# Women playing men's roles on stage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 12, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484 "2002-11-12T22:13:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nuckfozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@nuckfozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nuckfozzle)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/1 "2002-11-12T22:13:37Z")
For some reason, it’s always bothered me when I read about a restaging of Peter Pan, and the title role is inevitably played by a woman. There’s apparently a long history of this, with Mary Martin and Cathy Rigby in particular coming to mind. I could never figure out why they cast women in this role. Clearly, it requires someone of some athletic ability, and probably someone of fairly lean build in order to fly them all around the stage. But surely there are male gymnast-types who fit the bill, and have the added advantage of being the SAME GENDER AS THE DAMN CHARACTER! Now I’m hearing about “Seussical The Musical” coming to my fair city, and who’s got the starring role of the beloved Cat In The Hat? Cathy Freakin’ Rigby! So now I’m particularly tweaked by this issue, and I’m seeking real answers. Why are women being cast in these male roles? Are there more examples beyond the couple I’ve given? Is there a rationale for this, other than the novelty (or by now, tradition) of the casting? Can anyone tackle this? Or is this fit for Mighty Cecil? -FN ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/2 "2002-11-12T22:18:41Z")
Well, in the case of Peter Pan, you want someone with a boyish figure and a high voice. That means either casting a boy or a woman. ---
**Author:** ![nuckfozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@nuckfozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nuckfozzle)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/3 "2002-11-12T22:33:39Z")
Boyish figure: agreed. High voice: not necessarily. That means casting a boy or a woman: not at all. Peter Pan’s supposed to be an eternal boy, I believe. I don’t know where he’s supposed to fall on the pubescence range, but even a young boy has different voice qualities than a young girl (or a woman trying to sound like a boy). I’d agree we don’t want Barry White for the part, but nor does Peter Pan have to sound like a chipmunk. The actor who voiced the part in the Disney classic had a nice, standard boy-kid voice. So if we agree on the boyish figure and boyish voice, what’s wrong with casting a boy? Or a young man? And what about the Cat In The Hat? Don’t tell me you’ve always envisioned Cathy Rigby in that role… 🙂 -FN ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/4 "2002-11-13T01:51:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by nuckfozzle \* > \*\*So now I’m particularly tweaked by this issue, and I’m seeking real answers. Why are women being cast in these male roles? Are there more examples beyond the couple I’ve given? Is there a rationale for this, other than the novelty (or by now, tradition) of the casting? > -FN \*\* Why exactly should this bother you? Does Peter Pan have to be played by a boy who can fly? They don’t cast a boy to play Peter partly out of tradition, partly because it’s written for a woman, and partly because you need a _star_ in the lead to draw crowds, and there are very few boy stars. Women occasionally play male parts. A few years ago, Whoopie Goldberg replaced Nathan Lane in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”; they rewrote the play to make the change. Various women have also played “Hamlet,” starting with Sarah Bernhardt. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/5 "2002-11-13T02:39:37Z")
If memory serves, J.M. Barrie originally wrote the stage version of _Peter Pan_ as a pantomime. That style of show traditionally features cross-dressing of certain roles, such as “principal boy” and “dame”. The role of Peter is a principal boy role and as such is traditionally played by a female actor. Of course, that doesn’t mean that it _has to be_ done that way, but that’s the tradition. The voice in the Disney version was provided by Bobby Driscoll, who was sixteen at the time. If you can think of a sixteen-year-old actor who could do the job give the producers a call. Otherwise, if it bothers you, maybe you should watch a different show? BTW, I’m guessing they won’t be using a real crocodile either. ---
**Author:** ![Agback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Agback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agback)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/6 "2002-11-13T06:01:19Z")
G’day ‘Peter Pan’ was originally written by Barrie for performance in the British pantomime tradition. And the pantomime tradition continued the customs of itinerant troupes of semi-improv actors (similar to the Italian Commedia del Arte). The old traditional troupe was permanent long-lasting company, which couldn’t afford high turnover of personnel. Among the stock roles of its material was the _jeune premier_, the leading youth. The problem with casting actual youths in the _jeune premier_ roles is that they grew up too quickly. The troupe would have had to take on a new youth every few years, and then either indulge in some painful and invidious sackings, or else grow far to big. They couldn’t cast men in the parts because even small men were too hairy and their voices were too deep. So the wandering panto companies included each one women who specialised in playing the parts of young men. The tradition of women playing young men in panto has survived the change of circumstances. Regards, Agback ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Barber\_s\_Underwear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/58f4c7/32.png) [@Tony\_Barber\_s\_Underwear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Barber_s_Underwear)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/7 "2002-11-13T06:07:01Z")
FYI, PJ Hogan (My Best Friend’s Wedding, Muriel’s Wedding) is filming Peter Pan here in Queensland at the moment, and there is a boy playing the role of Peter. - Bubba. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/8 "2002-11-13T12:05:12Z")
Linda Hunt played Billy Kwan in “The Year of Living Dangerously” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/9 "2002-11-13T12:14:57Z")
Whoopi Goldberg played Pseudolus in **A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum** on Broadway, but I don’t know if they gave the male character a sex change when she played the part. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/10 "2002-11-13T14:04:28Z")
J.M. Barrie wrote the stage version of _Peter Pan_ for Maude Adams, his favorite actress, and the tradition has kept up ever since. In the mid-19th century right through WWI, there was also a tradition of “girl heroes,” “actresses in tights.” It was the only way male audiences could see ladies’ outlines. Short of going to a burly-que show, of course. Maude Adams, by the way, was one of the [great beauties](http://www.catskillarchive.com/4track/1-5.htm) of her—or any other—day. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/11 "2002-11-13T14:33:16Z")
Turnabout is fair play. Remember that the role of Juliet (and every other female character in Elizabethan drama) was written for a young man. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/12 "2002-11-13T14:49:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Now I’m hearing about “Seussical The Musical” coming to my fair city, and who’s got the starring role of the beloved Cat In The Hat? Cathy Freakin’ Rigby! What makes you think that TCITH is a _male_ cat? I’ve read the original book to my children a number of times, and I don’t remember seeing any dangly bits in any of the illustrations … ---
**Author:** ![Osakadave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f07891/32.png) [@Osakadave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osakadave)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/13 "2002-11-13T15:20:30Z")
and to add confusion on the whole thing, traditional Japanese theatre (kabuki) relies on “onna gata” (actor who speciallize in female roles) to play the female parts while the more recent Takarazuka Review, a musical theatre company very famous in Japan (especially here in Kansai), has all parts played by young women. ---
**Author:** ![chukhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@chukhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chukhung)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-playing-mens-roles-on-stage/136484/14 "2002-11-13T15:20:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SCSimmons \* > \*\*What makes you think that TCITH is a _male_ cat? I’ve read the original book to my children a number of times, and I don’t remember seeing any dangly bits in any of the illustrations … \*\* Perhaps the text itself offers a clue: > [@](#): > > We looked! > Then we saw **him** step in on the mat! > We looked! > And we saw **him!** > The Cat in the Hat! > And **he** said to us, > “Why do you sit there like that?”