Line #55 StarMakingRole/Theatre


1	Stage plays and musicals tend to run in multiple cities with the same cast of actors and actresses, but that doesn't mean bright new stars can't [[StarMakingRole break out]] every now and then.
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3	'''A Administrivia/{{No Recent Examples\|please}} rule applies to this trope'''. To avoid any knee-jerk reactions, examples shouldn't be added until '''six months''' after the work's released or the actor first appears in the role (whichever is later).
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5	* Creator/EthelMerman in ''Theatre/AnythingGoes'', the first musical to feature her as much as a comic actress as a singer.
6	* Ray Bolger, the future [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Scarecrow]], in ''Theatre/OnYourToes''.
7	* Sutton Foster in ''Film/ThoroughlyModernMillie''.
8	* Creator/LauraBellBundy in ''Theatre/LegallyBlonde: The Musical''.
9	* Marissa Jaret Winokur in ''Theatre/{{Hairspray}}''. It was also a major push for Creator/MatthewMorrison and Creator/KerryButler.
10	* Creator/JonathanGroff, Creator/LeaMichele, Creator/JohnGallagherJr and Creator/SkylarAstin in ''Theatre/SpringAwakening''. Michele would become a household name with her other SMR on ''Series/{{Glee}}'', as would Groff to a lesser extent (he also had ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen\|2013}}'' to help).
11	* Aaron Tveit, Jennifer Damiano and Alice Ripley in ''Theatre/NextToNormal''.
12	* John Tartaglia and Stephanie D'Abruzzo in ''Theatre/AvenueQ''.
13	* Creator/AndrewRannells, Creator/JoshGad and Niki M. James in ''Theatre/TheBookOfMormon''.
14	* Creator/KristinChenoweth and Creator/IdinaMenzel were already well-known Theater actresses but ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' truly made them '''stars''', although ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen\|2013}}'' benefited Menzel to another level. Chenoweth's best known screen role is probably on ''Series/PushingDaisies''.
15	** ''Wicked'' is that rare hit where replacements also get a lot of fame and attention too and it ended up being star-making roles for others in the lead roles, such as Stephanie J. Block, Megan Hilty, etc.
16	* Robert Preston in ''Theatre/TheMusicMan''.
17	* While already known for her film career, ''Mame'' made Creator/AngelaLansbury a star of musical theatre as well.
18	* ''Theatre/{{Evita}}'' did this first for Elaine Paige in London and later Patti [=LuPone=] on Broadway.
19	* Hunter Foster in ''Theatre/{{Urinetown}}'', which came around the same time as his sister Sutton's big break (see above).
20	* Kelli O'Hara in ''The Light in the Piazza''. Her immediate follow-up, the Broadway revival of ''Theatre/SouthPacific'', boosted her stature even more.
21	** Victoria Clark as well, although she was already in her forties; it was her first leading role on Broadway.
22	* Dan Fogler, Celia Keenan-Bolger and Creator/JesseTylerFerguson in ''Theatre/TheTwentyFifthAnnualPutnamCountySpellingBee''. Ferguson later found success on screen thanks to the sitcom ''Series/ModernFamily''.
23	* Creator/AkinoriNakagawa in ''Theatre/{{Mozart}}'', making his musical theatre debut in the title role, in the Japan premier run in 2002 at age 20. He won several awards for his performance, and has since become one of the top musical stars in Japan.
24	* Sierra Boggess in ''Theatre/TheLittleMermaid'' and ''Theatre/LoveNeverDies''. The latter was also a StarMakingRole for Creator/RaminKarimloo.
25	* Creator/YulBrynner in ''Theatre/TheKingAndI'', despite not originally being the star (note the show's title). The film adaptation was Brynner's star-making role on screen as well.
26	* The long-forgotten 1924 musical ''I'll Say She Is!'' was the show that brought the Creator/MarxBrothers out of vaudeville and made them star comedians.
27	* ''Theatre/MissSaigon'' catapulted the then 17-year old Creator/LeaSalonga into Broadway stardom.
28	* Patina Miller in ''Film/SisterAct'' and the 2012 revival of ''Theatre/{{Pippin}}''.
29	* Jessie Mueller in the 2011 revival of ''Theatre/OnAClearDayYouCanSeeForever''.
30	** ''Beautiful'' (in which she played Carole King), about three years later, could be argued as this too.
31	* Billy Magnussen in ''Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike''.
32	* Betsy Wolfe in the revival of ''Theatre/{{Drood}}'' and the revival of ''Theatre/TheLastFiveYears''.
33	* Stars of hit Broadway musicals who subsequently abandoned the stage for film and television careers include:
34	** Music/BarbraStreisand in ''Theatre/FunnyGirl''.
35	** Carol Burnett in ''Theatre/OnceUponAMattress'' (originally an off-Broadway production, but it moved up).
36	** Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey in ''Rio Rita''.
37	** Creator/GeneKelly in ''Pal Joey''. Kelly was signed by MGM, but Creator/ColumbiaPictures obtained the show's film rights.
38	** Creator/WCFields in ''Poppy''. (Fields didn't originally get star billing, but he went on to appear in both silent and talkie movie versions. He wasn't a singer, either.)
39	** Creator/DannyKaye in ''Let's Face It''. Again, Kaye and ''Let's Face It'' were picked up by separate studios, the actor being signed by Samuel Goldwyn and the show being filmed by Creator/{{Paramount}} with Creator/BobHope in Kaye's role.
40	** Creator/DickVanDyke in ''Theatre/ByeByeBirdie''.
41	* Mary Martin in ''Theatre/OneTouchOfVenus''.
42	* Gwen Verdon in ''Theatre/DamnYankees''. (Her previous role in ''Can-Can'' was a bit part aside from a few show-stealing ballets.)
43	* Creator/ShirleyBooth in ''Theatre/ComeBackLittleSheba''. She went on from this success to take a secondary character from ''Literature/ATreeGrowsInBrooklyn'' and make a star turn out of it in TheMusical version.
44	* Alfred Drake in ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}''.
45	* Dennis King in ''The Vagabond King''.
46	* Creator/JulieAndrews in ''The Boy Friend'' (which also became her American debut, though ''Theatre/MyFairLady'' was many times more successful).
47	* Creator/DouglasHodge in the 2008 U.K. revival of ''Theatre/LaCageAuxFolles''. Up to this point, he was best known as a go-to performer in [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]] and/or [[Creator/HaroldPinter Pinter]] plays in the U.K., and his talent for musical comedy was not widely known. He not only won the Olivier Award for Leading Actor in a Musical for this revival, but subsequently took it to Broadway and won the equivalent award at the Tonys for his New York debut. Now [[ManOfAThousandFaces he has a reputation for versatility]].
48	* Estelle Getty's performance in ''Theatre/TorchSongTrilogy'' was noted by the producers of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'', who went to see the production upon Rue Mclanahan's suggestion.
49	* The 1992 Broadway revival of ''Theatre/GuysAndDolls'' made a star of Nathan Lane, who played [[TheDanza Nathan]] Detroit.
50	* Despite having several leads in various Broadway shows, Creator/LauraBenanti's Tony Award winning role as Louise in the 2008 revival of ''Theatre/{{Gypsy}}'' made her a Broadway star.
51	* Jeremy Jordan in the back to back leading roles of Clyde Barrow in the 2011 musical adaptation of ''Film/BonnieAndClyde'' and Jack Kelly in ''Film/{{Newsies}}''.
52	** Similar to Jordan, despite winning the reality show ''You're the One That I Want'' and starring as Sandy in ''Film/{{Grease}}'', Laura Osnes didn't achieve star status until starring in ''Theatre/AnythingGoes'' and ''Bonnie and Clyde'' back to back in 2011.
53	* Santino Fontana in ''Theatre/RodgersAndHammersteinsCinderella'', boosted by his performance in ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen\|2013}}''.
54	* Creator/LenaHall in her Tony winning performance as Yitzhak in the 2014 Broadway revival of ''Theatre/HedwigAndTheAngryInch''.
55	* Lavinia Fenton became an overnight success after originating the role of Polly Peachum in the original company of ''Theatre/TheBeggarsOpera'' in 1728. Her pictures were high in demand, people recognized her on and off stage as Polly, and she was briefly considered the most famous person in London.
56	* Creator/MichaelCrawford, Music/SarahBrightman, and to a lesser extent Steve Barton, Rosemary Ashe (London Carlotta) and Judy Kaye (New York Carlotta) in Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' - though all of them had been involved in well known productions, Crawford and Kaye having gained significant Acclaim in previous shows ''Barnum'' and ''On The Twentieth Century'' respectively, and Brightman attracting attention for her commercially successful recording of ''Pie Jesu'' from Webber's ''Requiem''. The subsequent West End and Broadway productions of ''Phantom'' gained them all international recognition.
57	* Michael Cerveris and Paul Kandel in the Broadway musical version of ''Music/{{Tommy}}'', though the latter may have been helped by [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney a certain Disney movie that came out just three years after that musical ended.]]
58	** It's interesting to note, however, that in the latter years, Cerveris has arguably become the bigger star, winning ''two [[Theatre/{{Assassins}} Tony]] [[Theatre/FunHome Awards,]]'' whereas Kandel has basically gone through one of the biggest cases of IAmNotSpock in theatre history (or... film history?) for his role as Clopin in ''Hunchback.'' (This has resulted in a fanmade ''musical'' dedicated to his name being created, all so he can (hopefully) [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments be appreciated by the fans for all the other work he was in.]] [[Theatre/{{Kandelites}} We kid you not.]])
59	* Ben Platt as the title character in the 2017 Broadway musical ''Theatre/DearEvanHansen'', as well as almost the entire rest of the cast.
60	* Denée Benton as Natasha in the 2017 Broadway production of ''Theatre/NatashaPierreAndTheGreatCometOf1812'', along with Josh Groban in his Broadway debut (though he is already a celebrity in his own right as a singer).
61	* An operatic example: the late Australian coloratura soprano Joan Sutherland started a successful career from her performance as Lucia from Donizetti's ''Lucia di Lammermoor''.
62	* Delibes' ''Lakmé'' was the role that gave American soprano Marie van Zandt a successful career. In fact, Delibes composed the opera for van Zandt specifically.
63	* World-famous soprano Maria Callas became a successful and beloved diva after her performance of Elvira in Bellini's ''I puritani'' in Venice in 1949. She'd performed the role without much knowledge after being called to replace Italian soprano Margherita Carosio who had fallen sick.
64	* Creator/AnneBancroft in ''Two for the Seesaw''.
65	* Creator/LinManuelMiranda had already become established in theatre circles thanks to ''Theatre/InTheHeights'', but nobody could guess the truly phenomenal success of ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' which not only became the biggest musical hit in pop culture in decades, which made Lin one of the hottest tickets in show biz and global celebrity - Disney quickly poached him up where his many talents are put to good use - he co-wrote the songs for ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'', landed the male lead of Jack the Lamplighter in ''Film/MaryPoppinsReturns'', and a recurring role in ''[[WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017 Duck Tales]]'' as Fenton Crackshell-Cabera / Gizmoduck!
66	* Heather Headley's role as Nala in ''[[Theatre/TheLionKing Disney's The Lion King]]'' gained her attention with her Tony Winning performance as the title character in the similarly Disney Produced ''[[Theatre/AidaJohnRice Aida]]'' made her a Broadway legend.
67	* Fred Stone and Dave Montgomery won fame as a musical comedy duo playing the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman in ''Theatre/TheWizardOfOz1902'', beginning a starring career that lasted three decades for Stone. (Montgomery co-starred in all of Stone's shows until his death in 1917.)
68	* Creator/DarrenCriss was still in college when ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'', but once the show went viral on Youtube Criss was catapulted to fame, leading to a successful music, television, and Broadway career. Not bad for a college production! The play served as this to a lesser extent for the rest of the crew as well, who were able to parlay the show's success into their own theater group (Creator/TeamStarKid) and steady theater careers for most of the cast.
69	* While Creator/CarolChanning most famous role of her career, and easily one of the most famous performances in the history of musical theatre, would be that of Dolly Levi in the smash hit ''Theatre/HelloDolly'', long before Screen Goddess Creator/MarilynMonroe immortalized the friendship between a girl and her diamonds, Carol was the Blonde Gentlemen Preferred, in ''Theatre/GentlemenPreferBlondes''.
70	* Pia Douwes saw her fame skyrocket, especially in Europe and Asia, after her performance as the titular character in the international smash hit ''Theatre/{{Elisabeth}}''. Uwe Kröger's own stardom grew larger as the leading man Der Tod/Death, and both have returned to these roles on multiple occasions.
71	* Ethan Slater's Broadway debut originating the title role in Theatre/TheSpongebobMusical which greatly boosted his profile and won him several awards.
72	* In addition to Creator/LinManuelMiranda, this also applies in varying degrees to every other principle actor in ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'''s original Broadway cast, except for Creator/JonathanGroff who was already well known both on Broadway and in other formats. The biggest examples would be Creator/LeslieOdomJr and Creator/DaveedDiggs who found the most success outside of the stage.
73	* Howard [=McGillin=]'s first Broadway role as VillainProtagonist John Jasper in ''{{Theatre/Drood}}'' got him a Tony nomination and helped jumpstart a long and successful career.

Context StarMakingRole / Theatre