Jennifer Laura Thompson and Hunter Foster in Urinetown
(© Sony Music Entertainment)
Now on to the topic of the post! Here are my dream roles.
1. Christine Daaé in Phantom of the Opera
What soprano doesn’t dream of playing this part? It has one of the most gorgeous scores in the world. I remember the first time I saw Phantom. I was in New York visiting my aunt, who was an opera singer in the city, and one of her good friends was playing Piangi. Being only seven years old, I was a bit terrified by the show and some of the Phantom’s antics. But I will never forget the beauty of Christine’s crystal clear soprano voice. After the show I went backstage to see all of the set pieces and to meet Christine. I remember being alarmed that her beautiful brown, curly locks were sitting on a wig stand when I asked for her autograph, instead of on her head. But it was still one of my most magical Broadway moments.
2. Clara in The Light in the Piazza
I almost had the chance to play this part when it came through my hometown two years ago. I ended up in the ensemble, but you better believe that I had all of the songs and lines memorized just in case something happened to our Clara. Clara is an amazing part because of the depth needed to portray her. She’s this innocent, child-like woman, and if you look close enough you can see something subtle that makes her not like everyone else. We had an interesting conversation about this during our run of the show. What exactly is wrong with Clara? Is there even something wrong with her, or is it just our need to put labels on everything? She’s an intriguing character with many layers.
3. Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls
The best thing about Sarah is the range in her character. She starts off as this straight-laced preacher, and then she completely cuts loose in Havana. “If I Were A Bell” gives her the opportunity to have not only the ingénue role, but also the character part. Plus she gets to sing the most beautiful songs, like “I’ll Know” and “I’ve Never Been in Love Before.” Yet another reason why I am especially drawn to this part is because my voice teacher, one of my favorite people in the whole world, did the role last summer. She was absolutely incredible. I was in the show as a fellow Mission Band member, and I have such wonderful memories from the run of the show.
4. Julie Jordan in Carousel
Carousel has come around a couple of times, but I have unfortunately not been the right age to play Julie. What a beautiful, classic soprano part. The musical may not be perfect (note the whole Starkeeper part), but the music is wonderful. I would kill for a chance to sing “If I Loved You” onstage.
5. Hope in Urinetown
I think Urinetown is one of the best comedic musicals out there. Hope is a hilarious character because she is a total spoof on the ingénue. She’s this doe-eyed idiot who runs the whole village to disaster with her optimism instead of saving it, like the ingénue would do in any other musical. My favorite line has to be at the end, when Mrs. Strong complains of her fever, and Hope says, “But don’t you see, Mrs. Strong? The glass of water’s inside of you, it always has been.” I love playing comedic parts, especially comedic parts that take themselves seriously. So Hope would be a dream come true.
