Christopher Plummer in Inherit the Wind Hugh Panero in The Phantom of the Opera Brian Stokes Mitchell in Man of la Mancha Terrence Mann in Beauty and the Beast
"In theater, the process of it is the experience. Everyone goes through the process, and everyone has the experience together. It doesn't last - only in people's memories and in their hearts. That's the beauty and sadness of it. But that's life - beauty and the sadness. And that is why theater is life." - Sherie Rene Scott
Idina Menzel in Wicked Eden Espinosa in Wicked LaChanze in The Color Purple Felicia Fields in The Color Purple Audra in 110 in the Shade Tonya Pinkins in Caroline or Change Capathia Jenkins in Fame Becomes Me Darlene Love in Hairspray Diana Degarmo in Hairspray Sherie Rene Scott in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Cherry Jones in Doubt
Marcus Paul James in RENT Jason Tam in A Chorus Line ...I wish I can remember some great male performances I've seen, but almost none of them especially stand out for me.
1. Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens 2. Raul Esparza in The Normal Heart 3. Raul Esparza in Company 4. Brian Stokes Mitchell in Man of La Mancha 5. Michael Ceveris & Patti Lupone in Sweeney Todd
"I really liked the show--Wish I saw Boy's Night...Am I allowed as I am not a boy anymore:)"-duffyny1
Male performances: 1. Brian Stokes Mitchell - Ragtime (Toronto) 2. Colm Wilkinson - Les Miserables (Toronto) 3. Kevin Gray - Miss Saigon (Toronto) 4. Will Chase - Miss Saigon (2nd National Tour) 5. Matt Rawle - Martin Guerre (London) 6. Colm Wilkinson - The Phantom of the Opera (Toronto) 7. Michael Mattis - Martin Guerre (London) 8. Hadley Fraser - The Pirate Queen (Broadway) 9. Norm Lewis - Miss Saigon (Toronto) 10. Charles Azulay - Miss Saigon (Toronto)
Female performances: 1. Marin Mazzie - Ragtime (Toronto) 2. Audra McDonald - Ragtime (Toronto) 3. Ma-Anne Dionisio - Miss Saigon (Toronto) 4. Stephanie J. Block - The Pirate Queen (Broadway) 5. Megan Hilty - Wicked (LA) 6. Eden Espinosa - Wicked (LA) 7. Joanna Ampil - Jesus Christ Superstar (London) 8. Susan Gilmour - Les Miserables (Toronto) 9. Karen Ziemba - Chicago (National Tour) 10. -------------
Bernadette Peters - Gypsy and Annie Get Your Gun Norbert Leo Butz - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Christina Applegate - Sweet Charity Ashley Brown - Mary Poppins Diana DeGarmo - Hairspray Shoshana Bean - Wicked Lea Salonga - Les Miserables
I, too, am jealous of some of the performances that others have had a chance to see!
Not limiting to Broadway and in no particular order:
Brian Stokes Mitchell (RAGTIME & KISS ME, KATE) Christopher Plummer (INHERIT THE WIND) Bill Irwin (WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?) Billy Crudup (PILLOWMAN & THE ELEPHANT MAN) Michael Stuhlbarg (PILLOWMAN) Jefferson Mays (I AM MY OWN WIFE) David Hyde Pierce (CURTAINS) Manoel Felciano (SWEENEY TODD) Raul Esparza (MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG) John Cameron Mitchell (HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH)
Kathleen Turner (WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?) Marin Mazzie (RAGTIME & KISS ME, KATE) Victoria Clark (THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA) Julie White (THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED & BAD DATES) Christine Ebersole (GREY GARDENS) Mary Louise Wilson (GREY GARDENS) Kathleen Chalfant (WIT) Cherry Jones (DOUBT) Audra McDonald (RAGTIME) Marian Seldes (too many shows to name)
Also: Original Broadway Cast of 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE Original Broadway Cast of CURTAINS
Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens The entire cast in the Actors' Fund production of Chess Sherie Rene Scott in The Last 5 Years Nathan Lane in The Producers Hugh Jackman in The Boy from Oz Norbert Leo Butz in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
subject to change as I think about it some more
(formerly bronte604)
"You really just love money and power and capitalism? You know they're never going to love you back."
"Things happen for the best...I don't even believe that myself."
Bernadette Peters- Sunday in the Park with George (even though this is purely of the DVd, since I wasn't alive when the original run. but boy, do I wish I did!) George Maguire- Billy Elliot Travis Yates- Billy Elliot Sarah Saltzberg- Spelling Bee (purely of --------) Emma Williams- Sex, Chips, Rock and Roll. musicalfan07
in no particular order, and not limited to broadway
Ladies: 1. Marin in Ragtime 2. Marin in Kiss me, Kate 3. Audra in Ragtime 4. Cherry Jones in Doubt (final performance of national tour) 5. Heather Headley in Aida 6. Victoria Clark in Light in the Piazza 7. Leslie Uggams in "Stormy weather: the story of Lena Horne" 8. Bernadette in Gypsy 9. Kaitlin Hopkins in Batboy 10. all the girls in the OBC of Spelling bee
the men:
1.Stokes in Ragtime 2.Stokes in Kiss me Kate 3.Eugene Fleming in Dreamgirls 4. Chris Sarandon in Piazza 5. AAron Lazar in Piazza 6. Boyd Gaines in Journey's End 7. Mark Jacoby in Ragtime 8. Michael Mulherin and Lee Wilkof in Kiss me Kate 9. Deven May in Batboy 10. All the Guys in Spelling Bee
"I'm an American, Damnit!!! And if it's three things I don't believe in, it's quitting and math."
Kenneth Branagh - Henry V Ian McKellen - Richard III and Bent Simon Russell Beale - Volpone Jonathan Pryce - Miss Saigon Davis Gaines - Phantom John Lloyd Young - Jersey Boys Jefferson Mays - I Am My Own Wife Kevin Kline - The Pirates of Penzance Bill Irwin - Virginia Woolf Stephen Spinella - Angels in America Alan Rickman - Dangerous Liaisons Raphael Sbarge - The Twilight of the Golds
Kathy Bates - Frankie and Johnny Emma Thompson - King Lear Cherry Jones - The Heiress Lillian Garrett-Groag - The Kentucky Cycle Cynthia Mace - The Goat, or Who is Sylvia Patti LuPone - Evita Lea Salonga - Miss Saigon Maggie Smith - Three Tall Women Jodi Thelen - The Twilight of the Golds