The raison d’etre for this book is to spotlight musical theater repertoire and roles for women who are or over 40 years old. In other words,
“Women of a Certain Age.”
This is not only intended for the student and teacher, but for production staff so that they may make casting decisions that are fair and true to the character and the show.
But sometimes it’s hard to say what that “certain age” is.
This post is about Casting and Women of an UNcertain Age.
Age Breakdowns
Casting calls usually have some kind of age breakdown so that an actor knows if they could be considered for a role and should make the effort to go to the audition.
Stageagent.com uses the categories “Adult,” “Mature adult,” and “Elderly.” There isn’t a designation of just when a regular adult ends and a “mature” one begins. Sometimes, it will be in the character breakdown, but not always. The director may have to make the call based on other facets of the character from the script.
In Steven Gross’ wonderful website, musicaltheatersongs.com, which is a major source for this book, he breaks down age categories more specifically:
- Under 13
- 14-17
- 18-24
- 25-32
- 33-39
- 40-59
- 60+
(Honestly, I’d like to see the 40-59 range broken up into 40-49, 50-59 because there is a big difference between a character in their early 40s versus late 50s.)
Music Theatre International (MTI) also has character breakdowns with approximate age ranges and is also a good source, as is a Google search for casting notices of other productions.
Note: Both Stage Agent and Musical Theater Songs are subscription websites. MTI is not, but you are limited as far as seeing the material unless you have a rental license.
What if the character is a mother?
Since current trends show that women can expect to live to about 80 years old, and women are having children later in life than before (the current median age is 30), the range of age for a character who is a mother may be wider than it would have been. In such cases where there is an overlap between age groups, it may be necessary to look at the show.
For example, Mother in Pasek and Paul’s A Christmas Story: The Musical, is listed as a character either 33-39 or 40-59 (this listing alone is why the latter age group needs to be divided further). By contemporary standards, it’s very likely that Mother could be in her 40s, if she had Ralphie and Randy after 30. But the show is set in 1940, and women generally had their first child by the age of 25 in the 1930s, so the age range of 33-39 is more likely.
The role of Mother in Ragtime would also be subject to this same rationale. Sometimes looking at the age of the actor at the time they created the role is helpful – for example, Marin Mazzie created the role of Mother at 37.
BUT Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast is defined on Stage Agent as a mature adult, and Musical Theater Songs says the titular song should be sung by someone 40-59. She has a pre-pubescent son. The show is set in the 1700s – it is highly unlikely she would be an elderly woman. But the role was created by then 66-year-old Angela Lansbury in the 1991 animated movie of the same name – she was never seen on screen. But as a result, Mrs. Potts is generally cast on the older side. Although the character displays the wisdom of an older person, she really should be cast by someone in her 30s or very early 40s.
Research, Research, Research!
However, if the character is based on someone non-fictional, then research can tell you what age range the character can be. Marmee in Little Women is listed as 40-59. Her oldest daughter, Meg, at the beginning of the story is approximately 16 years old, and her youngest, Amy, is 12. Based on the average age that women gave birth back in the 1800s, it would make sense if Marmee were under 40 at the beginning of the story. However, MTS classifies her in the 40-59 range. The role was created in 2005 by Maureen McGovern, who was 56 at the time. Was Ms. McGovern too old for the role?
Not really! The real Marmee, Abigail May Alcott, was born in 1800 and had her first child at nearly 31. She was an educated, professional woman (teacher and social worker) and an activist in the suffrage and temperance movements. She defied the traditional norms of her day and did not marry until she was 29. So casting an actor well into her 40s or even 50s is perfectly appropriate for this role. (At least this was what I told myself when I cast myself in this role.)
Lacking this kind of specific historical knowledge, often, the director has to look at someone and decide if that person looks like she could have a child of that age. Or at least will look like it from the audience’s perspective. (As Mrs. Meers says, regarding the role of Juliet in “They don’t know” from Thoroughly Modern Millie, “And if the house were big enough, I still could play her yet!”)
What if the character is a wife to a male character who is described as older? Or what if you just don’t know how old she’s supposed to be?
The character of Vicki in The Full Monty is categorized as 25-32. This would imply that she is a “trophy wife” that her husband, Harold, is afraid of losing because he’s so much older than her.
But other casting notices that I have found describe Vicki as 30s-50s or even 60s! This implies that it’s really up to the director to decide how he wants Vicki played. Is she a golddigger who might have married Harold for his money, which the 25-32 age category could imply?
Or is she his contemporary? Was she the hot cheerleader and he was the nerd in high school who never thought he could get anyone like her but then made good? Did they never have children so he was able to lavish his money on her in an attempt to keep him from realizing she could have done better? (Imposter Syndrome!) I personally find that approach much more interesting.
If the script doesn’t tell you how old the character is, there’s a good argument to be made that the character can be any age that the director wants and that the actor can play.
Casting TOO Young or TOO Old
In opera, it’s common for singers to play characters that are much younger that written. Although in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, the original singers were actually the ages of their characters:
Many of the singers in the original Figaro, as in other operas of the time, were extremely young by modern standards. Nancy Storace, who sang the difficult role of Susanna, was only 21, Cherubino was 23, Basilio 24, and even the countess was still in her 20’s. Amazingly, Anna Gottlieb, who sang Barbarina, was only 12. — Boston Baroque
With the exception of Cherubino, who should be an adolescent, and Basilio, who should be an older man, all the singers were within the window of believability for their characters. This is a contrast to contemporary productions, where the singers have usually completed bachelor’s degrees, master’s or artist diploma programs, and Young Artist Programs (YAP) before being cast in professional productions.
And especially for dramatic roles (Wagner, Verdi), a singer needs to grow into the role vocally. Opera is heavy lifting, and the heavier the role, the more likely it is that the singer will be more … seasoned.
But in musical theater, especially in community or regional productions, an actor may be considerably younger than the character they’re playing. A recent professional production of Grey Gardens in Baltimore featured a 26 year old actor playing Little Edie in Act 2, who is supposed to be in her late 50s.
By the same token, roles are often cast by people too old for the roles. Reasons for this may include:
- Being famous! A famous name brings in the audience, who is often willing to suspend disbelief in the interest of seeing their idol on stage.
- Legality – if a show features sexuality involving minors, you generally don’t want to have actual minors simulating sex onstage. It’s kind of frowned upon.
- Logistics! Who showed up at the audition that day?
Casting decisions aren’t always made based on the actual age of the characters, and, in many cases, who is actually right for the role. There are so many variables involved in casting. Some are practical, some are not.
However, if the show has older characters, and there are actors of the right age who are available and qualified to perform them, there is no reason to cast a younger actor and. age them artificially. Plus age makeup is often just weird and unrealistic
