GYPSY

ANYTHING GOES

GREY GARDENS

CALL ME MADAM

SUNSET BOULEVARD

EVITA

HELLO DOLLY!

MAME

FUNNY GIRL

“The great diva roles in musicals walk a fine line between actress and drag queen. They epitomize the kind of camp that appeals to the gay male. This is partly due to the style of the show — the audience has come to expect a larger-than-life caricature-but it is also a result of the way in which the roles are defined by the script and lyrics. They are written as a flamboyant, stylized versions of a woman.”

- pg. 114, Grace Barnes

“In the musical, the character of Miss Trunchbull is played by a man. This is odd, given that he is drawn as a woman in the original book. Actor Bertie Carvel won an Olivier Award for playing the role and no doubt had them rolling in the aisles cavorting in his tweed twin set, but why was the role played by a man? More to the point, why did no critic ask that question? What exactly did the production gain by having a man play a woman? It’s impossible to know if it was a directorial decision or if it was written that way in the script. Either way, a man on the creative team decided that the role should not be played by a woman, and in subsequent replica productions worldwide it never will be.”

- pg. 117, Her Turn on Stage, Grace Barnes

“To me, it’s just another example of the male derision and condescension towards women in British musical theatre.”

“Incidentally, I never fully understood why Edna in Hairspray was a drag role either, but probably because I am a woman and therefore incapable of understanding the multitude of ways in which a man in a dress enhances the comic effect. For me, the problem with putting a man into a women’s role and dressing him up as a woman is that the focus of the entire piece is subsequently distorted.”