Top 10 Broadway Re-Casts That Were Just as Good as or Better Than the Original

Stephen Sondheim’s musical of Victorian Era cannibalism opened at New York’s Uris Theatre in 1979 with Len Cariou as the title character. After over a year, Cariou left the show in 1980, and George Hearn stepped in. His memorable performance would be revived on tour and in the 1982 filmed version of the show, alongside original star Angela Lansbury. This would effectively make Hearn’s chilling and hearty take the first glimpse that many non-native New Yorkers got of the homicidal barber. He would play the role several times again in concert, memorably paired with another Broadway luminary, Patti LuPone.

Although Catherine Zeta-Jones won a Tony for her role as Desiree Armfeldt in the lackluster 2009 revival of this Sondheim show, Bernadette Peters was a noted breath of fresh air as her replacement. The difference in quality was marked by Variety critic Steven Suskin, who began his review with the phrase “What a difference a diva makes.” Peters, along with legendary co-star Elaine Stritch, entered the show six months into its run, and gave it a shot in the arm. By then, Peters was a master interpreter of composer Stephen Sondheim’s work, and her take on the role and its signature song, is notably subtler.

Once the lauded original cast left “Next to Normal” in July 2010, performers Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley headlined the production. This musical is a challenging show, both thematically and vocally. Its rock-infused score and emotional content requires accomplished performers. Being married in real life, Mazzie and Danieley brought a new and shattering dimension to the roles of Diana and Dan, a couple struggling through grief and mental illness. Reviewers were delighted by their casting. Despite the emotional ground covered by original cast members Alice Ripley and J. Robert Spencer, Mazzie and Danieley managed to unearth even more complexity.

While Brian d’Arcy James originated the Shakespeare-hating Nick Bottom in the original cast, Rob McClure earned heaps of praise for his spirited take on the role. “Entertainment Weekly” even politely suggested McClure’s was the better showing. Taking over from James in 2016, McClure stayed with the show until its closing before taking the show on its national tour. His performance is the one many theatergoers saw live. Some fans prefer McClure’s softer, less angry take on the character. Whether or not you prefer one over the other, they’re wildly different interpretations of the role, and it might just come down to a matter of taste.

After icon Chita Rivera originated the character of Aurora, the so-called “Spider Woman,” she left her replacement with some big, dazzling dancing shoes to fill. In 1994, Vanessa Williams was a chart-topping singer trying to establish herself as an actress, and she made her Broadway stage debut in the role. While contemporary reviews noted the character’s dancing was less vigorous, highlighting the singing more, this felt like a necessary and welcome change to accommodate Williams’ skills. She was so good in the role that the production received a critically acclaimed second cast album, just to showcase her and her fellow replacement cast members.

Tony winner Jessie Mueller was Broadway’s first Jenna, but since then she’s been played by some of the industry’s best and brightest. Yet there’s something so satisfying and so profound about watching the show’s composer, Sara Bareilles, in the role. Her personal connection to the words she wrote is clear, and the show’s bubbly, warm humor is a great match for her years as a pop star. In 2023, her interpretation was forever cemented in the filmed production. In a lot of ways, “Waitress” served as a soft launch for the pop singer-songwriter’s revamping as a theater star.

With its soaring songs and story of a woman reclaiming her agency after years of hardship and abuse, “The Color Purple” is a demanding show for a novice performer. “American Idol” winner Fantasia Barrino may have been a successful singer, but she was untested as a stage actor when she made her Broadway debut in the role of Celie. Replacing LaChanze in 2007, the announcement that she was taking over the role spurred a huge surge in ticket sales. What’s more, she was, by all accounts, incredible in the show. She’s still so well thought-of that nearly 15 years later, she made another debut, this time as a film actress, in the 2023 Hollywood adaptation of the musical.

It seems like the “Glee” actress has been auditioning for the role of Fanny Brice since her Rachel Berry days. At long last, she played the role made famous by Barbra Streisand on the Broadway stage. But that chance came in an unexpected way. The talented but miscast Beanie Feldstein didn’t impress in the role, and after weeks of speculation, Michele was announced as her replacement. Her vocals were noteworthy, and the media coverage ended up rescuing the seemingly doomed production from an early closing. It’s hard to ignore that “Funny Girl” is the show Michele was born to headline. In an incredibly unconventional but unsurprising move, it’s Michele on the production’s cast album and not the star who opened the run.

Bernadette Peters opened the 1999 revival of this tried-and-true Irving Berlin classic, but it was country superstar Reba McEntire who endeared herself to a whole new group of fans. People were comparing her deft and hilarious take on Annie Oakley to some of the best acting they’d ever seen in a musical. Reba may have drawn on her experience playing Oakley in a TV movie, but doing eight shows a week and following one of Broadway’s biggest stars was a whole new ballgame. It was a challenge she was clearly game for. Audiences who were lucky enough to see her in the show still talk about it to this day.

Carol Channing would forever be linked with the role of Dolly Levi, the matchmaking widow of Yonkers. However, she was followed in the show’s original Broadway run by legends like Ginger Rogers, Ethel Merman, and Betty Grable. But few made the role their own like Pearl Bailey, who led the show for two years alongside an African American cast. Due to the strength of the cast and Bailey’s anchoring performance, the original production of “Hello, Dolly!” became one of the few to record a second cast album. Bailey brought a delightfully bombastic energy to the role. She was so good, she was awarded a Special Tony Award despite not being in the show opening night.

Who was your favorite Broadway replacement? Tell us in the comments!