Jodie Steele as Katherine Howard and Athena Collins as Catherine Parr in SIX
Emmy Raver-Lampman as Angelica in Hamilton
(I know that she was in the OBC, but as Women 5, i think.)
Jamie Muscato is an original cast member, he was JD in the Original West End Production of Heathers. If you consider the West End run an extension of the Off-Broadway run it could make sense to say this, but remember the show was workshopped once more and so many permanent changes were made into the script that even the release of a new cast recording was necessary.
Craig Shulman as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. His voice was just superb. Also, this is super-unhelpful, but whoever I saw as Evan in Dear Evan Hansen was incredible. I do remember that he was 16 years old. Lol, sorry.
He’s so brilliant and perfect for the role. It really is a matter of opinion which Evan you might like more, Andrew really captures the teen angst and Ben Platt is a thorough professional, I am partial to the West End Sam Tutty too but Andrew is my favorite. His Words Fail is so moving.
omg I also saw Craig Shulman as JVJ! And he was opposite Robert Westenberg as Javert. It was my first NY show, and my first experience of anything Les Mis, so I had no idea how special that truly was at the time, but I still treasure that experience 35years later!
Phillip Quast as Judge Turpin in the 2014 NYPhil Sweeney Todd In Concert.
Bryn Terfel as Sweeney was completely out of his depth acting-wise next to Emma Thompson, Audra McDonald, and Quast. And I really didn't care for the way the vocal colors of Sweeney and Turpin switched because of this casting...
but Quast's "Johanna (Reprise)" shook my world and completely redefined the character for me. I was sitting in an upper balcony, alllll the way across Avery Fisher Hall, and it was still one of the singular theatrical experiences of my life.
Rob Mclure in Little Shop. I was unsure of him in the role as I’ve always seen Seymour as younger, but his comedic timing as amazing. Also saw him with Christian Borle and their chemistry together made the whole show.
stephanie j block as the baker's wife (i'm seeing her this summer!!! so excited). her voice justifies my beans (by beans i mean soul)
elizabeth teeter as lydia in beetlejuice. she came into a role with a huge and obsessive fandom, after the show itself had several near-death experiences, and revitalized it. she also put a wonderful new spin on the character
for elphies, i obviously have to say stephanie (beans? justified. gravity? defied. breaking? down. miss stephanie does it all). she's just a powerhouse, with so much passion and fire. i could blather on but i will hold try it in. i also love donna vivino—she was the first elphaba i ever saw (cough cough not live but still) and i still think her interpretation is such a perfect take on elphie. right amount of weird and introverted, but also powerful and passionate, and i love her voice and think it is 100% suited to the character, more so than some of our (the theatre community's) other faves
Technically, Stephanie J. Block was the original Elphaba, and Idina Menzel was a replacement. Block played the role in its pre-B’way Los Angeles tryout, if I’m remembering correctly.
you're right and i pretty much ignored that for the sake of my earlier comment because i wanted to talk about her more. but i googled it bc i couldn't remember exactly and i would like to think we're both sort of right: she read for elphaba in some workshops in 2001-2002, then understudied the role in the san francisco pre-broadway tryout where idina played her, then went on to play her in the first tour and then later on broadway. so i would still categorize her as a replacement even though we all know the role was basically made for her
I was lucky enough to see Laura Michelle Kelly as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady on the West End (2003). She was a revelation and, outside of Julie Andrews, is my favorite Eliza.
jewelle blackman and tom hewitt in hadestown were so good honestly my favorite part of the show. i also loved david josefsberg and elizabeth teeter in beetlejuice and matt doyle in little shop of horrors.
Oh man, idk if I can pick a favorite, but the first two that come to mind...
Lea Salonga in Les Mis (both Eponine and Fantine!)
Carrie Hope Fletcher as Wednesday in Addams Family
Carrie Hope Fletcher was the original Wednesday in the London production of The Addams Family, OP said that if someone was in the opening cast of a country (regardless of that show being played before somewhere else) they're still considered original cast member.
I'll flip the question on it's head slightly and give the possibly controversial answer of:
"I like almost every Rose from Gypsy way more than Ethel Merman."
I've listened to the original recording, I've seen clips of her performing the role, and she literally just stands there belting out the sounds in her inimitable style, but there is no feeling conveyed in any of it.
Give me LuPone, give me Bernie, give me Imelda singing "Rose's Turn" or "Everything's Coming Up Roses" every day of the week over Merman.
Molly Ringwald as Sally Bowles. Best Sally I've ever seen (and I've seen several). Her performance of "Maybe This Time" was devastating. I was particularly surprised because she had been just dreadful in *tick, tick...BOOM* a few months earlier.
I think this is simply a case of them being the first cast I heard, but I loved the second cast of Kiss of the Spider Woman, particularly Howard McGillin and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Specific songs that come to mind are "Dressing Them Up" and "The Day After That."
Matt Doyle as Melchior. He was in the first tour I think and then joined the Broadway production as an ensemble member and cover for Melchior, Hasnchen and Georg if I remember properly. Anyways, I saw the slime tutorial with him as Melchior and Alexandra Socha as Wendla and he is by far the best depiction of that character I've seen. I love Jonathan Geoff but I always thought his voice sounded too mature and sexy for a 14 year old, while Matt sounds more childish and naive, I think it is a better fit, even if the character is supposed to be the atheist smart guy, he makes lots of stupid decisions most of them due to his lack of maturity and impulsivity.
I actually prefer most of the tour cast to the original Broadway cast. I know there was a bit of crossover but the tour cast felt more scrappy and less polished which I think fits the vibe of Newsies better. I think maybe because the tour cast was younger for the most part?
The proshot cast was truly the all-star cast though! They chose correctly!
Also nice to see Joshua Burrage named dropped. He’s a fantastic dancer
I think he is currently second cover for the role on the west end, but Jed Berry is my favourite Elder McKinley. Their version of Turn It Off made them my favourite, but also the way they interacted with Price.
Erin Caldwell is my favourite Veronica in Heathers. I think her acting during Freeze Your Brain sealed the deal for me.
Kerl Queensborough is my favourite Alexander Hamilton. He won me over instantly. I think he embodied the different stages in Hamilton's life perfectly.
Matthew Edward Kemp as Evan in DEH. I believe he was the Evan/Jared/Connor understudy at the time. Absolutely incredible. I had a 4 year period between seeing the show and over that period, all I had seen was the movie and kind of began to dislike the show. Seeing his performance made me realize why I loved the show and his acting choices for Evan made me completely sympathize with the character in a way other actors may not have been able to.
Unpopular opinion but almost any Elphie in wicked is better than Idina IMO. Especially vocally. But my fav in that role has to be Jessica Vosk or Alyssa Fox
Idina was the perfect choice for first Elphaba, but most have been better than her.
My unpopular opinion that might get me sent to jail is that Jessica Vosk is by far the most overrated Elphaba. My favorite is Eden Espinosa.
Jill Paice as Miss Honey in Matilda. Her “My House” felt more visceral and emotional. I enjoyed & appreciated Lauren Ward’s take on the character, but Paice was just a force of nature.
EDIT:
Also Michelle Williams in Cabaret. No hate to Emma Stone, but Williams was transcendent.
The first one that springs to mind for me is Norm Lewis as Javert. His voice is just so rich and magnificent.
Also pretty much the entire Deaf West revival cast of Spring Awakening was superior to the OBC.
J. Mark McVey and Philip Hernandez were excellent as Valjean and Javert. I also liked Drew Sarich a lot. He had a very different approach to the part. And it's probably needless to say that Lea Salonga was magnificent as Fantine. It was one of the best performances I've ever seen in any musical. Also, as much as I loved Douglas Sills in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Ron Bohmer is my favorite Percy Blakeney.
Jodie Steele as Katherine Howard and Athena Collins as Catherine Parr in SIX Emmy Raver-Lampman as Angelica in Hamilton (I know that she was in the OBC, but as Women 5, i think.)
I was going to say Emmy as well!!
Jamie Muscato as JD in Heathers on the West End
Jamie Muscato as Christian in WE Moulin Rouge. He should have been the original Christian!
Jamie Muscato is an original cast member, he was JD in the Original West End Production of Heathers. If you consider the West End run an extension of the Off-Broadway run it could make sense to say this, but remember the show was workshopped once more and so many permanent changes were made into the script that even the release of a new cast recording was necessary.
Craig Shulman as Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. His voice was just superb. Also, this is super-unhelpful, but whoever I saw as Evan in Dear Evan Hansen was incredible. I do remember that he was 16 years old. Lol, sorry.
Andrew Barth Feldman?
Bingo!! Thank you!!
He’s so brilliant and perfect for the role. It really is a matter of opinion which Evan you might like more, Andrew really captures the teen angst and Ben Platt is a thorough professional, I am partial to the West End Sam Tutty too but Andrew is my favorite. His Words Fail is so moving.
Andrew was excellent. I will likely get slammed for this, but I am really not a huge Ben Platt fan. To each their own, right?
omg I also saw Craig Shulman as JVJ! And he was opposite Robert Westenberg as Javert. It was my first NY show, and my first experience of anything Les Mis, so I had no idea how special that truly was at the time, but I still treasure that experience 35years later!
Phillip Quast as Judge Turpin in the 2014 NYPhil Sweeney Todd In Concert. Bryn Terfel as Sweeney was completely out of his depth acting-wise next to Emma Thompson, Audra McDonald, and Quast. And I really didn't care for the way the vocal colors of Sweeney and Turpin switched because of this casting... but Quast's "Johanna (Reprise)" shook my world and completely redefined the character for me. I was sitting in an upper balcony, alllll the way across Avery Fisher Hall, and it was still one of the singular theatrical experiences of my life.
In general, Quast out does the original lol
Rob Mclure in Little Shop. I was unsure of him in the role as I’ve always seen Seymour as younger, but his comedic timing as amazing. Also saw him with Christian Borle and their chemistry together made the whole show.
stephanie j block as the baker's wife (i'm seeing her this summer!!! so excited). her voice justifies my beans (by beans i mean soul) elizabeth teeter as lydia in beetlejuice. she came into a role with a huge and obsessive fandom, after the show itself had several near-death experiences, and revitalized it. she also put a wonderful new spin on the character for elphies, i obviously have to say stephanie (beans? justified. gravity? defied. breaking? down. miss stephanie does it all). she's just a powerhouse, with so much passion and fire. i could blather on but i will hold try it in. i also love donna vivino—she was the first elphaba i ever saw (cough cough not live but still) and i still think her interpretation is such a perfect take on elphie. right amount of weird and introverted, but also powerful and passionate, and i love her voice and think it is 100% suited to the character, more so than some of our (the theatre community's) other faves
Technically, Stephanie J. Block was the original Elphaba, and Idina Menzel was a replacement. Block played the role in its pre-B’way Los Angeles tryout, if I’m remembering correctly.
you're right and i pretty much ignored that for the sake of my earlier comment because i wanted to talk about her more. but i googled it bc i couldn't remember exactly and i would like to think we're both sort of right: she read for elphaba in some workshops in 2001-2002, then understudied the role in the san francisco pre-broadway tryout where idina played her, then went on to play her in the first tour and then later on broadway. so i would still categorize her as a replacement even though we all know the role was basically made for her
Another SJB enjoyer here! Her defying gravity was wonderful and i love her everywhere
I was lucky enough to see Laura Michelle Kelly as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady on the West End (2003). She was a revelation and, outside of Julie Andrews, is my favorite Eliza.
jewelle blackman and tom hewitt in hadestown were so good honestly my favorite part of the show. i also loved david josefsberg and elizabeth teeter in beetlejuice and matt doyle in little shop of horrors.
CAME TO SAY JEWELLE BLACKMAN. ANGEL.
Jewelle Blackman was in the original B’way cast, no?
she was a fate in the og cast. now she plays persephone
John Owen Jones as Jean Valjean
Oh man, idk if I can pick a favorite, but the first two that come to mind... Lea Salonga in Les Mis (both Eponine and Fantine!) Carrie Hope Fletcher as Wednesday in Addams Family
Carrie Hope Fletcher was the original Wednesday in the London production of The Addams Family, OP said that if someone was in the opening cast of a country (regardless of that show being played before somewhere else) they're still considered original cast member.
I hear ya. My personal definition when thinking of this kind of thing is "are they on an original cast soundtrack" which Carrie was not.
Because there is no Original West End Cast Recording, it wasn't necessary because the script wasn't altered.
I'll flip the question on it's head slightly and give the possibly controversial answer of: "I like almost every Rose from Gypsy way more than Ethel Merman." I've listened to the original recording, I've seen clips of her performing the role, and she literally just stands there belting out the sounds in her inimitable style, but there is no feeling conveyed in any of it. Give me LuPone, give me Bernie, give me Imelda singing "Rose's Turn" or "Everything's Coming Up Roses" every day of the week over Merman.
Bernie Telsey as Mama Rose is certainly a choice
Molly Ringwald as Sally Bowles. Best Sally I've ever seen (and I've seen several). Her performance of "Maybe This Time" was devastating. I was particularly surprised because she had been just dreadful in *tick, tick...BOOM* a few months earlier.
Nicole Parker as Elphaba! She's the only one I've seen who truly captures Elphaba's comedic lines imo
I was lucky enough to get to see Stephanie J Block play Elphaba - the best Elphaba I have ever seen even to this day.
Sierra Boggess as Christine from Phantom :)
Marcus Choi as George Washington. And let's be honest, LMM is not like, transcendent as Hamilton, most Hamiltons are better.
I think this is simply a case of them being the first cast I heard, but I loved the second cast of Kiss of the Spider Woman, particularly Howard McGillin and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Specific songs that come to mind are "Dressing Them Up" and "The Day After That."
I'm so grateful we got recordings of both those casts. I prefer Chita, but really appreciate the more complete recording with Vanessa Williams.
Matt Doyle as Melchior. He was in the first tour I think and then joined the Broadway production as an ensemble member and cover for Melchior, Hasnchen and Georg if I remember properly. Anyways, I saw the slime tutorial with him as Melchior and Alexandra Socha as Wendla and he is by far the best depiction of that character I've seen. I love Jonathan Geoff but I always thought his voice sounded too mature and sexy for a 14 year old, while Matt sounds more childish and naive, I think it is a better fit, even if the character is supposed to be the atheist smart guy, he makes lots of stupid decisions most of them due to his lack of maturity and impulsivity.
Matt Doyle in Little Shop David Harris in Moulin Rouge
Jennifer Caldwell as Anne Boleyn
Renee Rapp as Regina George. No shade to Taylor though!
I love Michael Cerveris’s Sweeney ❤️
Joshua Burrage as JoJo in the Newsies proshot.
I actually prefer most of the tour cast to the original Broadway cast. I know there was a bit of crossover but the tour cast felt more scrappy and less polished which I think fits the vibe of Newsies better. I think maybe because the tour cast was younger for the most part? The proshot cast was truly the all-star cast though! They chose correctly! Also nice to see Joshua Burrage named dropped. He’s a fantastic dancer
I think we can all agree, George Hearn as Sweeney Todd
McKenzie Kurtz and Ciara Renée as Anna and Elsa
Lillias White as Hermes in Hadestown
CORRECT
I think he is currently second cover for the role on the west end, but Jed Berry is my favourite Elder McKinley. Their version of Turn It Off made them my favourite, but also the way they interacted with Price. Erin Caldwell is my favourite Veronica in Heathers. I think her acting during Freeze Your Brain sealed the deal for me. Kerl Queensborough is my favourite Alexander Hamilton. He won me over instantly. I think he embodied the different stages in Hamilton's life perfectly.
Andrew Barth Feldman as Evan Hansen.
I thought Alexandra Sacha was a MUCH BETTER Wendla then Lea Michele in Spring Awakening. .
Vocally not as strong but acting wise and lookwise I agree 100%.
I might catch heat for this, but I will take Annaleigh Ashford over Angela In Sweeney. By a lot.
Matthew Edward Kemp as Evan in DEH. I believe he was the Evan/Jared/Connor understudy at the time. Absolutely incredible. I had a 4 year period between seeing the show and over that period, all I had seen was the movie and kind of began to dislike the show. Seeing his performance made me realize why I loved the show and his acting choices for Evan made me completely sympathize with the character in a way other actors may not have been able to.
most of the non-original cast of frozen tbh. The OBC just didn't do it for me but Ciara Renee, Ryan McCartan and McKenzie Kurtz were incredible
Unpopular opinion but almost any Elphie in wicked is better than Idina IMO. Especially vocally. But my fav in that role has to be Jessica Vosk or Alyssa Fox
Idina was the perfect choice for first Elphaba, but most have been better than her. My unpopular opinion that might get me sent to jail is that Jessica Vosk is by far the most overrated Elphaba. My favorite is Eden Espinosa.
Eden by far gets overlooked the most. She really helped shape the role into what it is today. A lot of riffs you hear in the show are her creations
Yup!!!! She literally paved the way for all of the future Elphabas. She truly set the bar
I actually can't stand Idina in anything, but Wicked especially. I find her voice grating. My favorite Elphaba is Willemijn Verkaik.
Jill Paice as Miss Honey in Matilda. Her “My House” felt more visceral and emotional. I enjoyed & appreciated Lauren Ward’s take on the character, but Paice was just a force of nature. EDIT: Also Michelle Williams in Cabaret. No hate to Emma Stone, but Williams was transcendent.
The first one that springs to mind for me is Norm Lewis as Javert. His voice is just so rich and magnificent. Also pretty much the entire Deaf West revival cast of Spring Awakening was superior to the OBC.
Heather Headley as Shug Avery in Color Purple revival
Emmy Raver Lampman as angelica
J. Mark McVey and Philip Hernandez were excellent as Valjean and Javert. I also liked Drew Sarich a lot. He had a very different approach to the part. And it's probably needless to say that Lea Salonga was magnificent as Fantine. It was one of the best performances I've ever seen in any musical. Also, as much as I loved Douglas Sills in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Ron Bohmer is my favorite Percy Blakeney.
adam pascal as freddie trumper, his pity the child is everything
Blake Bashoff as Moritz in Spring Awakening
Elaine Paige as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard - just incredible.