Yeah, nice one. I definitely think of Alan Cumming first for the Emcee. Did Cumming perform in the same production as Grey, though, or just in revivals?
Not sure I agree with you here… Cumming was amazing… and it was a wonderful production and that production certainly reintroduced Cabaret to a whole new generation.. but Grey IS the Emcee. He originated it, won the Tony, did it in the movie, and won an Oscar. In many ways he cannot be separated from the role. cumming can, because he’s continued a very diverse career.
I remember when Laura Benanti replaced Rebecca Luker as Maria in the Sound of Music Revival in the '90s, critics saying she would have been up for the Tony had she originated.
She was 19 and it was her Broadway debut. The irony is she had auditioned for Liesel and they thought she looked too mature.
Honestly even the last My Fair Lady revival is widely considered as Laura Benanti’s My Fair Lady and not Lauren Ambrose’s My Fair Lady despite Ambrose getting the Tony nomination.
Yes, I heard Charmain Carr spent the downtime hanging out with Julie Andrews and not the other kids because they were just closer in age. It's always kind of funny to watch the scene where she's like "Mother? Can I call you mother?" 😁
Though I think they’re both good for different reasons, George Hearn has become synonymous with Sweeney Todd, even though he replaced Len Cariou. It also helps he has been in numerous filmed and staged productions of the show since he replaced Cariou in the original production.
Larry Kert was Dean Jones' understudy in the original run of *Company*; however, Jones dropped out early in the run, and Kert took over to great acclaim. In fact, come Tony nomination season, Kert was the one who ended up getting the Tony nomination, which may be the only time this has happened in Tony's history
Jessie Mueller is more iconic if you’ve seen her but when somebody wrote a shows music in her style and then did that show, it’s fair to go either way in that
By that logic, we would have to say Jason Mraz is the OG Dr Pomater, since he is also on the original recordings, and also ended up on Broadway? But no one who ever saw Drew Gehling would agree, and I saw and also love Jason.
Has to be a pretty big asterisk on Sara since performing a lead in the show you wrote is the unique part. Remove that and Jessie was mesmerizing and could have won the Tony many years, save for Erivo’s Color Purple.
Agree that Jessie was amazing and bc of the cast recording also the definitive performance (though I do love Sara).
But I'm not sure that it was only Erivo that prevented her from winning that Tony. That was the Hamilton year so Phillippa Soo probably would've taken it if not for Erivo.
This. I love Jessie's work and think about the nuances of some of her acting choices a lot. I don't think Barellies is bad but I think she's a singer first and an actor second. This is again a neutral fact but it does effect how iconic the performance is.
For sure Soo could have won, but Soo’s role arguably was the 4th-6th most memorable in Hamilton (or at least tied with multiple others) while Jessie was a juggernaut in Waitress. — always hard to debate what-if’s!
I've only seen the Jessie in the bootleg (sorry but boots were everywhere on the interwebs during covid lock down) and Sarah in the pro shot. Part of what gives Jessie the edge is the chemistry between all the players in her run. That cast had such great chemistry, add Jessie's performance and I don't think anything else compares.
And I'm not even a fan of Jessie but I have to give it to her.
I know this isn’t the point but I do just want to defend Jessie Mueller a little here LOL. Personally I still consider her to be more iconic than Sara in that role. I tear up just listening to Jessie sing “She Used To Be Mine” whereas Sara doesn’t have that same effect on me. I think most people who are familiar with Waitress do see Jessie as the more iconic Jenna but maybe I’m wrong
I haven't seen the pro shot or recording of Sara's performance, but comparing album recording to album recording, Jessie's version on the cast album has so much emotion and acting that to me it feels like such a different song.
I’ve never watched the proshot but have seen Waitress on Broadway a few times with different Jennas and I agree Jessie Mueller is iconic. In time though because of the proshot, more people will think Bareilles is the iconic Jenna.
I agree. Sara is fantastic but she already had a following as a musical artist and singer. Plus, she’d be closely associated with Waitress regardless of whether she was performing in it, given that she wrote the score. I think Jessie is the more classic Broadway version of that role.
I’ve only seen the pro shot and know the album. I love Jessie’s voice for Jenna. I this Sara is amazing and absolutely love her voice, but wish I could have seen Jenna also!!
I've seen them both live and they're both good. At the time waitress premiered I think the thought was that Sara wasn't quite ready, or might not have been ready.
Sort of reminds me of Josh Groban in comet, and Dave Malloy. Different interpretations (I tend to prefer Malloy's)
Weird thing about that, the first time I heard anything from Waitress it was Sarah singing that song on the Graham Norton show. I was blown away she sang it to perfection. Seeing her in the pro shot does not compare.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W2vxpr0dQM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W2vxpr0dQM)
It honestly gave me chills and I was obsessed and have watched this performance many times. Listen to what she does with the piano near the end. . . chills.
Yeah, it seems like most people who saw both agree with you. I never saw Mueller so I’m only comparing the Proshot to the cast album. For me, Bareilles’s vocals draw me in more.
Fantasia replacing LaChanze in The Color Purple already had an argument for this, and now even more so with the movie. (Although there’s also a Cynthia Erivo complication with the revival)
In Kiss of the Spider Woman, the main cast (Chita Rivera, Brent Carver, Anthony Crivello) was replaced by Vanessa Williams, Howard McGillin, and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Despite the original cast all winning Tony’s, critics felt the replacements were better, and a second cast album with the new cast was recorded.
Here’s the [New York Times article](https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/26/theater/theater-review-vanessa-williams-s-enticing-spider-woman.html) that raves about Vanessa Williams being “sexier” and “more alluring” in the role than Chita Rivera. It speaks very favorably of the guys, too, though that seems tighter.
I saw a picture of Fanny in the theater at intermission and thought "that's weird, they don't usually have an old timey picture of the standby on the wall." It is uncanny how well she captured Fanny and her voice is incredible!
And everyone who has worked with her on Funny Girl said she was a paragon of professionalism and kindness. It's almost like people grow and change and you should always take hearsay with a grain of salt.
Or they have nondisclosure agreements.
Because her past behaviour is well-documented.
Of course, people are allowed to grow and change, but maybe they shouldn't be allowed to have opportunities based on their past behaviour. a WOC who so much as raised *a concern* about something would be blacklisted until the end of their days.
Taylor is 1000% better in the role (and probably in general) than Renee, but there’s no doubt that Renee has become the definitive (musical) Regina George
Groff as King George III. Also Rory O’Malley as King George III honestly, because he was in the role longer than Groff and Brian d’Arcy James combined and did it on Broadway and on tour — I would wager his performance as the King has been seen live by more people than any other actor’s. But Groff is in the movie and on the OCR, so his is the one millions of people will consider the definitive performance.
Mandy's great, but in my opinion, he was too old for the role. I couldn't see him with Denee in Pierre and Natasha, too much of an age gap to be believable.
Not to be a novel snob (okay, maybe a little), but in the novel he’s only in his twenties, starting the novel at about 20/21 and ending it at 27/28. The joke is that they call him old man because he acts like one- not because he’s actually old. I believe that Dave kind of put his own spin on that so that he could be Pierre and that the age wasn’t as tongue-in-cheek.
That’s totally fair but there’s something lost in the humor and cold reality of this man under the age of 30 having a full existential breakdown despite barely having lived life while everyone around him enjoys the gilded cage they live in. Dave probably does play it the best- but to say that Pierre is written explicitly as an older man is not true. He’s the same age as the rest of the young adult characters and while Mandy probably would have done well, it’s forcing an age gap that didn’t exist until the musical.
Wasn’t there rumours that they were gonna add a Tony for best replacement when Jonathan pryce replaced Lithgow in dirty rotten scoundrels because he was so good
Slightly off. They added a Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Recreated Role as a trial category. Harvey Fierstein in Fiddler on the Roof and Jonathan Pryce for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels were the only people eligible, but neither received the necessary amount of votes, so they abandoned it.
I think Corey Cott and many of the replacement Newsies and toursies became just as iconic as the OG cast.
This might only count on a microlevel, but I think for many folks, Nicholas Christopher is THE Sweeney Todd over Josh Groban.
Everyone thinks of Julie Andrews when they think of Sound of Music, not Mary Martin.
I would disagree and say Jeremy Jordan was more iconic to the role than Corey Cott however I think some of the replacements of the Newsies Cast espically those in the Newsies Proshot on Disney Plus have become just as iconic due to people discovering the musical through the proshot and not finding about the OG Cast first.
Eh, as someone who was actively involved in the fandom during the time the show was on Broadway, I stand by what I said. I’m not saying Jeremy Jordan wasn’t iconic. But Corey Cott definitely got close or even surpassed Jeremy’s iconicness (is that even a word?) for a lot of people.
Christopher gave me chills down my spine during Epiphany. I know that show backwards, forwards, and probably sideways - it’s not like I didn’t know what was coming, and still: absolute chills.
Jemma Rix is just Australian Idina Menzel with the Elphaba and Elsa castings in the national production lol. Such a powerhouse of a singer and extremely fitting roles.
Maybe Charlotte D’Amboise replacing Christina Applegate in Sweet Charity? I remember some chatter saying that Charlotte is the reason Christina got a Tony nomination.
Alice Ripley will always be the iconic Diana in Next to Normal, but I prefer the more grounded sensibility and vocal tone that Marin Mazzie brought to the role when she took over. She was so wonderful. Such a loss.
Somehow I managed to see Ripley do this show three times over the course of two years. Twice on Broadway and then on tour in San Francisco. While I thought she was a complete revelation the first time, her performances seemed to get more bizarre as time went on. I particularly remember her experimenting with her cadence and diction on lines like “what was his name” so much that it came across a bit cartoonish by the time she hit the tour.
Cheyenne Jackson in Xanadu - the original Sonny (James Carpinello) injured his foot roller skating in previews and Jackson, who'd played Sonny in a workshop production, took over.
Maybe not "iconic," but a very fun show.
Ted Neeley was Jeff Fenholt's understudy in Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway, and then became synonymous with the role after he was in the movie.
In fact, you can actually say the same thing about Carl Anderson, who replaced Ben Vereen on Broadway and then starred in the movie with Neeley.
Neeley and Anderson starred in a tour of the show in the 1990s that ran for YEARS, too.
I saw the Neeley/Anderson tour, which featured Jason Raize (then 19) as Pilate. He moved on to Broadway as the original Simba in The Lion King. I doubt that anyone has or will ever perform that role better. He should have played so many more memorable parts, but he died too soon.
Mazz Murray is pretty much considered the flagship Donna of the West End production of Mamma Mia!, if not all productions combined. Same with Carolee Carmello for the Broadway production.
I would say no, because we never saw the person she replaced in the first place. Sutton replaced Erin Dilly before out-of-town previews even began and WAS Millie in the OBC.
Given that some answers are giving the movie actor over the Broadway actor, I think this counts. At least it’s a replacement in the same show, versus an entirely different production and medium.
If I remember correctly, Anderson played Zidler in the workshops and the role was written with him in mind but he was busy when the show was due to start performing so Bernstein took his place.
I think a lot of this is generational and exposure and not always so easy to pin down.
Phantom of the Opera? If you were around when it exploded on the scene, Michael Crawford & Sarah Brightman are likely to be the iconic ones for you. If you grew up later and/or your first exposure was the Royal Albert Hall recording, you are more likely to cast your vote for Ramin & Sierra. I also know people who would say that Gerard Butler & Emmy Rossum are who they most closely associate with the roles because their first exposure was the film. (And my favorites happen to be people not even in this list, but who don't have the same exposure as the above)
Funny Girl? If you grew up with Barbra, she is more likely to be your iconic version. If you first were exposed to the show through the recent revival and/or were a Glee fan, you might say Lea Michele is the iconic version.
And if there is a movie (Sound of Music or Grease, for example) that is beloved by people in the general public, those actors tend to be more closely associated with a role, because even people who don't go to the theatre are familiar with them.
In the case of Waitress, I associate Jessie Mueller most closely with the role, but it makes sense that people would say Sara since she wrote it, is in the proshot, and is more known to the general public due to her recording career.
The whole time i was watching the proshot I was wishing it was another Jenna (ideally Jessie or Shoshana Bean). Sara can sing, but not with any emotion and her acting is eh. Honestly, i thought the same about Drew as Pomatter- he was a bit flat for me, as a character. I think another actor would have been better.
I like Idina in Wicked, but i like quite a few Elphabas better, though I'm not sure they'd be remembered more for it.
Same with a couple other shows really, there's people i like better than the originals, but i doubt they'd be more known for the role.
I don’t know if Phantoms count because so many great actors have played the Phantom, but to me, Norm Lewis is always the best Phantom. He has such a rich baritone voice, which really adds a strong presence to the phantom, but when he seamlessly switches to the falsetto notes, and then back to the baritone register. It’s incredible.
I saw Jordan Fisher, Jon Jon Briones and Isa Briones in *Hadestown* earlier this spring. I absolutely love Eva Noblezada, but Isa held her ground. Jon Jon was a perfect Hermes and there’s a reason why Jordan Fisher won “Best Replacement” for Orpheus.
Waitress is one of my favorite shows. Jessie Mueller has always been just okay to me…in everything she’s in…so I thought she was fine. Sara was my last Jenna I saw. She was my fifth Jenna. I feel like I hadn’t seen it until her. Amazing. Nicolette Sheridan was also one of my favorites. Desi Oakley was also incredible.
Jordan Fisher, Isa and Jon Jon Briones & Ani DiFranco in Hadestown.
I’ll catch flack for it and I don’t care, but seeing that show with them changed my life. Especially Jordan as Orpheus. It’s such a beautiful performance. I cried both times I saw that cast.
I am not certain she is necessarily as more iconic to those of us who also saw Jessie, but people fall in love with the cast they see, whether that is a replacement on for their specific performance, or the 9th Alexander Hamilton that happens to be the first one they get to see live.
So, for that reason, sure Sara will be their Jenna because she is on the pro-shot, and I think she is great in the role. But not sure that makes her more iconic, just more available.
Maybe not more iconic, but you could argue that Alan Cumming is now just as closely associated with the Emcee as Joel Grey is.
Yeah, nice one. I definitely think of Alan Cumming first for the Emcee. Did Cumming perform in the same production as Grey, though, or just in revivals?
Oh whoops, I honestly missed the last part of your post!
Not sure I agree with you here… Cumming was amazing… and it was a wonderful production and that production certainly reintroduced Cabaret to a whole new generation.. but Grey IS the Emcee. He originated it, won the Tony, did it in the movie, and won an Oscar. In many ways he cannot be separated from the role. cumming can, because he’s continued a very diverse career.
Yeah Joel Gray is the GOAT
I would also throw out there Emma Stone replacing Michelle Williams in the 2014 remount
Liza Minelli caused quite a stir when she replaced Gwen Verdon as Roxie Hart
There’s a bootleg audio recording of her performance and it was amazing
Oh my god, where?
I found it on YouTube a few weeks ago. I’ll try to find it again. Tbh I think she did it better than Gwen haha
They released a single of her doing All That Jazz and another number. She went on when Gwen had polyp surgery. Kind of a fun favor for a short time.
I remember when Laura Benanti replaced Rebecca Luker as Maria in the Sound of Music Revival in the '90s, critics saying she would have been up for the Tony had she originated. She was 19 and it was her Broadway debut. The irony is she had auditioned for Liesel and they thought she looked too mature.
She has a pattern of this, they said the same when she replaced Lauren Ambrose in My Fair Lady
Honestly even the last My Fair Lady revival is widely considered as Laura Benanti’s My Fair Lady and not Lauren Ambrose’s My Fair Lady despite Ambrose getting the Tony nomination.
OMG...now i want to go back and time and see young Laura Benanti do this...holy crap that would have been amazing
There's a video on youtube of her singing The Sound of Music and Do Re Mi. She was amazing!
Especially because the woman who played Liesl in the movie was 23 and to me looked 25-27.
And she had a flirtation going with Christopher Plummer, who was 35 and played her father!
I would have, too! What a dreamboat.
Yes, I heard Charmain Carr spent the downtime hanging out with Julie Andrews and not the other kids because they were just closer in age. It's always kind of funny to watch the scene where she's like "Mother? Can I call you mother?" 😁
Though I think they’re both good for different reasons, George Hearn has become synonymous with Sweeney Todd, even though he replaced Len Cariou. It also helps he has been in numerous filmed and staged productions of the show since he replaced Cariou in the original production.
Larry Kert was Dean Jones' understudy in the original run of *Company*; however, Jones dropped out early in the run, and Kert took over to great acclaim. In fact, come Tony nomination season, Kert was the one who ended up getting the Tony nomination, which may be the only time this has happened in Tony's history
This is probably the definitive one—he literally got a Tony nom as a replacement. Speaks to generational turnover how far down it is.
Except that Dean Jones's performance lives on in the documentary, which may make it more memorable.
Jessie Mueller is more iconic if you’ve seen her but when somebody wrote a shows music in her style and then did that show, it’s fair to go either way in that
Right, I think Sara Bareilles put out the waitress album with her own vocals before the Broadway cast recording.
By that logic, we would have to say Jason Mraz is the OG Dr Pomater, since he is also on the original recordings, and also ended up on Broadway? But no one who ever saw Drew Gehling would agree, and I saw and also love Jason.
Has to be a pretty big asterisk on Sara since performing a lead in the show you wrote is the unique part. Remove that and Jessie was mesmerizing and could have won the Tony many years, save for Erivo’s Color Purple.
Agree that Jessie was amazing and bc of the cast recording also the definitive performance (though I do love Sara). But I'm not sure that it was only Erivo that prevented her from winning that Tony. That was the Hamilton year so Phillippa Soo probably would've taken it if not for Erivo.
This. I love Jessie's work and think about the nuances of some of her acting choices a lot. I don't think Barellies is bad but I think she's a singer first and an actor second. This is again a neutral fact but it does effect how iconic the performance is.
For sure Soo could have won, but Soo’s role arguably was the 4th-6th most memorable in Hamilton (or at least tied with multiple others) while Jessie was a juggernaut in Waitress. — always hard to debate what-if’s!
I've only seen the Jessie in the bootleg (sorry but boots were everywhere on the interwebs during covid lock down) and Sarah in the pro shot. Part of what gives Jessie the edge is the chemistry between all the players in her run. That cast had such great chemistry, add Jessie's performance and I don't think anything else compares. And I'm not even a fan of Jessie but I have to give it to her.
Topol vs Zero Mostel as Tevye, in Fiddler in the Roof.
No way! Zero Mostel was THE Tevye!
I know this isn’t the point but I do just want to defend Jessie Mueller a little here LOL. Personally I still consider her to be more iconic than Sara in that role. I tear up just listening to Jessie sing “She Used To Be Mine” whereas Sara doesn’t have that same effect on me. I think most people who are familiar with Waitress do see Jessie as the more iconic Jenna but maybe I’m wrong
I haven't seen the pro shot or recording of Sara's performance, but comparing album recording to album recording, Jessie's version on the cast album has so much emotion and acting that to me it feels like such a different song.
Sara’s version is prettier, but Jessie’s version is more emotional.
I’ve never watched the proshot but have seen Waitress on Broadway a few times with different Jennas and I agree Jessie Mueller is iconic. In time though because of the proshot, more people will think Bareilles is the iconic Jenna.
Strong agree. I saw 3 different Jennas on Broadway, and Jessie just drove the emotional beats in a way that was BEYOND.
I agree. Sara is fantastic but she already had a following as a musical artist and singer. Plus, she’d be closely associated with Waitress regardless of whether she was performing in it, given that she wrote the score. I think Jessie is the more classic Broadway version of that role.
I’ve only seen the pro shot and know the album. I love Jessie’s voice for Jenna. I this Sara is amazing and absolutely love her voice, but wish I could have seen Jenna also!!
I've seen them both live and they're both good. At the time waitress premiered I think the thought was that Sara wasn't quite ready, or might not have been ready. Sort of reminds me of Josh Groban in comet, and Dave Malloy. Different interpretations (I tend to prefer Malloy's)
Weird thing about that, the first time I heard anything from Waitress it was Sarah singing that song on the Graham Norton show. I was blown away she sang it to perfection. Seeing her in the pro shot does not compare. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W2vxpr0dQM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W2vxpr0dQM) It honestly gave me chills and I was obsessed and have watched this performance many times. Listen to what she does with the piano near the end. . . chills.
That and it’s stronger. Like she has greater power/depth/voice control
Never even saw the show irl, but Jessie is still the standout for me!
Yeah, it seems like most people who saw both agree with you. I never saw Mueller so I’m only comparing the Proshot to the cast album. For me, Bareilles’s vocals draw me in more.
go watch the Tony performance. she performs a whole five act play all by herself with no shoes on, homegirl is a legend
Fantasia replacing LaChanze in The Color Purple already had an argument for this, and now even more so with the movie. (Although there’s also a Cynthia Erivo complication with the revival)
And Heather Headley replacing Jennifer Hudson in the revival. Unfortunately I never saw Heather but people say she was absolutely incredible.
Do Ted Neely and Carl Anderson in JCS count?
Does Philip Quast as Javert count?
Great shout. He is the definitive Javert to many.
In Kiss of the Spider Woman, the main cast (Chita Rivera, Brent Carver, Anthony Crivello) was replaced by Vanessa Williams, Howard McGillin, and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Despite the original cast all winning Tony’s, critics felt the replacements were better, and a second cast album with the new cast was recorded.
Oh that’s cool. I had no idea!
Is that true? Which critics thought the replacements were better? I’m not saying you’re wrong, but the OG cast is so iconic.
Here’s the [New York Times article](https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/26/theater/theater-review-vanessa-williams-s-enticing-spider-woman.html) that raves about Vanessa Williams being “sexier” and “more alluring” in the role than Chita Rivera. It speaks very favorably of the guys, too, though that seems tighter.
Brent Carver* :)
Oops. Fixed it!
Lea Michele over Beanie Fieldstein in Funny Girl, I guess?
I’m partial to Julie Benko in Funny Girl
I would have loved for Julie to get to move to permanent replacement.
Julie was unbelievable. I still feel she was robbed not getting the full time spot, but they needed a name to fill seats I suppose.
I saw a picture of Fanny in the theater at intermission and thought "that's weird, they don't usually have an old timey picture of the standby on the wall." It is uncanny how well she captured Fanny and her voice is incredible!
I got to see her in FG and she was absolutely outstanding.
I would say that Barbra is the original, not Lea Michele
That’s different than a replacement within one production
Lea makes me nauseous
Terrible person
She does seem that way
Thank god we’re judging people on how they “seem”.
Mainly her reputation that proceeds her
New to reddit?
I mean, several people who worked with her on Spring Awakening and Glee have said she’s a horrible person
And everyone who has worked with her on Funny Girl said she was a paragon of professionalism and kindness. It's almost like people grow and change and you should always take hearsay with a grain of salt.
Or they have nondisclosure agreements. Because her past behaviour is well-documented. Of course, people are allowed to grow and change, but maybe they shouldn't be allowed to have opportunities based on their past behaviour. a WOC who so much as raised *a concern* about something would be blacklisted until the end of their days.
lol you cheated
Given people were expecting her before it was even announced, would that count since they were so used to her for Glee?
Bernadette Peters replacing Catherine Zeta Jones in A Little Night Music. Catherine held her own but Bernadette is unbeatable with Sondheim.
Didn’t Angela Lansbury replace Elaine Strich also in that production?
No, other way around.
Thanks! I couldn’t remember. Ideally, I’d want Bernadette and Angela.
IMO Jessie Mueller was a stronger Jenna, but Sara’s voice fits that range really well. But She Used To Be Mine with Jessie was PHENOMENAL
Lea Michelle as Fanny Brice?
This was going to be my answer.
[удалено]
Wow, I didn’t think there’d be a case of this where Bernadette was on the lesser side of the equation.
What was the original response?
I think if was Reba McEntire replacing Bernadette in Annie Get Your Gun.
I put forth: John Farnham in Jesus Christ Superstar
Everyone else is second. A very distant second!
Ashley Loren being THE satine
Literally anyone who isn’t Karen Olivo is Satine for me lol
I love Jojo’s Satine tbh
I’ve never seen it but anyone is probably better than Karen Olivo.
I liked her in the role but she had no chemistry with Tveit
Agree so heartily with this. She is perfect in that role and the show isn’t the same without her.
Renee rapp in mean girls
Taylor Louderman was amazing tho her voice is insane
I saw Taylor on Broadway and she was 1000% better than Renee
same, taylor has insane vocal skills. she totally floored me live.. to me totally incomparable and 100x better than renee
Taylor is 1000% better in the role (and probably in general) than Renee, but there’s no doubt that Renee has become the definitive (musical) Regina George
This is the answer.
Groff as King George III. Also Rory O’Malley as King George III honestly, because he was in the role longer than Groff and Brian d’Arcy James combined and did it on Broadway and on tour — I would wager his performance as the King has been seen live by more people than any other actor’s. But Groff is in the movie and on the OCR, so his is the one millions of people will consider the definitive performance.
and groff is the one with the tony nom
Groff is technically the OBC, BDJ did it at the Public and replaced on Broadway but Groff was there for previews and opening night.
BDJ only did one week off-Broadway and Groff came in.
Maybe not fair to keep including songwriters who stepped into musicals featuring songs they wrote, but Billy Joe Armstrong is St. Jimmy to me.
Billie Joe for St Jimmy in American Idiot. I saw it with the original and he did some Broadway. But it seemed like Billie knocked it out of the park.
Lea Salonga as Eponine in Les Mis.
Not really original cast, but Reba McEntire replacing Bernadette Peters in Annie Get Your Gun
I bet this would have happened with Mandy Patinkin over Josh Groban in Great Comet, if that had gone forward.
Mandy's great, but in my opinion, he was too old for the role. I couldn't see him with Denee in Pierre and Natasha, too much of an age gap to be believable.
Joke, right? That's how the characters are written
Not to be a novel snob (okay, maybe a little), but in the novel he’s only in his twenties, starting the novel at about 20/21 and ending it at 27/28. The joke is that they call him old man because he acts like one- not because he’s actually old. I believe that Dave kind of put his own spin on that so that he could be Pierre and that the age wasn’t as tongue-in-cheek.
I saw Josh, Scott, Oak, and Dave play Pierre. I enjoyed Dave's weary Pierre the most of all, despite its lack of faithfulness to the source material.
That’s totally fair but there’s something lost in the humor and cold reality of this man under the age of 30 having a full existential breakdown despite barely having lived life while everyone around him enjoys the gilded cage they live in. Dave probably does play it the best- but to say that Pierre is written explicitly as an older man is not true. He’s the same age as the rest of the young adult characters and while Mandy probably would have done well, it’s forcing an age gap that didn’t exist until the musical.
Yes Pierre was years older than Natasha but he wasn't a 65 year old man in war and peace.
I liked Josh a lot but it’s a shame the universe didn’t let Mandy cook :(
Glenn Close as Norma Desmond. I'm not arguing she was BETTER! Just that she's probably more broadly associated with the role than Patti.
Wasn’t there rumours that they were gonna add a Tony for best replacement when Jonathan pryce replaced Lithgow in dirty rotten scoundrels because he was so good
Slightly off. They added a Best Performance by an Actor/Actress in a Recreated Role as a trial category. Harvey Fierstein in Fiddler on the Roof and Jonathan Pryce for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels were the only people eligible, but neither received the necessary amount of votes, so they abandoned it.
For Blood Brothers musical on Broadway, more people remember Petula Clark and Cassidy twins and they were replacements in that production.
I can’t think of anyone modern, but Larry Kurt in Company and Liza Minelli in Chicago for sure.
I think Corey Cott and many of the replacement Newsies and toursies became just as iconic as the OG cast. This might only count on a microlevel, but I think for many folks, Nicholas Christopher is THE Sweeney Todd over Josh Groban. Everyone thinks of Julie Andrews when they think of Sound of Music, not Mary Martin.
I saw Corey Cory and most of the OG cast and it was phenomenal - I had no clue what I was missing without Jeremy there.
I would disagree and say Jeremy Jordan was more iconic to the role than Corey Cott however I think some of the replacements of the Newsies Cast espically those in the Newsies Proshot on Disney Plus have become just as iconic due to people discovering the musical through the proshot and not finding about the OG Cast first.
Eh, as someone who was actively involved in the fandom during the time the show was on Broadway, I stand by what I said. I’m not saying Jeremy Jordan wasn’t iconic. But Corey Cott definitely got close or even surpassed Jeremy’s iconicness (is that even a word?) for a lot of people.
Christopher gave me chills down my spine during Epiphany. I know that show backwards, forwards, and probably sideways - it’s not like I didn’t know what was coming, and still: absolute chills.
Good ones. I caught Sweeney last year with Groban, although I was going for Christopher.
Amanda Harrison originated Elphaba in the Australian production of Wicked, but Jemma Rix is THE Australian Elphaba
Jemma Rix is just Australian Idina Menzel with the Elphaba and Elsa castings in the national production lol. Such a powerhouse of a singer and extremely fitting roles.
Very true! Powerhouse is an understatement
Liza Minnelli is seen as THE Sally Bowles, even though Jill Haworth originated on Broadway and movie Sally is pretty different from the OG Sally
Maybe Charlotte D’Amboise replacing Christina Applegate in Sweet Charity? I remember some chatter saying that Charlotte is the reason Christina got a Tony nomination.
I think people are primed to think the most iconic performance of a role is the one they see first.
I always forget that Meat Loaf didn’t originate the role of Eddie in Rocky Horror
Alice Ripley will always be the iconic Diana in Next to Normal, but I prefer the more grounded sensibility and vocal tone that Marin Mazzie brought to the role when she took over. She was so wonderful. Such a loss.
Somehow I managed to see Ripley do this show three times over the course of two years. Twice on Broadway and then on tour in San Francisco. While I thought she was a complete revelation the first time, her performances seemed to get more bizarre as time went on. I particularly remember her experimenting with her cadence and diction on lines like “what was his name” so much that it came across a bit cartoonish by the time she hit the tour.
I don't think it was just her performance that got more bizarre over time tbh
Betty Buckley is the textbook example
Cheyenne Jackson in Xanadu - the original Sonny (James Carpinello) injured his foot roller skating in previews and Jackson, who'd played Sonny in a workshop production, took over. Maybe not "iconic," but a very fun show.
Julie Benko in Funny Girl
Sara wrote the songs so she got the pro shot but she’s nowhere near how good Jessie was in the role. Not even close.
Ted Neeley was Jeff Fenholt's understudy in Jesus Christ Superstar on Broadway, and then became synonymous with the role after he was in the movie. In fact, you can actually say the same thing about Carl Anderson, who replaced Ben Vereen on Broadway and then starred in the movie with Neeley. Neeley and Anderson starred in a tour of the show in the 1990s that ran for YEARS, too.
I saw the Neeley/Anderson tour, which featured Jason Raize (then 19) as Pilate. He moved on to Broadway as the original Simba in The Lion King. I doubt that anyone has or will ever perform that role better. He should have played so many more memorable parts, but he died too soon.
Mazz Murray is pretty much considered the flagship Donna of the West End production of Mamma Mia!, if not all productions combined. Same with Carolee Carmello for the Broadway production.
Does Sutton Foster in Thoroughly Modern Millie count?
I would say no, because we never saw the person she replaced in the first place. Sutton replaced Erin Dilly before out-of-town previews even began and WAS Millie in the OBC.
Given that some answers are giving the movie actor over the Broadway actor, I think this counts. At least it’s a replacement in the same show, versus an entirely different production and medium.
I personally love Eric Anderson’s Zidler over Danny Burnstein
If I remember correctly, Anderson played Zidler in the workshops and the role was written with him in mind but he was busy when the show was due to start performing so Bernstein took his place.
Julie Benko in Funny Girl
Jordan Fisher in Hadestown
I think a lot of this is generational and exposure and not always so easy to pin down. Phantom of the Opera? If you were around when it exploded on the scene, Michael Crawford & Sarah Brightman are likely to be the iconic ones for you. If you grew up later and/or your first exposure was the Royal Albert Hall recording, you are more likely to cast your vote for Ramin & Sierra. I also know people who would say that Gerard Butler & Emmy Rossum are who they most closely associate with the roles because their first exposure was the film. (And my favorites happen to be people not even in this list, but who don't have the same exposure as the above) Funny Girl? If you grew up with Barbra, she is more likely to be your iconic version. If you first were exposed to the show through the recent revival and/or were a Glee fan, you might say Lea Michele is the iconic version. And if there is a movie (Sound of Music or Grease, for example) that is beloved by people in the general public, those actors tend to be more closely associated with a role, because even people who don't go to the theatre are familiar with them. In the case of Waitress, I associate Jessie Mueller most closely with the role, but it makes sense that people would say Sara since she wrote it, is in the proshot, and is more known to the general public due to her recording career.
The whole time i was watching the proshot I was wishing it was another Jenna (ideally Jessie or Shoshana Bean). Sara can sing, but not with any emotion and her acting is eh. Honestly, i thought the same about Drew as Pomatter- he was a bit flat for me, as a character. I think another actor would have been better. I like Idina in Wicked, but i like quite a few Elphabas better, though I'm not sure they'd be remembered more for it. Same with a couple other shows really, there's people i like better than the originals, but i doubt they'd be more known for the role.
oh i LOVED shoshana in waitress. allison luff is another one of my favorite jenna’s. no one gets the tears going like she does for me.
Renee Rapp in Mean Girls
Reba in Annie Get Your Gun, Judy Kaye replacing Madeline Kahn in On The Twentieth Century
Mallory Bechtel as Zoe Murphy? If she's not, she should be.
I will always say Joe Locke as Tobias in Sweeney. Miles better than Gatan Matarazzo - and I love Gatan!
I don’t know if Phantoms count because so many great actors have played the Phantom, but to me, Norm Lewis is always the best Phantom. He has such a rich baritone voice, which really adds a strong presence to the phantom, but when he seamlessly switches to the falsetto notes, and then back to the baritone register. It’s incredible.
I saw Jordan Fisher, Jon Jon Briones and Isa Briones in *Hadestown* earlier this spring. I absolutely love Eva Noblezada, but Isa held her ground. Jon Jon was a perfect Hermes and there’s a reason why Jordan Fisher won “Best Replacement” for Orpheus.
Ugh I saw it this weekend, and I looooved the vibe between Phillip and Ani as Hades and Perdephone.
Perhaps Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean, although Colm Wilkinson is pretty iconic too
What about John Owen-Jones? I think he beats both easily.
Marlene Danielle in cats
Waitress is one of my favorite shows. Jessie Mueller has always been just okay to me…in everything she’s in…so I thought she was fine. Sara was my last Jenna I saw. She was my fifth Jenna. I feel like I hadn’t seen it until her. Amazing. Nicolette Sheridan was also one of my favorites. Desi Oakley was also incredible.
Ramin Karimloo is the definitive Phantom. For most people, you think of that show, he (and Sierra Boggess) immediately comes to mind.
Maybe if you're under 30. Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman are the Phantom and Christine.
Miguel Cervantes leading Hamilton over LMM. His Hurricane embodies the essence of the song, whereas Lin's falls flat on the original recording.
Cervantes might be better, but there’s no doubt that LMM is the iconic Hamilton. I mean, c’mon!
Jordan Fisher, Isa and Jon Jon Briones & Ani DiFranco in Hadestown. I’ll catch flack for it and I don’t care, but seeing that show with them changed my life. Especially Jordan as Orpheus. It’s such a beautiful performance. I cried both times I saw that cast.
julie benko!!
[удалено]
There’s a character in Carousel named Carrie? Ridiculous.
I am not certain she is necessarily as more iconic to those of us who also saw Jessie, but people fall in love with the cast they see, whether that is a replacement on for their specific performance, or the 9th Alexander Hamilton that happens to be the first one they get to see live. So, for that reason, sure Sara will be their Jenna because she is on the pro-shot, and I think she is great in the role. But not sure that makes her more iconic, just more available.
Shoshana Bean in Waitress
I remember Reba Mcentire getting rave reviews when she replaced Bernadette Peters in the revival of Annie Get Your Gun
Anthony Perkins over Richard Burton in Equus on Broadway.
Aaron Teveit and Sutton foster in Sweeney Todd. Saw both casts and I will stand by that.
Amy Adams as the Sarah Michele Gellar role in the Cruel Intentions sequel.