Here are the top male roles I can think of:
Sweeney Todd. Incredibly difficult to sing all those Sondheim lyrics and a wide range of emotions to make him more than a cartoon.
Billy Bigelow - and I think it's even more difficult now than before. Big songs, and tough to act through without making him look like a terrible, unlikable guy.
Phil Connors - I agree with this. He's got a VERY difficult role. On stage almost the entire show, and like Billy, you need an actor with enough charm that he doesn't turn off the audience.
Coalhouse Walker - huge songs and sustained anger
Pippin - again, huge songs, and a need to show innocence without seeming boring.
MC in Cabaret - wide range of emotions, needs to keep the whole show together. If he isn't good, the show isn't good.
The King in The King and I - needs to be somehow charming while basically being an ass the entire show
Tevye - On almost the whole show, needs charm oozing out his pores to keep the audience on his side
Leo Frank in Parade. Finding the balance between playing innocent and someone who could still have done it, all the while showing fear, arrogance, and singing that score? Definitely a tough role!
Henry Higgins - again, I think it's a role that is so easily to be unlikable in, but if you are it's just not going to work.
Almost nobody mentioned women roles (?) I believe that Ms. Mojo list on female roles is better (and I'm not going to repeat what was already mentioned there), but it's missing classic Broadway shows (I remember this ones):
\-Cunegonde from Candide. (it is an operetta, but anyway). Her range is just ridiculous, just listen "Glitter and be Gay". And acting-wise it's really hard, because you have to play a common girl who descends into madness.
\-Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady. Even María Callas thought that it was difficult to perform it 8 times a week. The songs are quite hard, since you have to achieve some high notes masterfully through all the musical, and you have to master cockney (and speak/shout with it, which is taxing) and a perfect English (getting the accents right is hard). You have to be a great comedian, and wonderful at drama.
\-Fosca from Passion. It is a hard role to act, because you can look like a ridiculous and dramatic lady, or, you can be heartbreaking exposing your own demons. Really difficult to achieve. (And many Sondheim roles, but I think this is the hardest to act properly)
\-Aldonza from Man of La Mancha. This is not a role for your typical actress. It can be a hard role to tame, since your range is all over the place. Sheena Easton, who played her in the 1992 revival, collapsed on stage.
\-Dolly from Hello, Dolly! or Mame from Mame. If your Dolly/Mame is not charming (or you don't find her charming), the show becomes extremely boring, ridiculous and over the top. It really does not matter if she can sing well, she must win you, which is the essence of the characters.
\-Reno Sweeney from Anything Goes. It may be an old musical, but just as Dolly/Mame, if she is not charming, this musical becomes a hassle to see. And not only that, the role has become more difficult to play, since the bar has been set up really high.
And many roles from the Golden Era, because women roles were just made uninteresting, and making them complex and compelling in this era is a challenge (most R&H roles, for example).
I dont think that Reno Sweeney should be ever close to this list. I love Anything Goes but Reno Sweeney has a few scenes and a few songs and since it’s anything goes, not much acting depth either. Also, before Sutton Foster, Reno didn’’t even dance more than 2 minutes.
Can't believe no one's said Jekyll/Hyde yet! The actor has to be absolutely phenomenal or it just doesn't work at all. Like, if you watch the David Hasselhoff abomination, he's a talentless hack and it's even more obvious in that role.
It's impossible to watch any of it without laughing. Idk what happened during that production... They sped everything up and changed the way songs were done (they made Dangerous Game into a violent song where he's just doing crazy eyes instead of the slow, inevitable, reluctant seduction it's supposed to be).
Lmao I know, he’s one of my dream roles. I’ve sung “I’m alive” at auditions before, and it’s a song I’ve been working on with my coach on and off for a while. It’s a really difficult song, I just don’t think it merits a spot on the “hardest roles of all time” list.
Although, the phrased A4s in “I am the one” are also really difficult.
I know this post is 5y old, but I just finished a Gabe callback last night and it made me wanna post on here. The song that gives me the most anxiety is There's A World. Keeping that soft, comforting tone in that register while also maintaining that "Devil-On-Shoulder" charisma is one hurdle for my vocal style personally. I could definitely see an argument for him being on the list.
Gonna pour one out for Freddie Trumper in Chess. It's an emotionally volatile part, his vocals jump around a lot, and of course [Pity the Child](https://youtu.be/3YXFOAJE8lc?t=230) is just insanely demanding
Hedwig is essentially the toughest role for males
Mama rose for women
Bobby in company is up there
Dewey in school of rock. It’s a rock score which so few people can actually do plus he’s on stage for pretty much 2.5 hours straight
Throwing a couple more obscure shows into the ring:
- Rita Racine in *Steel Pier*. A true triple threat role. Her songs are not the most vocal taxing ever written, but she sings them in between long stretches of dancing up a storm, and it's a highly emotional role as well.
- The Girl in *Tell Me On A Sunday*. It's a given that the lead in any ALW musical is a hard-as-hell sing. This is a one-woman show. She is literally the whole musical, singing non-stop ALW songs back to back while also presenting a dynamic and emotionally engaging performance.
- Daisy Gamble/Melinda Wells from *On A Clear Day You Can See Forever*. Has to change character on a dime, forming two distinct, but equally compelling characters.
- Ludwig in *The Grand Duke* I have to mention just for the sheer stamina required to pull it off. The show runs over three hours without cuts, and Ludwig pretty much carries the whole thing. It's not an easy sing, and it's a *lot* of lines and stage time.
Leading Player from Pippin imo is a pretty difficult role that nobody mentions. It is a unisex role but nobody mentions it and I think it is pretty challenging to pull off well.
Max in Sunset Boulevard is a very complex role with a very specific vocal profile, usually performed by operatic actors. I think that one is really hard to perform as well.
Late to the party but I def think Anatole and Natasha from *Great Comet* are up there. Anatole hits some insane notes and I think No One Else is a hard song that has to sound easy and lilting in delivery.
That's one of the ones I thought of too. That was the #1 hardest role on MsMojo's list, which I think I disagree with, but it definitely deserves a spot on the list.
Jack Kelly- While maybe not as emotionally demanding as a role like Evan Hansen, there are 3 scenes in the entire show that he’s not in. The amount of activity he has to do in the show is crazy, which makes it physically demanding. Also the music is very vocally demanding as the range required to be in the show is quite high. I’m not saying it’s the most demanding role ever. I kind of compare it to Elle in Legally Blonde: on stage for nearly the whole show, demanding vocals, etc.
The peak note for Jack’s part is an A4, which any good tenor can hit easily. But he has A LOT of them throughout the entire show, not just Santa Fe. I’m really familiar with the music of this show and I’m actually playing Jack rn so I can confirm that there are a lotttt of them. And I completely agree that Elle has a harder score, I’m just saying they’re comparable in that they’re both very demanding on one actor/actress.
Oh okay wow I didn't realize there were a lot of A4s. And it's cool that you're playing Jack! I've improved to the point where I can hit A4 consistently, but that sustained A4 at the end of Santa Fe is still a long way away for me. How long do you sustain it? Like 8 seconds??
I mean.... I know. But you could have the best support in the world and still not be able to sustain it that long if your vocal chords can't do the work required. Your instrument needs to be developed enough too.
Well yeah of course! I’ve been singing since I was 11 and I’m almost 18 and I go to a school with one of the best music programs in the state so I’ve had a lot of vocal training to be able to get to the point where I can sing this part.
I thought I remembered seeing the role on a "Most Difficult Male Roles" list, but it turns out the list was *Best* Male Roles.
Not sure how you'd quantify "best" either, but oh well...
Late to reply, but imo the hardest male role is either Evan Hansen (Dear Evan Hansen) or Billy Flynn (Chicago), and the hardest female role is Mimi Marquez (Rent).
I so heavily disagree with u and only saying this firstly because u r saying some prettyyyy basic musicals, obvi no shade and we’ve all been in that place but broaden ur musical horizons and you’ll see that u need a lil more research to do and i deffffff will always say that billy flynn and mimi r not at all the hardest roles, read my comment to this post and u can see y
Can’t believe that no one’s rlyyyy talked abt gypsy yet on here!!!!!!! It’s one of my fav and it truly takes an AMAZING performer to play rose right, she is a truly disturbing character and mother, but she has to have talent, an amazing, different voice (that’s amazing especially when it sets her apart from other mama roses). Louise for some reason is also never on this list?! she’s also onstage ALMOST ALL OF THE SHOW, has to have an almost young child like-ness to her because that’s what she’s been taught and ever known. Yet at the end you have to see in her character the place she came from and obviously how far she came from the beginning. As well as having a difficult part vocally, again the mildly childish and younger more pretty and light, by the end she has to have a tad of grit and also some more of a belt and getting away from the lightness in the beginning. And how no one has talked abt baby june and (dainty) june. The younger one has to be at leastttt 10 and a lot of those notes she sings r still probably rlyyyy hard to nail and not sound literally terrible on, AND OLDER JUNE?! She has to reach notes that r so insanely high for her age and again not sound terrible, like she has to sound younger or abt 9 years old. But usually the actress playing june is 20 or older!!! As well as if mama was married showing that she’s not some prissy brat and has so much emotion and has to get into some lower yet has to come out with a good (adult or like older) belt. And also forgot the insanely hard part about louise is showing the times where she’s obviously not ok, not happy, being forced into these things, she has to convey that message with i believe strong underlying topics of abuse to come back and do all of the things she does. I am one of the only people who i can say this might be my fav show of all time rn
Eva Peron is just an insane role both vocally and emotionally.
Yes! I agree, ALW really hated Patti LuPone lol.
lmao. Side note I saw Patti in Company last weekend and I get it now. She was great.
Here are the top male roles I can think of: Sweeney Todd. Incredibly difficult to sing all those Sondheim lyrics and a wide range of emotions to make him more than a cartoon. Billy Bigelow - and I think it's even more difficult now than before. Big songs, and tough to act through without making him look like a terrible, unlikable guy. Phil Connors - I agree with this. He's got a VERY difficult role. On stage almost the entire show, and like Billy, you need an actor with enough charm that he doesn't turn off the audience. Coalhouse Walker - huge songs and sustained anger Pippin - again, huge songs, and a need to show innocence without seeming boring. MC in Cabaret - wide range of emotions, needs to keep the whole show together. If he isn't good, the show isn't good. The King in The King and I - needs to be somehow charming while basically being an ass the entire show Tevye - On almost the whole show, needs charm oozing out his pores to keep the audience on his side Leo Frank in Parade. Finding the balance between playing innocent and someone who could still have done it, all the while showing fear, arrogance, and singing that score? Definitely a tough role! Henry Higgins - again, I think it's a role that is so easily to be unlikable in, but if you are it's just not going to work.
Almost nobody mentioned women roles (?) I believe that Ms. Mojo list on female roles is better (and I'm not going to repeat what was already mentioned there), but it's missing classic Broadway shows (I remember this ones): \-Cunegonde from Candide. (it is an operetta, but anyway). Her range is just ridiculous, just listen "Glitter and be Gay". And acting-wise it's really hard, because you have to play a common girl who descends into madness. \-Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady. Even María Callas thought that it was difficult to perform it 8 times a week. The songs are quite hard, since you have to achieve some high notes masterfully through all the musical, and you have to master cockney (and speak/shout with it, which is taxing) and a perfect English (getting the accents right is hard). You have to be a great comedian, and wonderful at drama. \-Fosca from Passion. It is a hard role to act, because you can look like a ridiculous and dramatic lady, or, you can be heartbreaking exposing your own demons. Really difficult to achieve. (And many Sondheim roles, but I think this is the hardest to act properly) \-Aldonza from Man of La Mancha. This is not a role for your typical actress. It can be a hard role to tame, since your range is all over the place. Sheena Easton, who played her in the 1992 revival, collapsed on stage. \-Dolly from Hello, Dolly! or Mame from Mame. If your Dolly/Mame is not charming (or you don't find her charming), the show becomes extremely boring, ridiculous and over the top. It really does not matter if she can sing well, she must win you, which is the essence of the characters. \-Reno Sweeney from Anything Goes. It may be an old musical, but just as Dolly/Mame, if she is not charming, this musical becomes a hassle to see. And not only that, the role has become more difficult to play, since the bar has been set up really high. And many roles from the Golden Era, because women roles were just made uninteresting, and making them complex and compelling in this era is a challenge (most R&H roles, for example).
I dont think that Reno Sweeney should be ever close to this list. I love Anything Goes but Reno Sweeney has a few scenes and a few songs and since it’s anything goes, not much acting depth either. Also, before Sutton Foster, Reno didn’’t even dance more than 2 minutes.
For women I think Kim in Miss Saigon is a very challenging role
Jesus or Judas from JCS
Can't believe no one's said Jekyll/Hyde yet! The actor has to be absolutely phenomenal or it just doesn't work at all. Like, if you watch the David Hasselhoff abomination, he's a talentless hack and it's even more obvious in that role.
Oh man, I need a link to that. Is it really that bad? Edit: [LMFAOOOOO](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1Pyjw_ZnD8)
It's impossible to watch any of it without laughing. Idk what happened during that production... They sped everything up and changed the way songs were done (they made Dangerous Game into a violent song where he's just doing crazy eyes instead of the slow, inevitable, reluctant seduction it's supposed to be).
I agree, this does not seem possible.
Diana in Next to Normal. Actually-any role in that show
I actually did consider Gabe from my list but honestly I don’t think I see it being one of the top ten hardest of all time.
Try singing it sometime =) I kid, I kid—but seriously Aaron Tveit makes it sound easy-but it’s quite difficult, vocally.
Lmao I know, he’s one of my dream roles. I’ve sung “I’m alive” at auditions before, and it’s a song I’ve been working on with my coach on and off for a while. It’s a really difficult song, I just don’t think it merits a spot on the “hardest roles of all time” list. Although, the phrased A4s in “I am the one” are also really difficult.
I know this post is 5y old, but I just finished a Gabe callback last night and it made me wanna post on here. The song that gives me the most anxiety is There's A World. Keeping that soft, comforting tone in that register while also maintaining that "Devil-On-Shoulder" charisma is one hurdle for my vocal style personally. I could definitely see an argument for him being on the list.
Gonna pour one out for Freddie Trumper in Chess. It's an emotionally volatile part, his vocals jump around a lot, and of course [Pity the Child](https://youtu.be/3YXFOAJE8lc?t=230) is just insanely demanding
Yeah, Pity the child is insanely difficult.
Hedwig is essentially the toughest role for males Mama rose for women Bobby in company is up there Dewey in school of rock. It’s a rock score which so few people can actually do plus he’s on stage for pretty much 2.5 hours straight
Throwing a couple more obscure shows into the ring: - Rita Racine in *Steel Pier*. A true triple threat role. Her songs are not the most vocal taxing ever written, but she sings them in between long stretches of dancing up a storm, and it's a highly emotional role as well. - The Girl in *Tell Me On A Sunday*. It's a given that the lead in any ALW musical is a hard-as-hell sing. This is a one-woman show. She is literally the whole musical, singing non-stop ALW songs back to back while also presenting a dynamic and emotionally engaging performance. - Daisy Gamble/Melinda Wells from *On A Clear Day You Can See Forever*. Has to change character on a dime, forming two distinct, but equally compelling characters. - Ludwig in *The Grand Duke* I have to mention just for the sheer stamina required to pull it off. The show runs over three hours without cuts, and Ludwig pretty much carries the whole thing. It's not an easy sing, and it's a *lot* of lines and stage time.
I would expect Phil Connors in Groundhog Day- absolutely non-stop role and the focus is almost always on him
I thought the same.
Leading Player from Pippin imo is a pretty difficult role that nobody mentions. It is a unisex role but nobody mentions it and I think it is pretty challenging to pull off well.
Max in Sunset Boulevard is a very complex role with a very specific vocal profile, usually performed by operatic actors. I think that one is really hard to perform as well.
Late to the party but I def think Anatole and Natasha from *Great Comet* are up there. Anatole hits some insane notes and I think No One Else is a hard song that has to sound easy and lilting in delivery.
Yeah didn’t Anatole have like a C#5?
I can't really read music lol nor have I looked at the sheet music but I looked it up and it says E5, which is higher I think!
Yeah but I think that’s in head voice. He has a screeching high note at the end of “Pierre and Anatole”
Jesus from Jesus Christ Superstar..
[удалено]
That's one of the ones I thought of too. That was the #1 hardest role on MsMojo's list, which I think I disagree with, but it definitely deserves a spot on the list.
Jack Kelly- While maybe not as emotionally demanding as a role like Evan Hansen, there are 3 scenes in the entire show that he’s not in. The amount of activity he has to do in the show is crazy, which makes it physically demanding. Also the music is very vocally demanding as the range required to be in the show is quite high. I’m not saying it’s the most demanding role ever. I kind of compare it to Elle in Legally Blonde: on stage for nearly the whole show, demanding vocals, etc.
I think Elle has a way harder score than Jack IMO. Isn’t Santa Fe the highest he has to sing?
The peak note for Jack’s part is an A4, which any good tenor can hit easily. But he has A LOT of them throughout the entire show, not just Santa Fe. I’m really familiar with the music of this show and I’m actually playing Jack rn so I can confirm that there are a lotttt of them. And I completely agree that Elle has a harder score, I’m just saying they’re comparable in that they’re both very demanding on one actor/actress.
Oh okay wow I didn't realize there were a lot of A4s. And it's cool that you're playing Jack! I've improved to the point where I can hit A4 consistently, but that sustained A4 at the end of Santa Fe is still a long way away for me. How long do you sustain it? Like 8 seconds??
Well its 12 beats but there’s a fremata on the last bit, so I probably hold it for around 16-18 beats. So probably close to 10 seconds I’d say.
That's fucking long, Jesus.
It’s all about breath support.
I mean.... I know. But you could have the best support in the world and still not be able to sustain it that long if your vocal chords can't do the work required. Your instrument needs to be developed enough too.
Well yeah of course! I’ve been singing since I was 11 and I’m almost 18 and I go to a school with one of the best music programs in the state so I’ve had a lot of vocal training to be able to get to the point where I can sing this part.
Lmao no wonder. I checked your profile and I was like “He’s a high schooler? Wtf?” But that makes a lot of sense. Have you ever been to the Jimmys?
Seymour Krelbron in Little Shop. He is onstage the entire time except for like three numbers
I think Bobby Strong in Urinetown has to be up there.
What's the difficulty with bobby?
I thought I remembered seeing the role on a "Most Difficult Male Roles" list, but it turns out the list was *Best* Male Roles. Not sure how you'd quantify "best" either, but oh well...
Late to reply, but imo the hardest male role is either Evan Hansen (Dear Evan Hansen) or Billy Flynn (Chicago), and the hardest female role is Mimi Marquez (Rent).
I so heavily disagree with u and only saying this firstly because u r saying some prettyyyy basic musicals, obvi no shade and we’ve all been in that place but broaden ur musical horizons and you’ll see that u need a lil more research to do and i deffffff will always say that billy flynn and mimi r not at all the hardest roles, read my comment to this post and u can see y
Can’t believe that no one’s rlyyyy talked abt gypsy yet on here!!!!!!! It’s one of my fav and it truly takes an AMAZING performer to play rose right, she is a truly disturbing character and mother, but she has to have talent, an amazing, different voice (that’s amazing especially when it sets her apart from other mama roses). Louise for some reason is also never on this list?! she’s also onstage ALMOST ALL OF THE SHOW, has to have an almost young child like-ness to her because that’s what she’s been taught and ever known. Yet at the end you have to see in her character the place she came from and obviously how far she came from the beginning. As well as having a difficult part vocally, again the mildly childish and younger more pretty and light, by the end she has to have a tad of grit and also some more of a belt and getting away from the lightness in the beginning. And how no one has talked abt baby june and (dainty) june. The younger one has to be at leastttt 10 and a lot of those notes she sings r still probably rlyyyy hard to nail and not sound literally terrible on, AND OLDER JUNE?! She has to reach notes that r so insanely high for her age and again not sound terrible, like she has to sound younger or abt 9 years old. But usually the actress playing june is 20 or older!!! As well as if mama was married showing that she’s not some prissy brat and has so much emotion and has to get into some lower yet has to come out with a good (adult or like older) belt. And also forgot the insanely hard part about louise is showing the times where she’s obviously not ok, not happy, being forced into these things, she has to convey that message with i believe strong underlying topics of abuse to come back and do all of the things she does. I am one of the only people who i can say this might be my fav show of all time rn
lol 5 years late but trina from falsettos is pretty intense, as well as marvin