# Broadway!! What Role Do YOU want to Play? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 22, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529 "2004-10-22T01:47:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/41 "2004-10-22T14:31:24Z")
Oh, and _Sky Masterson_ in _Guys & Dolls_ - I probably could pull that one off, with enough rehearsal and accent training. ---
**Author:** ![leafrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@leafrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leafrog)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/42 "2004-10-22T14:37:32Z")
Oooh, ever since I was a lass of 12 (25 odd years ago) and would dance around my room listening to the soundtrack to Chicago, I’ve wanted to play **Matron Mama Morton** I can belt out a tune like nobody’s business and have the bod to bump and grind with. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/43 "2004-10-22T15:12:58Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I’ve seen a production with a female Pilate and it didn’t hurt the play at all. Since the Biblical account has Mrs. Pilate giving her husband the dream, this is only setting accounts right. I’d love to be Mrs. Thenardier in Les Miz. She gets the best lines. Or Honoria Glossip in By Jeeves, so I could sing “It’s A Pig.” ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/44 "2004-10-22T15:17:09Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Jekyll and Hyde in _Jekyll and Hyde_ > > Of course, seeing as I can’t sing worth a crap, I can never really have a major role in a musical (of course, I’m not claiming to be a superb actor or anything, but my acting is 100x better than my singing!) I’d like to play Jekyll but not Hyde. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/45 "2004-10-22T15:35:32Z")
Gavroche in _Les Mis_ (London version, with “Little People” in full) Little Red Riding Hood in _Into the Woods_ (oh, the **fun** I could have with Mr. Wolf!) Nicely-Nicely Johnson in _Guys and Dolls_ But, then again, I am something of a show-off, and I like having big show-stopping production numbers. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/46 "2004-10-22T15:50:24Z")
Hysterium in _A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to The Forum_. Or Anna in _Pete Griffin Presents “The King and I”_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/47 "2004-10-22T15:51:37Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Hysterium in _A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to The Forum_. > > Or Anna in _Pete Griffin Presents “The King and I”_ > > 😃 Dang. Make that: _Peter Griffin Presents “The King and I”_ ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/48 "2004-10-22T16:00:49Z")
Ellen in **Miss Saigon** would be a big one for me. Also, Sally Bowles in **Cabaret**! ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/49 "2004-10-22T16:22:18Z")
I’ll be reprising the role I had in my senior year in high school - Jim, The Gentleman Caller in **Glass Menagerie**. Also, I’d like to Mama Rose in “Gypsy.” “YOU’LL BEEEEEEEEEEE SWELL! YOU’LL BE GREAT! GONNA HAVE THE WHOLE WORLD ON A PLATE! STARTING HERE, STARTING NOW EVERYTHING’S COMING UP ROSES!” ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/50 "2004-10-22T16:52:58Z")
I only wish I had the balls to play Edna Turnblad in _Hairspray_. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/51 "2004-10-22T17:13:11Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > I only wish I had the balls to play Edna Turnblad in _Hairspray_. You probably do. It’s the boobs that you need. (BTW, Michael McKean… what were they thinking? I love him in Christopher Guest movies but “big blonde and beautiful” he ain’t.) More of mine: Harold Zidler in _Moulin Rouge_ (there’s talk of it being a stage show) Juan Peron in _Evita_ Has _Cat on a Hot Tin Roof_ ever been made into a musical? I’d kick ass as a singing Big Daddy (“for an old magnate with cancer/he’s one helluva dancer… and he’s our Big Daddy…” or “lemme tell ya sumpin Brick/if you wanna get her pregnant you gotta give her your… love”) (If I were more femme I’d say Eulalie McKechnie Shinn from _Music Man_ as that’s a perfect role for a man in drag) ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/52 "2004-10-22T17:15:46Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Collins in _Rent_ (no law says he has to be white) Am I getting whooshed? No law says he has to be white, and also no precedent – Jesse L. Martin was the original Tom Collins and he’s decidely not white. Subsequent cast choices have also been black. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/53 "2004-10-22T17:16:43Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > What am I missing? My next post, in which I said I made a typo. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/54 "2004-10-22T17:18:35Z")
I’d love supporting, not starring, roles, myself. So - Nicely Nicely, from **Guys and Dolls**. I love “Sit Down!” Also, I’d love to get into Gilbert & Sullivan roles, which haven’t yet been mentioned here: **Pirates of Penzance** I’d love to be Sam, or better still, the Sergeant of Police. **The Mikado** Poo-Bah! I WANT to be ‘insulted’ with great regularity! 😃 And, while it is a lead role, Ko-Ko, would just be too much fun. Alas, I can’t act, or sing. (Well, at least. I do sing, lots. Just not well. Growing up I was only allowed to sing while mowing the lawn.) ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/55 "2004-10-22T17:24:10Z")
By the way – a bit of a hijack that probably belongs in GD, but this being a forum and a thread steeped in Broadway… here it is. In discussing the recent PBS “Broadway” series at work, I’ve gotten a few comments along the lines of, “Showtunes are for [gay men].” Now, I certainly agree that Broadway performers probably include a higher percentage of gay men than, do, say, longshoremen, but I refuse to accept that the mere _appreciation_ of showtunes, and fandom for particular shows, is a particularly gay-skewed area of interest. Where does this come from? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/56 "2004-10-22T17:26:28Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > My next post, in which I said I made a typo. Oh. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/57 "2004-10-22T17:46:21Z")
Javert or Thernandier from _Les Mis_. Right vocal range and I love both characters. The one I’d play kind of depends on my mood. ---
**Author:** ![Strainger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strainger/32/244_2.png) [@Strainger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strainger)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/58 "2004-10-22T17:48:12Z")
And even though it may be a little high for me (although I think I could manage). Joseph from _Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat_. ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/59 "2004-10-22T17:50:33Z")
Fantine in _Les Mis,_ the Baker’s Wife in _Into the Woods,_ and though I’ve largely grown out of my fondness for Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals, I have to admit I’d love to play Evita. Maureen in _Rent_ would be fun too. “Moo with me!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2004, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529/60 "2004-10-22T18:15:20Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Has _Cat on a Hot Tin Roof_ ever been made into a musical? Oh, I didn’t specify “musical”—in fact, I named _Taming of the Shrew_ and _Rain_ as two shows I’d like to do. So, Big Daddy away! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/broadway-what-role-do-you-want-to-play/270529.md?page=4)