5 favourite musical characters – meet the boys

There are far too many favourites here to not give myself a strict countdown number. So let’s go with five. Five all-time, all-singing, all-dancing characters that I can’t live without – here’s the countdown…

5. Amos Hart – Chicago

Okay, so he’s Mr Cellophane, but he’s our Mr Cellophane. And I noticed him. From covering for his beloved wife to calling her out for being a liar and a cheat in front of the police, he’s a complex and cute character and adds a lot to the musical.

4. Sky Masterson – Guys and Dolls

In he swags… plays a crap game, wins a girl’s heart, sails into the sunset a reformed man. In what is the quickest personality transformation in musical history, the old-style Danny Zuko is a character audiences just won’t forget. Sky has charisma, intelligence and wit, and we all love a bad boy who turns out good in the end.

3. Jerry Lukowski – The Full Monty

There’s a vulnerability to this guy that makes Jerry a wonderful character to fall for. Breeze off the River is one of my favourite songs, musical or otherwise, for its gorgeous uncertainty and simplicity. It’s a moment that takes the audience’s breath away and shows Jerry to be a loving fool, rather than just a bloke who wants to make a few quid taking his kit off for a laugh. He’s that too, however, which makes me love him all the more.

2. Robbie Hart – The Wedding Singer

Is he related to Amos? We’ll never know. But I do know how much I love Robbie Hart, the affable wedding singer that gets the girl in the end, despite being originally ditched at the alter (boo you, Linda). From his adorably angry Somebody Kill Me, Please to his upbeat wedding tunes, Robbie Hart has to be one of the most perfect characters of them all. His only ‘flaw’ is his romantic ideals and vulnerability – ten points to the nice guy who also has a cracking personality. Outside of musical land, they’re hard to come by.

1. Joseph – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat

Yep, you guessed it. How could our little dreamer not smash the top 5? He forgives his brothers even after they tried to kill him and then sold him to be a slave – but not so easily we find him weak. He makes them sing Benjamin Calypso before revealing his true identity which, even I have to admit, is punishment enough. Prior to that he saves not only his cellmates and the Pharaoh, but the entirety of Egypt. Go go go, Joseph! 

What characters make your favourites list?

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