My top 5 musical theatre actors

 Last week I wrote a post about my 5 favourite musical theatre actresses… now it’s time to do the same for my favourite actors. Once again, I have only considered people who I have seen live on stage… read on to find out more

1. Bertie Carvel
2. Philip Quast
3. Nathan Lane
4. John Barrowman
5. Damian Humbley

********************************************************************

More about the top 5:

1. Bertie Carvel – As far as I am aware, Bertie has only been in 1 musical as a professional actor – the recent Donmar Warehouse production of Jason Robert Brown’s Parade. His performance as Leo Frank was truly mesmerising… :

    check out the following links for more… 
    National Theatre – company bios
    What’s on Stage interview
    Broadway.com profile
    Bertie’s agent page – Hamilton Hodell
    
     

2. Philip Quast – I have now seen Philip in 4 different shows in recent years. The first was A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To the Forum at the National Theatre in September 2004, although I was already aware of him as the original Javert in Les Mis. Since then I have seen him in Evita at the Adelphi, Sweeney Todd at the Royal Festival Hall and La Cage aux Folles at the Menier Chocolate Factory. He is always brilliant, and his voice is wonderful:

   For more information, see the following links:
   Philip’s #1 fansite
   Philip’s Wikipedia entry
   British Theatre Guide interview
   Metro interview (with Douglas Hodge)

 

3. Nathan Lane – When Richard Dreyfuss withdrew (voluntarily?) from The Producers, Nathan Lane was drafted in a the very last minute to reprise the role he played on Broadway. He was hilarious – probably the funniest actor I’ve seen on stage.

   For more, check out the following links:
   Nathan Lane music at last.fm
   Nathan’s IMDB entry    
   Nathan’s Wikipedia entry
   Nathan Lane – fan page
   Observer profile & interview

    

4. John Barrowman – Despite now being better known for his TV work as a judge on ‘I’d Do Anything’ and in ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Torchwood’, John was intially famous as a musical theatre performer. I have now seen him in Miss Saigon, Sunset Boulevard, and most recently in Anything Goes. Rumour has it that he is planning to return to the West End stage later this year – about time too! Check out these links for more:

   John’s official website
   John’s Wikipedia entry
   John’s unofficial fansite
   Independent profile   
   The Stage article

 

5. Damian Humbley – the least well known of my 5 picks, Damian makes it here through his performance in The Last Five Years at the Menier Chocolate Factory back in 2006. His voice is probably the purest I have seen for a leading man. Also seen recently in Fiddler in the Roof at the Savoy Theatre. He’s going to be back in London for a one-off performance of music of Jeff Blumenkrantz – click here for more details
  
   Check out the following links for more:
   Damian’s official website
   Review of ‘Last Five Years’
   The Stege review of ‘Last Five Years’
   Fiddler on the Roof official website

 

So, there you have it – my top 5 musical theatre actors – Bertie Carvel, Philip Quast, Nathan Lane, John Barrowman and Damian Humbley. Next on my list would probably have been Daniel Evans who was also exceptional in Sunday in the Park with George, also at the Menier Chocolate Factory