In this week's Entertainment Weekly cover story, the EW staff select their picks for the "100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years." Predictably, the list is heavy on movies and TV, but the staff do throw in some token nods to the culture crowd. There are a few literary characters -- that is, if Bridget Jones is your idea of literature.
Perhaps surprisingly, there are actually a couple of characters from theater, although both are from musical theater, and neither would necessarily have made my list for the most memorable: Mimi Marquez (Rent) and Elphaba (Wicked). Um, thanks for throwing us a bone, EW, but there were *many* more memorable theater characters in the last 20 years. Many *many* more.
Here's my list of some of the most memorable theater characters of the last 20 years. Of course, there's a considerable bias towards musical theater reflected in the list below. Dear reader, feel free to add your nominations -- from musicals or straight plays -- and I will forward the compilation to EW upon completion. For the most part, I only chose one character per show. Let me know if you think a different character from that show is more memorable.
MUSICALS
- Stu, Yank
- Fela Kuti, Fela
- Heywood, The Scottsboro Boys
- Andrew Jackson, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson
- Diana Goodman, Next to Normal
- Susan Blackwell, [title of show]
- Stew, Passing Strange
- Uncle Winston, A Catered Affair
- Mr. Zero, Adding Machine
- Usnavi, In the Heights
- Clio/Kira, Xanadu
- Edie Bouvier Beale, Grey Gardens
- Melchior Gabor, Spring Awakening
- Man in Chair, The Drowsy Chaperone
- William Barfee, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
- Celie, The Color Purple
- Mark, Altar Boyz
- Freddy Benson, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
- Pippi, The Great American Trailer Park Musical
- Margaret Johnson, The Light in the Piazza
- Dessa Rose, Dessa Rose
- Caroline Thibodeaux, Caroline, or Change
- Rod, Avenue Q
- Tracy Turnblad, Hairspray
- Cathy Hyatt, The Last Five Years
- Mrs. Meers, Thoroughly Modern Millie
- Little Sally, Urinetown
- Bat Boy, Bat Boy
- Dusoleil, Amour
- Jesus, Reefer Madness
- Alfie Byrne, A Man of No Importance
- Jerry Lukowski, The Full Monty
- Roger De Bris, The Producers
- Jon, Tick, Tick...Boom
- J.J. Hunsecker, The Sweet Smell of Success
- Queenie, The Wild Party
- Lucille Frank, Parade
- Coalhouse Walker Jr., Ragtime
- Shelby Stevens, Steel Pier
- Violet Karl, Violet
- Floyd Collins, Floyd Collins
- Gordon Schwinn, A New Brain
- Hedwig, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
- Daisy/Violet Hilton, Side Show
- Angel Dumont Shunard, Rent
- Norma Desmond, Sunset Boulevard
- Luis Alberto Molina, Kiss of the Spiderwoman
- Fosca, Passion
- The Whore, Hello Again
- Jelly Roll Morton, Jelly's Last Jam
- Marvin, Falsettos
- Stine, City of Angels
- Otto Kringelein, Grand Hotel
- Archibald Craven, The Secret Garden
- Ti Moune, Once on This Island
- John Wilkes Booth, Assassins
DRAMA (I don't really see a lot of plays. Here's where you come in, dear reader. Feel free to add your nominations below. --CC)
- Violet Weston, August Osage County
- Veronica, God of Carnage
- Diane, The Little Dog Laughed
- Sister Aloysius, Doubt
- Richard Nixon, Frost/Nixon
- Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, I Am My Own Wife
- Mason Marzac, Take Me Out
- Catherine, Proof
- Lettice Douffet, Lettice and Lovage
- B, Three Tall Women
- Ouisa Kittredge, Six Degrees of Separation
- Roy Cohn, Angels in America
- Gorgeous Titelbaum, The Sisters Rosensweig
- Buzz Hauser Love! Valour! Compassion!
- Maria Callas, Master Class
- Mag Folan, The Beauty Queen of Leenane
- Jeffrey, Jeffrey
- Oscar Wilde, Gross Indecency
