343 posts
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Post by sophizoey on Jun 28, 2019 7:37:16 GMT
The first time I saw Les Mis, the show started just shy of 45 minutes late (the point at which Equity require the cancellation of the show) because Johnny Purchase who was supposed to be playing Enjorlas that day has to very quickly re-learn Marius, a role which he hadn't covered or played in two years. Could you please explain that Equity rule a bit? Why there’s such a requirement? If a show hasn't started or restarted (in the case of a show stop) with in 45 minutes of the start time/stop time. It should be cancelled and all patrons refunded. It's just due making sure the actors and audience get home at a reasonable time as shows already finish late enough. Or in the case of what I saw it's to make sure there is a still a sufficient break between a matinee and evening show for the actors.
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642 posts
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Post by Stasia on Jun 28, 2019 7:59:33 GMT
Could you please explain that Equity rule a bit? Why there’s such a requirement? If a show hasn't started or restarted (in the case of a show stop) with in 45 minutes of the start time/stop time. It should be cancelled and all patrons refunded. It's just due making sure the actors and audience get home at a reasonable time as shows already finish late enough. Or in the case of what I saw it's to make sure there is a still a sufficient break between a matinee and evening show for the actors. What a great rule! (says someone who once waited for a show to start for almost 80 minutes - and they refused to refund me) Wish we had the same rule here.
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349 posts
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Post by kimbahorel on Jun 28, 2019 11:34:57 GMT
Awww I was at the same Les Mis show where Jonny went on as Marius. Also to add the swing/dance captian Oli did a lot of the Marius track ensemble stuff you seen from Convicts through to Who am I.
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456 posts
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Post by mistressjojo on Jun 28, 2019 14:46:55 GMT
Tonight's performance of Once was stopped when the actor playing Andrej landed badly and dislocated his knee. After a lengthy (45 minute) break waiting for an ambulance, the show continued with another member of the ensemble reading in Andrej's lines in Act2 script in hand. A few of the other players also had to multi-task extra instruments to fill in for the missing bass and mandolin. Which didn't seem to be a problem as they all seemed proficient at everything! Luckily there was no Ivanka in this production so no issue with children working past curfew.
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2,041 posts
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Post by 49thand8th on Jun 28, 2019 15:24:14 GMT
Had forgotten this one until today: The previous Les Miz US tour would take breaks in the summer because it wasn't selling as well in the last few years of its run, and about half the cast would rejoin in the fall. I saw the final performance before the break one year, and David Michael Felty (Brujon and an amazing Valjean understudy) had already shaved off part of his beard until he found out 10 minutes before the show that Randal Keith was going to be out (I think due to injury). DMF hastily drew back part of his beard for the prologue, but it was totally lopsided. I suppose if you were sitting far enough back, he just looked more smudgy on one side, but we were really close and very tickled by it all. By the time the factory scene came along, his facial hair was symmetrical again. I think the rest of the show basically had a mostly goateed Valjean rather than a bearded one.
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642 posts
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Post by Stasia on Jun 29, 2019 8:10:20 GMT
Tonight's performance of Once was stopped when the actor playing Andrej landed badly and dislocated his knee. After a lengthy (45 minute) break waiting for an ambulance, the show continued with another member of the ensemble reading in Andrej's lines in Act2 script in hand. A few of the other players also had to multi-task extra instruments to fill in for the missing bass and mandolin. Which didn't seem to be a problem as they all seemed proficient at everything! Luckily there was no Ivanka in this production so no issue with children working past curfew. Where was that? Had no idea there’s a production of Once on somewhere?
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Jun 29, 2019 8:55:16 GMT
The come from away standbys have a hard job.
Every actor in that show is playing a few characters anyway. When you are covering six tracks then you could be learning in excess of 20 different characters.
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Jun 29, 2019 8:56:49 GMT
One of my favourite Wicked related stories was on tour when Jacqueline Hughes fell down stairs backstage and third Elphaba had to quickly green herself up and run on.
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456 posts
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Post by mistressjojo on Jun 29, 2019 8:57:47 GMT
Tonight's performance of Once was stopped when the actor playing Andrej landed badly and dislocated his knee. After a lengthy (45 minute) break waiting for an ambulance, the show continued with another member of the ensemble reading in Andrej's lines in Act2 script in hand. A few of the other players also had to multi-task extra instruments to fill in for the missing bass and mandolin. Which didn't seem to be a problem as they all seemed proficient at everything! Luckily there was no Ivanka in this production so no issue with children working past curfew. Where was that? Had no idea there’s a production of Once on somewhere? Sydney, Australia
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2019 21:51:10 GMT
When I saw Wicked in Sunderland, Aaron Sidwell (Fiyero) went off injured 30 minutes before curtain up. At this point I walk past the cast board and take a pic of it for Instagram, not noticing it now says Ben Yates is Fiyero. Then I get loads of messages saying stuff like "WAIT WTF BEN IS ON" and "I'M COMING DOWN THERE", I look at the picture, and it is indeed Ben who enters the stage as Fiyero at the start of Dancing Through Life.
That's the only real story I have about KNOWN actor swaps, but when I saw Matilda in Edinburgh fairly recently we had 2 show stops, apparently for different reasons, with the first happening <5 minutes in. The rumour I heard was that the actress playing Matilda had been taken ill and they needed to get another one of the kids into costume. The cast board said one girl on it, but I then saw on Twitter that it was a different actress.
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874 posts
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Post by daisy24601 on Jun 30, 2019 22:40:45 GMT
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642 posts
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Post by Stasia on Jul 2, 2019 7:31:53 GMT
Guys, you are amazing! Forgive me if I am not replying with personal thank you to each and every one of you but I am really enjoying reading your posts and will use a lot of these examples. I knew some of the stories mentioned (but forgot) and never hear of others, so if you have more - feel free to share!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2019 8:13:06 GMT
I once went to the theatre and enjoyed a performance irregardless of principal, cover or understudy changes. Wait, thats every time I've been to the theatre.
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642 posts
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Post by Stasia on Jul 2, 2019 15:47:27 GMT
I once went to the theatre and enjoyed a performance irregardless of principal, cover or understudy changes. Wait, thats every time I've been to the theatre. As amazing as it is, I’m not sure that answers the question in “how the understudying/alternating/covering works and what can happen in sone particular cases that might be used as examples”
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2019 17:35:26 GMT
I once went to the theatre and enjoyed a performance irregardless of principal, cover or understudy changes. Wait, thats every time I've been to the theatre. As amazing as it is, I’m not sure that answers the question in “how the understudying/alternating/covering works and what can happen in sone particular cases that might be used as examples” Well you asked us to "share with me all the unusual stories you have that related to the topic" of "principal-cover-stanby-alternate differences and how it all works in different shows". My point being that some people really track, focus and study the understudy circuit whilst others remain inattentive to it - which I find quite interesting and salient to the topic.
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642 posts
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Post by Stasia on Jul 2, 2019 19:22:48 GMT
As amazing as it is, I’m not sure that answers the question in “how the understudying/alternating/covering works and what can happen in sone particular cases that might be used as examples” Well you asked us to "share with me all the unusual stories you have that related to the topic" of "principal-cover-stanby-alternate differences and how it all works in different shows". My point being that some people really track, focus and study the understudy circuit whilst others remain inattentive to it - which I find quite interesting and salient to the topic. My point is “it is quite usual and happens to be just as you described most of the times
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Post by profquatermass on Jul 2, 2019 19:51:35 GMT
I've a couple of times seen the director go on with a script - once, rather clunkily in Side by Side by Sondheim at the Library Theatre in Manchester.
I guess the most famous understudy story is that Shirley Maclaine was on for Carol Hainey in The Pajama Game when film producer Hal Wallis was in the house and he instantly signed her up for Paramount
Did anyone see Jeremy Northam's Hamlet? (he was Daniel Day-Lewis' understudy)
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3,088 posts
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Post by david on Jul 2, 2019 20:04:22 GMT
Watching a matinee performance of Bat Out of Hell in Manchester, we had the Alternate Strat in Act 1, however he became indisposed during the interval so the lead Strat replaced him for Act 2. In was definitely an interesting experience to see the two different actor’s interpretations of the role.
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734 posts
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Post by dippy on Jul 4, 2019 21:10:09 GMT
In terms of a lucky understudy, I'd say that Philip Bertioli was one when he got to play Billy when they filmed "42nd Street", I'm sure that's not often happened that an understudy has ended in in the filmed performance. Obviously illness/injury/other reasons do happen but that was definitely a bit of luck for him.
This is possibly not quite what you were after but it's a good example of just how quickly swings have to be able to learn (and yes, I do know people have to learn things in a couple of hours in emergencies, but this is I guess a more standard amount of time, but still doesn't feel like much). George Olney (all this info is from his twitter/instagram account) found out he had got the job as a swing in "Fiddler on the Roof" on the 14th of June. He then had his first rehearsals on the 17th, he then did 6 or 7 rehearsals before going on for the first time on the 28th. Today, less than a week after his first show he's already splitting tracks. Definitely a busy life if you're a swing! I don't think it's the most complex of shows but I am sure it's way more complicated than it looks.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2019 21:52:18 GMT
The Menier production of La Cage had a big problem with illness sweeping through the cast both in their own space and at The Playhouse. I heard that when at The Playhouse the Albin and the understudies were all ill so they asked Cameron Mackintosh to allow Spencer Stafford who was in Oliver! at the time and who had played the role at The Chocolate Factory, to play the role for a few nights at The Playhouse.
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2,041 posts
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Post by 49thand8th on Jul 5, 2019 0:19:50 GMT
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Post by crabtree on Jul 5, 2019 8:58:05 GMT
And Andy Serkis was playing Iago at the Royal Exchange in Manchester when a back injury gained through playing Gollum flared up, leading the director Braham Murray to go on
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642 posts
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Post by Stasia on Jul 5, 2019 12:42:40 GMT
Love the stories coming! My lecture has been moved to September so we have the whole of summer to go on
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258 posts
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Post by notmymuse on Jul 9, 2019 7:25:35 GMT
And the time the male lead in the Commitments was ill, and both understudies were unavailable so they asked Andrew Linnie (who'd been in the cast for 2 years but never studied the part) to go on with about 5 hours' notice. I think he went on for 3 weeks then landed the role on the UK tour.
I remember Carousel nearly being cancelled one night (the Savoy run I think) as there was no one to do the dream ballet, until Adam Cooper charged across London by tube to do it, which must have been an amazing experience to see.
Them there's the story a couple of years ago from a regional theatre (Liverpool?) of no one being able to play The Witch when the actor was taken ill so someone in drama school who had just done it emailed the theatre to volunteer and ended going on for a good while.
I remember once watching an (uninitially) hilarious amdram version of love on the dole in Birmingham, where the older male lead kept dramatically pausing before saying his lines. Sadly, no one had told the prompt, who assumed he'd forgotten them and so prompted him. When this happened for the third time right near the interval, he screamed at her and was clearly very angry. Come the second act, the director appeared in his place, script in hand...
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Post by crabtree on Jul 9, 2019 8:11:38 GMT
yes the Witch story above was from the Royal Exchange's Christmas Into the Woods and the witch was suddenly off and a drama student who had recently played the part was summoned. It just goes to show that they do keep your resume to hand. And she was excellent. The production was doggedly perverse though. Looking forward to their Gypsy this Christmas.
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Post by d'James on Jul 9, 2019 9:39:13 GMT
One weekend in Bochum . . .
During on performance of Starlight Express, Poppa was being played by the alternate and after the interval an announcement was made (but I don’t speak German). As the second act began, the main cast Poppa came on to play the role, to my surprise haha.
Another performance, one of the Rockies was missing in Act One, so all the engines were present. In Act Two Rocky Three appeared as the engine wasn’t so important.
Not as exciting but because I went to six performances in a row I noticed little things. From one day to the next, the actor playing Greaseball changed. There was also a cover playing Dinah (she had been playing Dinah the night before) and during Pumping Iron of the matinee, she almost didn’t land her flip over his knee (which she had done with the taller Greaseball the night before), so for the evening performance they had adapted the choreography so she landed on her knee instead. Worked fine.
Also at Grease at the Dominion I also saw Frenchie change after the interval but that’s not that interesting. As a child, I was disappointed because the Frenchie before the interval had completely different hair after the interval (not knowing the film that well and realising this was deliberate).
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490 posts
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Post by WireHangers on Jul 10, 2019 9:56:57 GMT
Some context to the INTO THE WOODS story.
The actor playing the Witch, Gillian Bevan, had become ill but the company manager assumed she’d be back within a day or two so the stage manager assumed the role with the script in hand. Melissa Bayern, a recent graduate of Royal Welsh saw the show with the SM playing the Witch and decided to leave her details with the stage manager after the show saying she’d just completed a run at her drama school playing the Witch. The stage manager sent Melissa away as Gillian was due back the following day. Fast forward to the next day and Melissa gets a phone call asking her to come back to Manchester and take on the role for two shows that day! She had five hours of rehearsals and went on stage and apparently she brought the house down. Friends of mine played Jack and Cinderella in the production.
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490 posts
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Post by WireHangers on Jul 10, 2019 9:58:58 GMT
There’s that famous story where Idina Menzel fell down a flight of stairs during her last performing of WICKED on Broadway when there was only minutes to go before the show ended. She was taken to hospital and found she’d broken a rib. She came back to WICKED a few days later to resume the show from the final scene while only wearing a red jumpsuit and no green makeup. That was her final performance until she reprised the role in London.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2019 10:11:35 GMT
It was literally the next day, and it was a tracksuit, not a jumpsuit. Citation: I was there.
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642 posts
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Post by Stasia on Jul 11, 2019 11:37:53 GMT
Some context to the INTO THE WOODS story. The actor playing the Witch, Gillian Bevan, had become ill but the company manager assumed she’d be back within a day or two so the stage manager assumed the role with the script in hand. Melissa Bayern, a recent graduate of Royal Welsh saw the show with the SM playing the Witch and decided to leave her details with the stage manager after the show saying she’d just completed a run at her drama school playing the Witch. The stage manager sent Melissa away as Gillian was due back the following day. Fast forward to the next day and Melissa gets a phone call asking her to come back to Manchester and take on the role for two shows that day! She had five hours of rehearsals and went on stage and apparently she brought the house down. Friends of mine played Jack and Cinderella in the production. Love that story! btw, does the actor gets the right to put the credits in his\her CV in such case?
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