History LargeHam / Theater

Here the [[LargeHam hamming]] tradition begun. Thus "theatrical" became a synonym for "very hammy". The extra ham needed for theatre was justified since there were no microphones back then. People in the cheap seats, take the fat off your faces.
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[[AC:Actors and Other Performers]]
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt]] was the original modern theatre Large Ham, even taking on Large Ham ''male'' roles. She was also a RealLife {{Determinator}} -- even being one-legged with almost no mobility could stop her from being an acclaimed actress.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isadora_Duncan Isadora Duncan]] was a large ham of the ballet world.
* Zero Mostel
* "Never act with children, dogs or Denholm Elliott." (His film work however is much more subdued.)
* Michael Crawford originated three roles in Creator/AndrewLloydWebber productions -- the title characters in ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' and the ScreenToStageAdaptation of ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', and Count Fosco in ''The Woman in White''. This says a lot about his performing style, which dates back to the time when he was best known as a light comedy actor (playing, among other roles, Cornelius in the film version of ''Theatre/HelloDolly'', Film/{{Condorman}}, and [[Series/SomeMothersDoAveEm Frank Spencer]]).
* Even in the WorldOfHam that is Creator/CirqueDuSoleil, [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/01/brian-dewhurst-cirque-du-_n_1562498.html Brian Dewhurst]] is in a class of his own -- an Englishman born into a circus family in 1932, he had a huge list of credits in circus and cabaret long before he made his first Cirque appearance in 1990's ''Theatre/NouvelleExperience'' as the ostentatious Great Chamberlain. He played a similar role in ''Theatre/{{Fascination}}'', and after several years of behind-the-scenes work let his love of being a large ham lead him back into the limelight as ''Theatre/{{Mystere}}'''s principal clown, "Brian Le Petit". He was 68 then; now in his 80s, he's ''still'' in the role, and audiences love him for it. (Cirque being a SilenceIsGolden world, he primarily uses his face and body to "project" to the back rows.)

[[AC:Musical Ham]]
* ''Music/JesusChristSuperstar'' can have several parts with lots of ham. Caiphas in "This Jesus Must Die," for one, and Pilate in "Pilate and Christ" and "Trial Before Pilate." Judas is pretty hammy too.
** Jesus himself can break out the ham as well, especially Ian Gillan in the original cast version. He [[MetalScream screams]] a fair bit of his lines, and the most remembered part of "Gethsemane" consists of his anguished screams. ("WHYYYYY!? WHYYY SHOULD I DIIIIIIE!?")
* ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'' contains copious amounts of ham.
** "Did somebody say Ron? / Draco?"
** Cho Chang gets a special intro dance.
** The first scene Voldemort gets [[spoiler: with a body]], he gets a (literal) song and dance about it.
** Bellatrix spends her tenure running about, shouting, and getting wet over her dark lord.
** Umbridge needs to be seen to be believed.
** Dumbledore's entrance is ridiculously long note on 'Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelcoooooooooome'.
** Snape's the reason they [[ChewingTheScenery have such limited scenery]], though. Man walks on stage and everyone suddenly feels like they've nommed their way through a Costco-sized pack of bacon.
%%* There is Heart from ''Theatre/MeAndMyDick''.
* Practic-Lee a requirement for anyone playing Richard Henry Lee in ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix '', as the script has him constant-Lee making puns on adverbs and proclaiming he will single-handed-Lee deliver Virginia to the independence movement or may he be cursed eternal-Lee. Lee's involvement in the play amounts to basic-Lee ''two scenes'' and the original Broadway actor ''still'' won a Tony because his musical number performance was just ''that'' memorable.
* George Hearn's performance as Albin in the original Broadway staging of ''Theatre/LaCageAuxFolles'' was parodied by ''Theatre/ForbiddenBroadway'' as follows: "I ham what I ham/And when I ham, I get ovations..."
** Really, Albin -- [[DragQueen aka Zaza]] -- is a role that demands lovable, heartfelt hamming no matter who's playing him, and those who live up to it are embraced by audiences. A 2008 London revival made its way to the West End and then Broadway largely on the strength of Creator/DouglasHodge's performance in the role. His voice isn't as big as Hearn's, but he makes up for it in sheer emotion. (And like Hearn, he won a Tony Award for his performance.)
* Maureen in ''Theatre/{{RENT}}''. An offstage character until "Over The Moon", she takes over the show during that number and much of Act 2.
* [[TheDevil Applegate]] in the baseball-themed ''Faust'' adaptation ''Theatre/DamnYankees'' is ham-a-licious.
* [[NoNameGiven The Two Men]] in ''Theatre/KissMeKate''. "Brush Up Your Shakespeare", indeed.
* The Engineer in ''Theatre/MissSaigon''. The show's dark comic relief, this guy steals the show from right under the main characters' feet if played right.
* Large Ham: Now comes in CD form! Pick up a copy of the 2005 ''Literature/LittleWomen'' musical and skip ahead to "The Weekly Volcano Press." Words cannot describe the awesomeness of the entire cast (all... seven of them) hamming the life out of a pulpy, FauxSymbolism fairy tale, clearly having far, far too much fun.
* Snoopy in ''[[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown]]''. The lesser-known SpiritualSuccessor ''Snoopy! TheMusical'' gives him even more opportunities to ham it up, particularly in "The Great Writer", in which he types up an increasingly ridiculous {{Melodrama}} complete with a fistfight between cowboys that takes place during a stampede.
* The French Ambassador in ''Theatre/OfTheeISing''. "My country, she is deeply hurt. Not since the days of Louis the Seventh, the Eighth, the Ninth, the Tenth, and possibly the Eleventh has such a thing happened!"
* This is practically a ''requirement'' for the Music/LeonardBernstein operetta version of Voltaire's ''Candide''. Of special note for the level of salt-cured goodness, however, is Kristin Chenoweth's 2004 turn as Cunegonde, in which she was ''clearly'' having a grand old time. See an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwzewHTcHewhere example]].
* ''Big River'', the musical of ''Literature/AdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn'', has The Duke and King...when done best.
* Basically every single last character in ''Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors'' if the production's any good. It's quicker to list lines that ''aren't'' pure ham than that are, provided you can think of any.
* No matter how good the actors are in all the rest of the show, just try to find a production of ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' where every confrontation between Valjean and Javert doesn't immediately become a giant [[ChewingTheScenery scenery-chewing contest]]. ''Just try.''
** Even better, '''Enjolras'''. ''[[EpicRocking ONE MORE DAY BEFORE THE STORM!]]'' signals an escalation of ''One Day More'' to its theme of revolution.
*** Even ''outside'' of HamToHamCombat with Jean Valjean, Javert's a '''huge''' ham, probably because he takes everything so seriously. Just look at this passage from "Stars": And If you faall, as Luuciifeer feel, you faaaaal in flaaaaames... AAAAAAND SOOO IIIIIT MUUUST BE!!!!!!! Foooor soooo iit is wriiteen, ooon the '''''DOOORWAY TOOOO PAAAA-RAAAAA-DIIIIIIIISE!!!!!!!!!!''''' Thaaaaat those who falter and those that faaaal must paaa-aay the priiiiiiice. Lord, let me find him, THAAAAT I MAAAY SEE HIM SAAAAFE BEHIIIND BAAAAAARS!!!!!! IIIIIII WIIIIL NEEEVER REEEST TIIIILL THEEEEN, THIIIS IIII SWEEAAR, '''''THIIIS IIII SWEEAAR BYYYY... THEEEEEE STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARS!!!!!!!!!!''''' [[spoiler: And if you thought that was [[{{Melodrama}} melodramatic]], his death is even hammer. I AM REACHING BUT I FALL/AND THE STARS ARE BLACK AND COLD/AS I STARE INTO THE VOID/OF A WORLD THAT CANNOT HOLD/I'LL ESCAPE NOW FROM THE WORLD/FROM THE WORLD OF JEAN VALJEAN/THERE IS NOWHERE I CAN TURN/THERE IS NO! WAY! TO! GO! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And then, holding the last note for an absurdly long period of time, he throws himself into the Seine.]]
* ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' has Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Shiz University. Her performance at the end of Act 1 is utterly ''scene-shredding'' when done by the proper actress:
-->"Her [[RedRightHand green skin]] is but the outward [[PerfectlyCromulentWord manifestorium]] of her twisted nature! This...distortion! This...''repulsion!'' This...'''''[[WickedWitch WICKEEEEEEEEED! WIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!]]'''''"
** Elphaba's a LargeHam too, especially in "No Good Deed" ( No! Good! Deeeeed! Goes unpunished! All helpful urges should be ''circumvented!'' No! Good! Deed! go-oes UNPUNISHED! Sure I meant well- '''well look what well meant did!!!''') and "Defying Gravity". ( So if you care to find me, LOOK TO THE WESTERN SKY! As someone told me lately, "Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!" And if I'm flying solo, at least I'm flying free... To those who'd ground me, TAKE A MESSAGE BACK FROM MEEEEE... TELL THEM... HOW IIIIIIIII!!!!!!! AM DEEEEFYYYYING! GRA-VIITYYYYY!)
* Arguably Ben Vereen in the finale of ''Theatre/{{Pippin}}''. "Mole! She has a MOLE ON HER FACE! YOU WANT TO SPEND YOUR LIFE WITH A WOMAN WITH A MOLE ON HER FACE?!"
* From the British production of ''Theatre/MammaMia!'': "SHE'S STIIIILLLLLLL DONNA!"
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGxryV6S2F4 Green Goblin]] in ''Theatre/SpiderManTurnOffTheDark'' was widely considered the [[TroubledProduction infamous]] play's strongest point.
* The 2013 adaptation of ''Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' is set in a WorldOfHam -- which makes sense, given that in-story there's a lot of scenery that can ''literally'' be chewed on -- with Charlie and his parents the only characters exempt. (And sweet Charlie may just need a little time to grow into hamminess; his fantasy of being a king in his IAmSong "Almost Nearly Perfect" suggests he has potential.) But there's no contest as to the biggest ham of all once Willy Wonka reveals himself to the world with the Act One finale "It Must Be Believed to Be Seen", a song that was clearly written for the express purpose of rafter-rattling, and Creator/DouglasHodge is up to that challenge on the cast album.
* In ''Theatre/TwiceCharmed'', everyone is a Large Ham except Cinderella.
* ''Theatre/PokemonLive'' has Giovanni, the Team Rocket trio, Brock and Professor Oak.
* ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof'' has the ghost of Fruma Sara (in a dream sequence), hamming it UpToEleven, putting every effort of scenery chewing to shame.
* In ''Theatre/TheDrowsyChaperone'', both Janet and the Chaperone are extremely large hams - Janet gets an entire song-and-dance number, ''complete with encore'', about how she wants to give up the stage and live a quiet life (nobody believes her), and the Chaperone frequently interrupts and sings over Janet in "As We Stumble Along", seen below:
--->'''Chaperone:''' "Inspiration? Really, dear, that's not my forte."
--->'''Janet:''' "Yes, but if you-"
--->'''Chaperone (singing):''' "As we stumble aloooooong..."
** The Chaperone is even an in-universe example, as, according to the Man in the Chair, her actress, Beatrice Stockwell, reportedly demanded a "rousing anthem" in every show she did, no matter how small her part, well into her old age (although by then, her anthems didn't so much "rouse" as "stupefy").
** Aldolpho also applies, with his IAmGreatSong, “I Am Aldolpho”, being about two minutes of him ChewingTheScenery.
* Oh so many of ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', but especially Thomas Jefferson, Marquis de Lafayette, Hercules Mulligan, and King George III (all of whom have IncomingHam lines if not when they first appear, then when they make their most memorable entrance). Aaron Burr even gets in on the action in "The Room Where It Happens". If not for Hamilton (in a case of NonIndicativeName, one of the ''least'' hammy character in the show), Washington, and the Schuylers, it might be a WorldOfHam.
* Daniella in ''Theatre/InTheHeights''. "Let's have a carnival del barrrrioooooooo..."
** Piragua Guy is a notably cheery example.
* ''Theatre/{{Elisabeth}}'': If Lucheni isn't this, the actor's doing something wrong. His very first lines are hammy, and let's not forget "[=KITSCH!=]".
** Death, too. "Der Letzte Tanz" is always an opportunity for an actor to ham it up, and the result is usually awesome.
** Elisabeth herself, depending on the actress.
* In ''Theatre/{{Chess}}'', Anatoly Sergievsky is this. Especially in the Denmark Cast Recording.
** From "Freddie and Anatoly":
--> '''Freddie:''' "How come your Second controls everything?"
--> '''Anatoly:''' "Chess is her passion."
--> '''Freddie:''' "But her obsession is East versus West."
--> '''Anatoly:''' "CHESS IS HER PASSIOOOOOON!"
** From "Endgame":
--> '''Anatoly:''' "AND SOOOO, YOU'RE LETTING ME KNOOOOW..."
** Freddie isn't immune to hamminess either. From the same version, from "Commie Newspapers":
--> '''Freddie:''' "I can't believe that they can't see my game. I'm like that tennis player, what's his name. They like to hate me and for uuuus, that's dollars!"
** The Arbiter, as per tradition in the musical, is required to be a LargeHam as well. It isn't Chess without a hammy Arbiter.
--> '''The Arbiter:''' "I'm on the case, I can't be fooled! Any objection is overruled! Don't try to tempt me, you've no hope! I DON'T LIKE WOMEN, I DON'T TAKE DOPE! I'M THE ARBITER, MY WORD IS LAW!!!"
--> '''Crowd:''' "From square one he'll be watching you..."
* It seems that hamminess in the universe of ''Theatre/TanzDerVampire'' is inherent in all vampires. [[note]]Would that make them ''[[{{Pun}} hampires]]''?[[/note]] His Excellency, Count von Krolock, is a ColdHam, though some turn into LargeHam near the end of ''Die unstillbare Gier'' (The Insatiable Greed). His son Herbert is an excitable LargeHam. The entire [[spoiler:vampirized]] cast deliver up choice cuts of pork product for the finale.

[[AC:Shakespearean Ham]]
* '''[[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} HAM]]'''[[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} let]]. It's right there in the name.
* Falstaff in Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''Theatre/HenryIV'' duology. In ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' he becomes the ButtMonkey.
* If you perform ''Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream'' and your Nick Bottom is not hammier than all three little pigs, you're doing it wrong. He may be the hammiest ham ever hammed. His lines are specifically written to encourage acting like this, including a bit where he [[TalkingToHimself tries to play both]] of the ShowWithinAShow's StarCrossedLovers. He even claims that he wants a "part to tear a cat in, to make all split". That's Shakespearean for "I want to play a LargeHam."
* Don Armado in ''Theatre/LovesLaboursLost''.

[[AC:Stephen Sondham]]
* ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'': A musical with melodramatic tendencies and a tip of the blood-spattered hat to the Grand Guignol shows. Mrs. Lovett's infamous meat pies often come with a side of ham. Just how much and for which characters depends on the production, but it's pretty much a given for Pirelli, who just isn't Pirelli if he isn't played as ham with a side of bacon.
** The song ''A Little Priest", the Act I finale, is chock-full of ham and {{lampshade|Hanging}}s its own hamminess. The movie tried to do it without being hammy and thus demonstrates that [[TropesAreTools ham is sometimes necessary]].
** Whoever plays Todd simply ''must'' ham it up during "Epiphany." It's his big moment, after all.
** Judge Turpin can get pretty porky as well in his oft-cut song "Johanna (Mea Culpa)."
** "BENJAMIN BAAAAAAARKERRRRRR!!!"
* Miles Gloriosus in ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''. Actually, most of the main characters in this require some degree of ham.
** Don't forget, Miles takes '''LARGE STEPS!'''
* ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'' has both the Princes as Large Hams. "[[EarWorm AGONY!]] FAR MORE PAINFUL THAN YOURS!"
** Oh, the Witch tops them all. "IT'S THE LAAAAAAAAAAAASST MIDNIGHT! SO GOODBYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEE AAAAAAAAALLLL!!!!!!!" Seriously, count the number of single-syllable lines of hers that get drawn out.

[[AC:Hamdrew Lloyd Webber]]
* Another female example: Carlotta in ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' (and by extension, many of the actresses playing her) -- she's a LargeHam InUniverse!
** The Phantom himself. A deformed, emotionally unstable musical prodigy with a chip on his shoulder towards the world and an opera obsession living in a gothic lake underneath an opera house? Let's just say that it's not a role that often lends itself easily to understatement and downplaying.
* Lloyd Webber loves his large hams. Pharaoh from ''Theatre/JosephAndTheAmazingTechnicolorDreamcoat'', The Rum Tum Tugger from CATS, and Herod from ''Music/JesusChristSuperstar'' (especially the 2000 version) are some of theater's best hams.
* In the London West End version of ''Cats'', Old Deutromony and Bustopher Jones were originally played by '''Creator/{{BRIAN BLESSED}}'''.
* Count Fosco of ''The Woman in White''. It's another {{Melodrama}} so everybody hams it up, but as the show's primary comic relief ''and'' a villain, he's a lot more fun than the other characters. He's also a large ham in the physical sense in-story, with actors having to don a FatSuit to play him.
* Eva and Che in Theatre/{{Evita}} are both LargeHams, but especially Eva. DOOOOOON'T CRYYYYY FOOOOR MEEE AAAAAAAAAAAAAR-GEEEEN-TIIIIIIIII-IIIIN-NAAAAAA! THEE TRUUTH IIS, IIIIII NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVEEEER LEFT YOU!!!!!!

[[AC:Non-Musical Ham]]
* The title character in ''Theatre/DoctorFaustus'' sold his soul to the devil to become MORE of a ham (and he's plenty in the scenes before he does).
* Madame Rosepettle in ''Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You In The Closet And I'm Feelin' So Sad''. (Played by Hermione Gingold in one production.)
* John Barrymore's ghost in ''I Hate Hamlet'' and arguably the character of Dierdre as well.
* ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is another play populated almost entirely by hams, with Sheridan Whiteside as the king.
* ''Noises Off'' features ham within ham. The characters are the cast and crew of an over-the-top {{Farce}} and perform accordingly, but offstage they're only slightly more subdued.
** Especially [[BadBadActing Brooke]], preferably as played by [[Series/{{Smash}} Megan Hilty]]. "BAG! BAG!...''NO BAAAAAG!!!"''
* Walter in ''Theatre/DontDrinkTheWater''. Marion meanwhile is a unique character in she can be played as either a large ham or a DeadpanSnarker.
* Most of the cast of characters in ''Theatre/{{Fools}}'', with special mention to Count Yousekevitch.
* Tito Merelli in ''Lend Me a Tenor'' is all about the operatic ham.
* Half the cast of ''Theatre/ThePlayThatGoesWrong'' are large hames. The other half favour BadBadActing.

[[AC:Other performance forms]]
* Pretty much all of {{opera}}. Inevitable when your medium is the narration of every little thing that happens to you via really loud singing. And let's not even get started on any aria and solo parts, and especially the "buffo" role. Romantic operas, even more so.
*** But for starters one usually whet one's appetite with the Verdi mezzo soprano-contralto roles: Amneris, Eboli, Azucena and Ulrica had been stealing shows since their inception (in case of Amneris & Azucena, the ham is in fact written in the score. One scene for Amneris instructs the singer to exit like a certified crazy person, done very marvellously in this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skd37pmDZzI video]]).
* For Murder on Center Stage...there's Stanley the Janitor. In his Shakespearean acting.
* The Creator/GilbertAndSullivan operettas require overacting from the entire cast. One Large Ham that manages to stick out due to his flamboyancy is the Pirate King of ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'', especially in his songs "For I am a Pirate King" and "With Catlike Tread".
* Creator/CirqueDuSoleil shows demand ''everyone'' to be ready and willing to ham it up if and when need be, and often without intelligible dialogue ([[Main/SilenceIsGolden if that!]]). In particular, the vast majority of comic characters/clowns are large hams. [[WorldOfHam Particularly hammy shows]] include ''Theatre/NouvelleExperience'', ''Theatre/{{Saltimbanco}}'' (particularly Act Two), ''Theatre/{{Mystere}}'', and ''Theatre/{{Zarkana}}'', the last of which was [[{{Retool}} initially]] the Cirque version of a RockOpera, so...
* ''Anyone'' in a {{Pantomime}} is required to be one of these, the bigger the better.
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** Aldolpho also applies, with his IAmGreatSong, “I Am Aldolpho” being about two minutes of him ChewingTheScenery.

* Even in the WorldOfHam that is Creator/CirqueDuSoleil, [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/01/brian-dewhurst-cirque-du-_n_1562498.html Brian Dewhurst]] is in a class of his own -- an Englishman born into a circus family in 1932, he had a huge list of credits in circus and cabaret long before he made his first Cirque appearance in 1990's ''Theatre/NouvelleExperience'' as the ostentatious Great Chamberlain. He played a similar role in ''Theatre/{{Fascination}}'', and after several years of behind-the-scenes work let his love of being a large ham lead him back into the limelight as ''Theatre/{{Mystere}}'''s principal clown, "Brian Le Petit". He was 68 then; now in his early 80s, he's ''still'' in the role, and audiences love him for it. (Cirque being a SilenceIsGolden world, he primarily uses his face and body to "project" to the back rows.)

* ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'' has both the Princes as Large Hams. "[[EarWorm AGONY!]] [[CrowningMomentofFunny FAR MORE PAINFUL THAN YOURS!]]"

* It seems that hamminess in the universe of ''Theatre/{{TanzDerVampire}}'' is inherent in all vampires. [[note]]Would that make them ''[[{{Pun}} hampires]]''?[[/note]] His Excellency, Count von Krolock, is a ColdHam, though some turn into LargeHam near the end of ''Die unstillbare Gier'' (The Insatiable Greed). His son Herbert is an excitable LargeHam. The entire [[spoiler:vampirized]] cast deliver up choice cuts of pork product for the finale.

** The Phantom himself. A deformed, emotionally unstable musical prodigy with a chip on his shoulder towards the world and an opera obsession living in a gothic lake underneath an opera house? Let's just say that it's not a role that often lends itself to understatement and downplaying.

** The Phantom himself. A deformed musical prodigy with a chip on his shoulder towards the world and an opera obsession living in a gothic lake underneath an opera house? It's not hard for performers who take that role to embrace their more ''dramatic'' side, shall we say.

--->'''Chaperone:''' "As we stumble aloooooong..."

* ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'' contains copious amounts of ham. "Did somebody say Ron? / Draco?", Cho Chang gets a special intro dance, the first scene Voldemort gets [[spoiler: with a body]], he gets a (literal) song and dance about it, Bellatrix spends her tenure running about, shouting, and getting wet over her dark lord, Umbridge needs to be seen to be believed, and Dumbledore's entrance is ridiculously long note on 'Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelcoooooooooome'.

** "BENJAMIN BAAAAAAARKERRRRRR!!!