Making a list of Top International Female Musical Theater Performers turned out to be much harder than earlier expected. Not that it will stop us from making the list because you then notice where do casting directors source their next theatrical talents. That doesn’t stop the theater community from getting their homegrown talents to crossover to mainstream media. Let’s get this started using data from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
10. Emma Stone – 469570 FB likes, 158K Twitter followers, 225K IG followers
The running joke online is that Gwen Stacy died and moved to Broadway. The fact that Emma Stone can crossover to Broadway to topbill the Cabaret revival is worth mentioning. Her social media relevance increased after the Broadway stint. Becoming one of the top international female musical theater performers today, she succeeded in raking in her Hollywood fanbase to see her lead a musical production.
9. Kristin Chenoweth – 235046 FB likes, 982K Twitter followers, 80.6K IG followers
One of the high profile nominees in the 2015 Tony Awards, Kristin Chenoweth’s popularity shot to the roof the moment she inhabited the role of Glinda in Wicked. And due to her musical training that included arias by Italian compose Giacomo Puccini and other tracks from the opera repertoire, she got cast in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. Her versatility was on full-blast mode there especially in singing “Glitter and Be Gay”. Such caliber got her included among the top international female musical theater performances now. She has the comic timing and the coloratura phrasing spun well in a single performance. Her appearances on The Ellen Degeneres Show were both funny and memorable, especially the song “Breathe from your Hoo Hoo“.
8. Idina Menzel – 1057873 FB likes, 649K Twitter followers, 240K IG followers
Rent. Wicked. Frozen. And Glee, if you would like to include TV appearances. Fans will never let go or get over such performances that endeared Idina Menzel to her rabid fan base. They basically boosted her social media statistics, pushing her into the list of top international female musical theater performances. And some kids are still singing “Let It Go” in 2015. It is the kind of last song syndrome that lasted years. Still the image of Elphaba riding high on her broom rebuking her hunters is the sight that fans will never ever forget. Those who witnessed it live are still praying to see it again as Menzel will always be Elphaba to them.
7. Barbra Streisand – 2180460 FB likes, 368K Twitter followers, 109K IG followers
“Memories like the corners of my mind. Misty water colored memories of the way we were …” It’s 2015 and still, nobody can rain on her parade. At age 72, she must have been one of the top veterans here on our list of top international female musical theater performers. She was the first name coming to mind for fans that witnessed the song “Don’t Rain On My Parade” performed on Glee. That was when the TV series still depended on the musical theater classics. She’s still a major influence on musical theater aspiring for that coveted lead role.
6. Fantasia Barrino – 5003980 FB likes, 543K Twitter followers, 1.1M IG followers
After winning American Idol Season 3, Fantasia’s next career stop was Broadway. She played “Celie” the lead character of the musical version of the Academy-Award winning film “The Color Purple”. Imagine winning a pop talent competition and getting shipped to Broadway without having to change your genres. No wonder the soulful jazz arrangements in some songs in “After Midnight” fitted her voice really well Her version of The Color Purple’s “I’m Here” is still one of the most spine-tingling performances ever staged.
5. Lea Michele – 3706734 FB likes, 4.61M Twitter followers, 2M IG followers
At the height of Glee’s popularity, Lea Michele was already in the musical “Spring Awakening” with Jonathan Groff. She’s already one of the top international female musical theater performers then. The Tony Awards exposure helped too. Performing “Don’t Rain On My Parade” and playing the [SPOILER ALERT] biological daughter, Rachel Berry, of Shelby Corcoran (played by Idina Menzel) served as subliminal foretelling how far she’d go in the entertainment business.
4. Anna Kendrick – 87718 FB likes, 8.99M Twitter followers, 2.6M IG followers
Before she became the Twitter sweetheart, Anna Kendrick was a Tony Award nominee way back in 1998 for her role as Dinah Lord in High Society. Hollywood opportunities arrived and soon she was on Scott Pilgrim vs The World (as Scott’s sister, Stacey), Up in the Air, Pitch Perfect, The Last Five Years and Into The Woods. And Pitch Perfect 2 is coming soon, securing her spot among the top international female musical theater performers then. So apart from her wise-cracking tweets (including her open fanaticism for Game of Thrones), we get updates about her as team captain of the Barden Bellas.
3. Jennifer Hudson – 7666368 FB likes, 3.75M Twitter followers, 836K IG followers
One of the most celebrated runners-up in the American Idol franchise, Jennifer Hudson is the only Idol finalist to win an Academy Award. And that’s for her staggering performance as Effie White in the film version of the hit musical Dream Girls. She’s staying! Oh she’s staying here in our list of top international female musical theater performers. And you gonna love her! Such critical acclaim made her THE sensible choice to take the lead in the 2015 edition of The Color Purple The Musical.
2. Nicole Scherzinger – 8181694 FB likes, 5.25M Twitter followers, 1.6M IG followers
The former Pussy Cat Doll caused quite a stir upon performing The Phantom of the Opera anthem with 4 of the top actors to play OG. (Ramin Karimloo was one of them) It was the start of her efforts to reinvent herself into one of the top international female musical theater performers. Obviously, it’s starting to bear fruit now that she’s getting positive feedback from The Guardian and The Daily Mail for her performance as Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats. If cats have nine lives, Nicole has found a way to make her second life promising.
1. Vanessa Hudgens – 14571214 FB likes, 5.23M Twitter followers, 7.2M IG followers
Vanessa Hudgens is quite a trooper. From the High School Musical series to action thriller flicks like Spring Breakers to art films like Gimme Shelter, musical theater still calls for charismatic talents like hers. Assuming a role that fans associated with Hollywood icon Audrey Hepburn, Vanessa Hudgens herself is on her way to iconic status as well. Bagging the role of Gigi imprinted her status here in our list of top international female musical theater performers.
See Vanessa Hudgens, ranked #1 in our list of top international female musical theater performers, on Gigi, still going strong at the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway. Click here to buy tickets.
The list of top international female musical theater performers is compiled with data used as basis for ranking them. It would really be great seeing your fave musical theater artists earn popular acclaim for doing what they love. Still more to come when it comes to musicals but you never know when the next article comes out. To keep yourself updated, remember these 3 things: email, Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to our email newsletter and get the updates straight to your inbox. Like our official Facebook page, Musicals Online. And follow us on Twitter @musicalsnews. Thanks for reading
