Characters by decade
Characters from 1940s musicals
Oklahoma! (1943) opened the Golden Age of the book musical, where the songs grow out of character and story. Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, and Lerner and Loewe wrote many of the decade's most revived roles.
Below are the characters in our library from shows that first opened on Broadway in the 1940s, in order of premiere. Tap any name for the full character guide.
31 characters on this list.
- Ado Annie CarnesOklahoma! (1943) · SupportingAdo Annie Carnes is the good natured, boy crazy comic character in Oklahoma!, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's 1943 musical.
- Ali HakimOklahoma! (1943) · SupportingAli Hakim is the fast talking traveling peddler caught between marriages in Oklahoma!, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's 1943 musical.
- Aunt EllerOklahoma! (1943) · SupportingAunt Eller is Laurey's wise, plainspoken aunt and the steady moral center of Oklahoma!, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's 1943 musical.
- Curly McLainOklahoma! (1943) · LeadCurly McLain is the confident cowboy at the center of Oklahoma!, Rodgers and Hammerstein's landmark 1943 musical about a farming community on the…
- Jud FryOklahoma! (1943) · LeadJud Fry is the isolated, dangerous farmhand who threatens Laurey and Curly's romance in Oklahoma!, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's 1943…
- Laurey WilliamsOklahoma! (1943) · LeadLaurey Williams is the independent minded young farm woman at the heart of Oklahoma!, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's 1943 musical.
- Will ParkerOklahoma! (1943) · SupportingWill Parker is the good hearted cowboy pursuing Ado Annie in Oklahoma!, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's 1943 musical.
- ChipOn the Town (1944) · SupportingChip is a supporting character in On the Town, Leonard Bernstein's 1944 musical, playing one of three sailors on a whirlwind twenty four hour shore…
- Claire DeLooneOn the Town (1944) · SupportingClaire DeLoone is a supporting character in On the Town, Leonard Bernstein's 1944 musical, playing an anthropologist who is engaged to a judge but…
- GabeyOn the Town (1944) · LeadGabey is the lead sailor of On the Town, Leonard Bernstein's 1944 musical, spending his twenty four hour shore leave in New York City searching for a…
- Ivy SmithOn the Town (1944) · LeadIvy Smith is the lead female role of On the Town, Leonard Bernstein's 1944 musical, playing the subway poster girl Miss Turnstiles whom sailor Gabey…
- OzzieOn the Town (1944) · SupportingOzzie is a supporting character in On the Town, Leonard Bernstein's 1944 musical, playing one of three sailors on a whirlwind twenty four hour shore…
- Billy BigelowCarousel (1945) · LeadBilly Bigelow is the volatile carnival barker at the center of Carousel, Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1945 musical.
- Carrie PipperidgeCarousel (1945) · SupportingCarrie Pipperidge is Julie Jordan's cheerful best friend in Carousel, Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1945 musical.
- Jigger CraiginCarousel (1945) · SupportingJigger Craigin is the rough shipmate who leads Billy Bigelow into a fatal robbery scheme in Carousel, Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1945 musical.
- Julie JordanCarousel (1945) · LeadJulie Jordan is the quietly resolute millworker who falls in love with Billy Bigelow in Carousel, Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1945 musical.
- Nettie FowlerCarousel (1945) · SupportingNettie Fowler is Julie Jordan's older cousin and the moral anchor of Carousel, Rodgers and Hammerstein's 1945 musical.
- Charlie DalrympleBrigadoon (1947) · SupportingCharlie Dalrymple is the young villager whose wedding day drives much of the plot in Brigadoon, Lerner and Loewe's 1947 musical.
- Fiona MacLarenBrigadoon (1947) · LeadFiona MacLaren is the village woman who falls in love with Tommy Albright in Brigadoon, Lerner and Loewe's 1947 musical.
- Jeff DouglasBrigadoon (1947) · SupportingJeff Douglas is Tommy Albright's wisecracking, skeptical friend in Brigadoon, Lerner and Loewe's 1947 musical.
- Meg BrockieBrigadoon (1947) · SupportingMeg Brockie is the flirtatious village woman who pursues Jeff Douglas in Brigadoon, Lerner and Loewe's 1947 musical.
- Tommy AlbrightBrigadoon (1947) · LeadTommy Albright is the American tourist who falls in love with a woman from a mystical Scottish village in Brigadoon, Lerner and Loewe's 1947 musical.
- Bill CalhounKiss Me, Kate (1948) · SupportingBill Calhoun is Lois Lane's gambling boyfriend in Kiss Me, Kate, Cole Porter's 1948 musical.
- Fred GrahamKiss Me, Kate (1948) · LeadFred Graham is the actor, director, and producer at the center of Kiss Me, Kate, Cole Porter's 1948 musical.
- Lilli VanessiKiss Me, Kate (1948) · LeadLilli Vanessi is the fiery leading lady and Fred Graham's ex wife in Kiss Me, Kate, Cole Porter's 1948 musical.
- Lois LaneKiss Me, Kate (1948) · SupportingLois Lane is the flirtatious young actress caught between Fred Graham and her own boyfriend in Kiss Me, Kate, Cole Porter's 1948 musical.
- Bloody MarySouth Pacific (1949) · SupportingBloody Mary is the shrewd, larger-than-life island trader in South Pacific, a supporting character whose sharp business sense and fierce love for her…
- Emile de BecqueSouth Pacific (1949) · LeadEmile de Becque is the French plantation owner whose romance with a young American nurse anchors South Pacific…
- Lieutenant Joseph CableSouth Pacific (1949) · SupportingLieutenant Joseph Cable is the young Marine officer in South Pacific whose secret island romance forces the show's sharpest look at prejudice and…
- Luther BillisSouth Pacific (1949) · SupportingLuther Billis is the wheeling, dealing Seabee of South Pacific, a comic supporting character whose schemes and showmanship add levity to the wartime…
- Nellie ForbushSouth Pacific (1949) · LeadNellie Forbush is the sunny, self-described "cockeyed optimist" at the heart of South Pacific, a Navy nurse from Arkansas whose wartime romance…