Favorite Broadway Kid Roles
(and the Actors Who Played Them)
Several shows this past season featured kids in major roles, ranging from small children to older teenagers. The Tony-winning Best Musical Schmigadoon! featured the adorable Carson (played by Ayaan Diop). This year's Best Revival of a Musical, Ragtime has The Little Boy (Nick Barrington), The Little Girl (Tabitha Lawing) and the precious Coalhouse Walker III (Kaleb Johnson). Of course, Broadway shows have long featured children in their casts. Here are 5 of our favorites (alphabetically by show title)!
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Billy Elliot: Billy Elliot (played by David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik & Kiril Kulish)
We were lucky enough to have seen all three of the original Broadway Billys, and they were all wonderful. A complex and demanding role, each brought something slightly different to this confused but driven boy. But each also brought superb dance skills and amazing presence. No wonder they gave all three the Tony Award!
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Fun Home: Small Alison (played by Sydney Lucas)
In a show that gives us three versions of the same character, how delightful that the youngest got just as much great material to work with as the "older" Alisons. And this role also gives the actress playing it one of the great show tunes of the 21st century, "Ring of Keys." And Sydney Lucas captivated audiences from off to on Broadway, and the nation at large with a Tonys performance for the ages.
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Matilda: Matilda (played by Sophia Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon & Milly Shapiro)
After some push back for giving all of the Billys a competitive Tony, the committee hedged their bets by giving the four original Matildas a "Special Tony Award." Regardless of what they called it, they were deserving. Our first was Milly Shapiro, and she blew us away. The role calls for a little girl who is quietly strong, yet dynamic enough to earn that signature pose. There's a fine line between precocious and honest, and she was brilliantly able to walk that line as if it were a tightrope/
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The Lost Boys: Sam Emerson & The Frog Brothers (played by Benjamin Pajak, Jennifer Duka & Miguel Gil)
The Lost Boys features 3 young teen roles for us to root for, and Pajak, Duka and Gil had us in the palm of their hands from the minute they stepped on stage. The Frog Brothers don't have a huge amount of time on stage, but they make the most of every appearance. It speaks well of the writing that we can glean so much about them, and also believe that they have the fortitude to slay vampires. Sam has considerably more to work with, and it is a credit to both the writers and the actor that he evolves as much more than a comic book loving geek. Turns out that the comics are just the language he uses to protect himself, his family and his friends. He comes of age is a most endearing way.
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The Secret Garden: Mary Lennox (played by Daisy Eagan)
I'll bet many of you weren't even alive when The Secret Garden made it on to the St. James stage. The beloved children's novel came to stunningly beautiful life (the set was gorgeous), and took itself appropriately seriously. As a result, there were no cloying, smarmy "stage kid" performances. The leading role of the orphaned Mary Lennox was played by Tony winner Daisy Eagan, who set a new bar for child actors that year. Her Mary was a captivating mix of heartbreak, petulance, defiance and, ultimately, a cathartic cry for love and an affection her life had been missing. When this show makes it back to Broadway (soon, I hope) these will be tough shoes to fill.
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