Jeremy Jordan. I knew him first from Supergirl but discovered that he was Jack in Newsies, then found out about Varian and started listening to his other works like The Last Five Years, then I find that he’s Lucifer in Hazbin Hotel! And finally, I’m now a sucker for Death Note Musical. Also the reason why I’m gonna be watching and reading Death Note.
Christian Borle by FAR. I have a whole Pinterest board for him and am on a journey to watch all of the plays he's been in (that have been recorded somewhere). I have been a really big fan ever since I watched the Legally Blonde proshot earlier this year (yes, I know it's very recent, but I'm relatively new to watching Broadway musicals)
I already did!! So far I've watched Falsettos, LSOH, Some Like it Hot, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Something Rotten, Legally Blonde and am on the process of watching Smash. I know I still need to see him in Spamallot, Peter and the Starcatcher, Me and My Girl and The 3 Musketeers. There are a few others I know he's been in but can't find the recording 😁
Even though I've only heard him as Jekyll and Hyde, I gotta agree. He is so unbelievably talented, and he has a phenomenal voice. He was the best Jekyll and Hyde by FAR.
Agreed. And his performance in Transformation is equally as impressive. He managed to make the switch from singing to screaming so smoothly and flawlessly.
"And drives me INSAAAAAAAAA--AAAAAAAAAAH!!"
I hope this isn’t weird but I clicked your profile and the first thing I saw was multiple posts with Billy Talent albums on them & they’re my fave band (seen them 17 times) so like if you ever wanna chat! I don’t meet many people who are into Billy Talent and Stratfest LMAOOO
not weird at all! wow that's so awesome! i've only really got into billy talent in the past year and a half but i love their music, and i'm a chronic theatre kid who lives really close to stratford so it's pretty much a given lol. i'd be down to chat
Alex Young, Jenna Russell, Daniel Evans, Joshua Henry, Jessie Mueller, Donna Murphy, Beverley Knight, Janie Dee, Imelda Staunton, Michael Cerveris, Jessie Buckley, Hannah Waddingham
I might come back and add more ;)
[Here's a clip](https://youtu.be/JRc48cY_7bI?si=Rh0_3RWXbjxbpVxX) of Esperaza performing the Finale.
EDIT: For comparison, [here](https://youtu.be/yJGSEHTsbP8?si=U5YcSPi3pNqAy03G) is Esperaza's take on Wilkommen. You can find clips of him performing several songs in Cabaret, including If You Could See Her and I Don't Care Much.
Stephanie J Block, the way she absolutely performs the hell out of any performance whether she's in a show or performing for an event and has no costume or props, she just fully embodies that character and she's never gotten boring to watch, plus ofc her incredible vocals
YESSS I had that song on my playlist after hearing it on tik tok for about 3 months before actually watching falsettos so I already liked the song, when I saw the performance in the pro shot OH MY GOD I actually cried cus it was so good and exceeded my expectations SO MUCH she was incredible and was constantly doing something that never made me wanna stop watching, everything about that performance was so compelling to watch, after that I found so many of her other performances and fell in love with her as an actress but that was the starting point it was INCREDIBLE
Brent Carver, my artistic role model. Always stunningly present, letting the moment burn in him and sing through him. Watching him could feel like seeing a soul in the thin, permeable guise of a person, that's how little guard there could be between the truth of his character's experiences and all of us watching. I saw him in JCS and Camelot, and from there the shape of my world changed forever.
He was a magical being. I miss him.
Thomas Borchert. The first time I heard his voice, I literally stopped what I was doing to find out who was singing. Something about his voice really appeals to me.
I know he’s already been mentioned but Christian Borle has held this spot since I first got into musicals 8 yrs ago, right as the Falsettos revival cast was announced. He didn’t become a favorite until I saw the rehearsals, at the time was mostly there for Andrew Rannells. While Andrew is still one of my favorites, Christian has stolen his spot as my #1. I would watch anything if he’s in it, which is how I got into Hazbin Hotel.
I only had a top 4 list which had been unchanged until last year when I finally listened to Beetlejuice and so Alex Brightman has filled out the list and given me a top 5!
Alex Brightman also. Not only is he in some of my favourite musicals and cartoons, but seeing him in school of rock and Beetlejuice actually hugely improved my self esteem and body image. That's the first time I can remember seeing a guy who's built like me being in media and actually being cool and not just comedic relief.
She's been Nessarose in Wicked, Kim in Miss Saigon, Diane Goodman in Next to Normal, Donna in Mamma Mia (in a Guam production), and originated Jasmine in Disney's "Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular". She's been in If/Then and The Who's Tommy, as well.
Fun fact: Her husband is also a Broadway actor too, and they've nearly *always* been in the same productions together
John Owen Jones. He has played Valjean and The Phantom multiple times and originated the roles of Valjean and The Phantom on the newer production tours.
Ramin Karimloo. There are several Broadway actors who have incredible voices, but he just transcends. There's a video of him singing "Lily's Eyes" from The Secret Garden with Cheyenne Jackson and I just melt at his entrance every time.
Said actors with incredible voices:
Jeremy Jordan
Aaron Tveit
Jonathan Groff
For the women:
Lea Michele
Philippa Soo
Audra McDonald
Sierra Boggess
Out of actors still with us, I think I’m most impressed by Josh Young, and wish I saw more of him past JCS. The fact that he’s a baritone who can play Judas consistently and with power (even if he sometimes opts down, bc who wouldn’t as a baritone) is so crazy. His Heaven on Their Minds is phenomenal. Also shoutout to Jarrod Spector who’s underrated
Have you seen Josh Young’s performance of [“Bring On The Men”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jdYgWa5hA_4&pp=ygUgYnJpbmcgb24gdGhlIG1lbiBqZWt5bGwgYW5kIGh5ZGU%3D)?
For me it’s a tie between Jeremy Jordan and Andrew Rannels. But if I had to pick I’d say Jeremy Jordan. I have always loved his performance Newsies and when I found out he was Varian that was the cherry on top.
Mandy Patinkin is just gorgeous and I will gladly watch him in anything.
However - for talent, I have to choose Audra McDonald. Exquisite voice, amazing looks and she can act just about any role.
Ramin Karimloo, Mandy Patinkin, Michael Ball. Ramin for his unbeatable Phantom portrayals (I also have seen him live which was in every way perfect); Mandy and Michael because of the emotion and vulnerability in their performances, which I feel you often don’t see because the actor is focusing on impressive vocals or remaining ‘masculine’.
Jeremy Jordan. I knew him first from Supergirl but discovered that he was Jack in Newsies, then found out about Varian and started listening to his other works like The Last Five Years, then I find that he’s Lucifer in Hazbin Hotel! And finally, I’m now a sucker for Death Note Musical. Also the reason why I’m gonna be watching and reading Death Note.
hey why did you steal my life?
😋Great minds think alike, mi amigo.
Have you seen Smash?
No.
Christian Borle by FAR. I have a whole Pinterest board for him and am on a journey to watch all of the plays he's been in (that have been recorded somewhere). I have been a really big fan ever since I watched the Legally Blonde proshot earlier this year (yes, I know it's very recent, but I'm relatively new to watching Broadway musicals)
Please listen to/watch Falsettos, Something Rotten, and Little Shop of Horrors (off-Broadway revival with him and Groff)
I already did!! So far I've watched Falsettos, LSOH, Some Like it Hot, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Something Rotten, Legally Blonde and am on the process of watching Smash. I know I still need to see him in Spamallot, Peter and the Starcatcher, Me and My Girl and The 3 Musketeers. There are a few others I know he's been in but can't find the recording 😁
my pick as well he's phenomenal in everything he's in (although Shakespeare has a special place in my heart)
YES!!! Omg I would pay anything to be able to watch him performing Will Power for the first time again 😳
you get it 😉
He’s amazing in Falsettos!
Right?! It instantly became my favorite musical ever
Fun Fact: Christian Borle starred in the Disney Jr original film “Lucky Duck” alongside Tom Cavanagh aka Reverse Flash
Now I'll have to watch it 💀💀
He's also in the show Hazbin Hotel. He's got a couple singing parts and sounds pretty great
I watched it purely because of him 😅 the disappointment when I found out he's only in like 2 episodes was so real
Anthony Warlow
Even though I've only heard him as Jekyll and Hyde, I gotta agree. He is so unbelievably talented, and he has a phenomenal voice. He was the best Jekyll and Hyde by FAR.
His performance on Confrontation is just… there’s no words
Agreed. And his performance in Transformation is equally as impressive. He managed to make the switch from singing to screaming so smoothly and flawlessly. "And drives me INSAAAAAAAAA--AAAAAAAAAAH!!"
renee elise goldsberry. I saw her live, years ago, before the Hamilton craziness in a small blackbox production, she’s just so captivating.
Christian Borle for Broadway and it’s really not even close. Local to me is Dan Chameroy, shoutout Ontario.
yESS STRATFEST REPRESENT
LET’S GOOOOO Dan Chameroy my beloved
I hope this isn’t weird but I clicked your profile and the first thing I saw was multiple posts with Billy Talent albums on them & they’re my fave band (seen them 17 times) so like if you ever wanna chat! I don’t meet many people who are into Billy Talent and Stratfest LMAOOO
not weird at all! wow that's so awesome! i've only really got into billy talent in the past year and a half but i love their music, and i'm a chronic theatre kid who lives really close to stratford so it's pretty much a given lol. i'd be down to chat
❤️❤️ Jonathan Groff ❤️❤️
I always just "enjoyed" him, until I saw Merrily We Roll Along. His performance was phenomenal. I am now 1000% a Groff fan!
Groffsauce is the guy for me ❤️
Yup. Yes. Totally.
Alex Young, Jenna Russell, Daniel Evans, Joshua Henry, Jessie Mueller, Donna Murphy, Beverley Knight, Janie Dee, Imelda Staunton, Michael Cerveris, Jessie Buckley, Hannah Waddingham I might come back and add more ;)
All of these are just so good, though, of these, I'd say Jenna Russel is my Fav.
Josh Henry's voice is just gorgeous.
Raúl Esparza, he's criminally underrated
My absolute favorite performer and by far!
SO AMAZING, one of my favorites to see live.
Have you ever seen his take on the Emcee in Cabaret?
YESSSSS
Fuck man, his take on the Finale was so haunting - I rate it above Alan Cumming. I just found it so visceral and affecting.
How might one experience a bit of this for themselves? Asking for a me.
[Here's a clip](https://youtu.be/JRc48cY_7bI?si=Rh0_3RWXbjxbpVxX) of Esperaza performing the Finale. EDIT: For comparison, [here](https://youtu.be/yJGSEHTsbP8?si=U5YcSPi3pNqAy03G) is Esperaza's take on Wilkommen. You can find clips of him performing several songs in Cabaret, including If You Could See Her and I Don't Care Much.
Mandy Patinkin
Aaron Tveit and Nathan Lane And also Drew Sarich And Gavin Creel And Ms Patti LuPone And Chita Rivera
Stephanie J Block, the way she absolutely performs the hell out of any performance whether she's in a show or performing for an event and has no costume or props, she just fully embodies that character and she's never gotten boring to watch, plus ofc her incredible vocals
My jaw is forever dropped at her hitting A VERY HIGH BEAUTIFUL NOTE in I’m Breaking Down from Falsettos WHILE HAVING BANANA IN HER MOUTH!!!
YESSS I had that song on my playlist after hearing it on tik tok for about 3 months before actually watching falsettos so I already liked the song, when I saw the performance in the pro shot OH MY GOD I actually cried cus it was so good and exceeded my expectations SO MUCH she was incredible and was constantly doing something that never made me wanna stop watching, everything about that performance was so compelling to watch, after that I found so many of her other performances and fell in love with her as an actress but that was the starting point it was INCREDIBLE
Julie Andrews. She's my idol.
jeremy jordan
💯 I have tickets to Great Gatsby… can’t wait
SAME!!!
Jeremy Jordan
Bernadette Peters Brent Carver Chita Rivera Andrew Rannells
Brent Carver is so underrated as a performer. Parade changed my life.
Brent Carver, my artistic role model. Always stunningly present, letting the moment burn in him and sing through him. Watching him could feel like seeing a soul in the thin, permeable guise of a person, that's how little guard there could be between the truth of his character's experiences and all of us watching. I saw him in JCS and Camelot, and from there the shape of my world changed forever. He was a magical being. I miss him.
Aaron Tveit could sing me the phone book
Thomas Borchert. The first time I heard his voice, I literally stopped what I was doing to find out who was singing. Something about his voice really appeals to me.
All of his performances are great, but TDV is my favorite!
Philip Quast and Heather Headley. Weirdo combo but they both give on point, incredibly powerful performances in their most iconic roles
Heather Headley is AMAZING
Philip Quast's Javert changed me fundamentally as a person
Idk if you can tell, but me too. I could go on and on. Him as Javert is probably my favorite musical theatre performance of all time. He’s impeccable
Love Quast seeing him in Follies in London. Too bad there aren’t that many cast recordings with him.
I don't think I've ever seen/heard Aaron Tveit not be amazing.
I know he’s already been mentioned but Christian Borle has held this spot since I first got into musicals 8 yrs ago, right as the Falsettos revival cast was announced. He didn’t become a favorite until I saw the rehearsals, at the time was mostly there for Andrew Rannells. While Andrew is still one of my favorites, Christian has stolen his spot as my #1. I would watch anything if he’s in it, which is how I got into Hazbin Hotel. I only had a top 4 list which had been unchanged until last year when I finally listened to Beetlejuice and so Alex Brightman has filled out the list and given me a top 5!
Gene Kelly
Alex Brightman also. Not only is he in some of my favourite musicals and cartoons, but seeing him in school of rock and Beetlejuice actually hugely improved my self esteem and body image. That's the first time I can remember seeing a guy who's built like me being in media and actually being cool and not just comedic relief.
Ramin Karimloo. My god........ that man........
He is incredibly far down on this list and doesn’t deserve to be!
Idina Menzel, she’s got such a phenomenal voice
Ahhh Adele Dazeem
Danny Kaye
He had some excellent movie musicals, I love The Court Jester so much
Bernadette Peters female and Aaron Tveit male Honorable mentions to: Patti Lupone, Sutton Foster, and Annaleigh Ashford
Bernadette Peters
Bryce Pinkham!
Is that even a question for me? CHRISTIAN BORLE ALL THE WAY!!
Elle + Emmett 4 Lyfe
Marvin + Whizzer til Death
Honestly, put Christian Borle in any romantic pairing and I will probably ship them
Lin Manuel Miranda and Barrett Wilbert Weed
Deedee Magno Hall
She snapped so hard on It’s Over Isn’t It its crazy
She's in more musicals? I only know her from Steven Universe
She's been Nessarose in Wicked, Kim in Miss Saigon, Diane Goodman in Next to Normal, Donna in Mamma Mia (in a Guam production), and originated Jasmine in Disney's "Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular". She's been in If/Then and The Who's Tommy, as well. Fun fact: Her husband is also a Broadway actor too, and they've nearly *always* been in the same productions together
I would give a limb to see her as Diana.
Wow, that's so cool! Thanks for telling me
Norbert Leo Butz
John Owen Jones. He has played Valjean and The Phantom multiple times and originated the roles of Valjean and The Phantom on the newer production tours.
Andrew Rannells
Ramin Karimloo. There are several Broadway actors who have incredible voices, but he just transcends. There's a video of him singing "Lily's Eyes" from The Secret Garden with Cheyenne Jackson and I just melt at his entrance every time. Said actors with incredible voices: Jeremy Jordan Aaron Tveit Jonathan Groff For the women: Lea Michele Philippa Soo Audra McDonald Sierra Boggess
Aaron Tveit and Mariah Rose Faith Casillas
Pia Douwes and Willemijn Verkaik. Both are so amazing actresses and practically perfect in every way
>perfect in every way and in every language lol
Hadley Fraser. I will watch and listen to anything that man does.
Can’t believe this wasn’t here already, but Christopher Fitzgerald
I have three !! Jeremy Jordan, George Salazar, and Kimiko Gleen
Jeremy Jordon Erika Henningsen Barrett Wilbert Weed Alex Brightman
Sutton Foster, Bernadette Peters, Mandy Patinkin, Maria Friedman, Imelda Staunton, Patti Lupone, Jenna Russel, Christian Borle, Rachel Bay Jones, Katrina Lenk, Victoria Clark, Bonnie Milligan, Kelli O'Hara, and Audra McDonald.
Tracie Bennett
Michael Cerveris
1. Jordan Fisher 2. Ben Platt 3. Ramin Karimloo
Christian Borle 100%
No question. Jonathan Groff!🤩
Kristin Chenoweth and Audra McDonald Patrick Wilson and Brian Stokes Mitchell
My favorite all time is Michael Ball.
Colm wilkinson
Jordan Litz. Stunning voice.
totally Aaron Tveit. there are a ton of actors I love, but I've just found that I prefer Aaron Tveits style to others
Aaron Tveit is awesome and Lorna Courtney is a newer favorite of mine
Joshua Henry, Barrett Wilbert Weed, Sutton Foster
Out of actors still with us, I think I’m most impressed by Josh Young, and wish I saw more of him past JCS. The fact that he’s a baritone who can play Judas consistently and with power (even if he sometimes opts down, bc who wouldn’t as a baritone) is so crazy. His Heaven on Their Minds is phenomenal. Also shoutout to Jarrod Spector who’s underrated
Have you seen Josh Young’s performance of [“Bring On The Men”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jdYgWa5hA_4&pp=ygUgYnJpbmcgb24gdGhlIG1lbiBqZWt5bGwgYW5kIGh5ZGU%3D)?
Sierra Boggess!!!
Probably Jeff Blim, tbh.
Derek Klena!
From Japan: Suzuki Soma / Akutagawa Eiji Hamada Megumi Ishimaru Kanji
Jeff blim for sure
Jon robyns luke thallon Ryan vasquez andy karl will swenson Hadley Fraser Laurie Kynaston steven pasquale
i LOVE alex brightman!
Zero Mostel
Ramin Karimloo, his voice in Phantom or the Opera and Love Never Dies is just amazing.
Ramin Karimloo. Just everything I see him in he does amazing, by far one of the best Phantoms, Cheh, and Dimitri !! Super underrated
Brian Stokes Mitchell. Joshua Henry and Raul Esparza are right up there though.
For me it’s a tie between Jeremy Jordan and Andrew Rannels. But if I had to pick I’d say Jeremy Jordan. I have always loved his performance Newsies and when I found out he was Varian that was the cherry on top.
erin caldwell 💞
Mandy Patinkin is just gorgeous and I will gladly watch him in anything. However - for talent, I have to choose Audra McDonald. Exquisite voice, amazing looks and she can act just about any role.
Jeremy Jordan!
Ramin Karimloo, Mandy Patinkin, Michael Ball. Ramin for his unbeatable Phantom portrayals (I also have seen him live which was in every way perfect); Mandy and Michael because of the emotion and vulnerability in their performances, which I feel you often don’t see because the actor is focusing on impressive vocals or remaining ‘masculine’.
Derek Klena, Mandy Patinkin, Christy Altomare, Andre DeShields, Gus Halper, and Okieriete Onaodowan!
Jeremy Jordan, he's so dreamy!
Emma Hunton