Celebrity Casting

What's a celebrity? Is that when there are so many fans at stage door that barriers are required? If so, I attended "Hamlet" with Benedict Cumberbatch at the Barbican and "Romeo and Juliet" with Lily James and Richard Madden (note: Richard Madden was actually replaced by Freddie Fox) at the Garrick.

I didn't experience problems during the performance on either occasions and I think that the audience was unexpecetdly well behaved.

My problems on these occasions were actually at the stage door. At the Garrick I was unable to meet Derek Jacobi because of the crowd; at the Barbican... well, Benedict Cumberbatch didn't even came out, but, even if he did, my friend - a fan - would have been disappointed, as we were standing behind several rows of people.

She's definitely on my list of case studies!

Being "of an age" I could point you in the direction (pun) of Pirates of Penzance at Drury Lane in 1982/83, where we had Tim Curry and Michael Praed against Pamela Stephenson (as Mabel) who was famous for being on Not the Nine O Clock News, and George Cole (as Major General Stanley) who (apart from the St Trinian films) was famous for being in Minder.

Or as a fan of an Osmond Brother I could tell you about Jimmy Osmond being in Grease in the West End, or touring in Chicago (Tour of Chicago on a wet Saturday night in Birmingham and a speeding ticket on the way home .... I've learned my lesson).

Nick Jonas in Les Mis .......

From my somewhat limited experience seeing theatre in the UK, I've noticed that most of the "celebrity" casting seems to be of actors who have already proved themselves as strong actors of the stage, despite gaining fame through TV and film. So in that sense, it doesn't feel at all forced or gimmicky.

In NY, the celebrity casting tends to be more out of left field - often they cast movie stars who have never, or rarely, set foot on a stage. That said, many of the performances I've seen by these movie stars have actually been pretty good. I've noticed that hyper-naturalistic acting is becoming more and more "in" when it comes to contemporary plays. The more you can accurately replicate real life behavior and mannerisms, the stronger the performance is considered. Obviously, the average film star knows how to achieve that naturalism pretty well.

Also, I'm not at all opposed to the casting of celebrities - even the untested ones - if it means that more shows can make their way into the commercial houses. Many shows have only been able to get funding for Broadway runs based on the name of some attached celebrity. So I appreciate that it's a dependable way to provide commercial opportunity to shows that might otherwise die on the vine during workshops/tryouts.

I've also noticed that in the UK, you tend to see more big names at the non-profit theatres. You see them on the West End too, of course, but lots of companies like the Almeida, National, Donmar, etc. are able to attract big names moreso than than the off-Broadway theatres in NY. Though nowadays the Public Theatre in NY pretty consistently produces shows with big names. And of course there are plenty of other examples of celebrity casting at non-profits in NY, but in general you see it more on Broadway. I think it's great that these companies are able to produce bold, exciting theatre with celebrities involved, though often it creates very pesky ticket demand. Things sell out in a flash when there are celebrities in the cast. UK theatres tend to be good about providing later opportunities for tickets (day-seats, friday rush, Klaxon, etc). NY theatres aren't as good about that, I've noticed.

As Elisa said above - who counts as a celebrity?

I remember being captivated by Chita Rivera when I saw her in Kiss of the Spiderwoman. Now in MT terms, she is absolutely a celebrity but her fame doesn't stretch to the wider public.

People like Elaine Paige and Michael Ball count a celebrities in their own right - and have a long enough list of productions and plaudits to be (or have been) considered credible performers at the same time.

A more modern example is Jake Gyllenhaal - someone who is absolutely a celebrity but is proving to be credible with his more recent forays into MT productions.

We have all seen people who should never have been cast - but who can help sell tickets. Is it better for audiences to see a celeb do a mediocre job but then be tempted to return to see more theatre or for them to not see something because they haven't heard of the cast?

What is better for the long-term health of (primarily) touring theatre?

Kimberley Walsh in Shrek and Elf. Atrocious. Thin and breathy voice, no acting skills and no chemistry with her fellow cast members.

Matt Cardle's Huey in Memphis, OTOH, was rather good.

Very important distinction that

Panto is certainly an area to look at in terms of "stunt" casting where Producers hope that someone off Gladiators or a local Radio DJ will be able to help them shift more tickets than they would if they had cast someone who did 2 years at RADA and 3 years in Rep.

Stunt casting should also look at the likes of say Marti Pellow - who'll be cast in productions like Jekyll or Chicago (or last Christmas in the SECC panto) because he'll put bums on seats and get great publicity for a touring show - who shall we be kind and say isn't the best actor in the world but again a trained actor more suited to the role isn't going to shift tickets.

I mentioned in the Wonderland thread when I saw it earlier this year that if I was Wendi Peters I'd be giving my agent a special thanks for getting me top billing despite only being on stage for around 20 minutes in the whole show. But as she is "FORMER CORRIE STAR WENDI PETERS" again she puts bums on seats in regional theatres in a way that Kerry Ellis and Dave Willets never will.

Panto casting has been a mixture of young professionals, old hands and 'celebs' for well over a century. It is far from a modern phenomenon.

Speciality acts and big names were brought in to help boost ticket sales from the early part of the 20th century if not before. Boxers were particularly popular in this regard - so the Frank Bruno thing is actually part of a long tradition!

There are relatively few 'pure' pantos in the UK these days. Amazingly Oxfordshire has two - the Oxford Playhouse and Chipping Norton Theatre both go for celeb/stunt-free casts - and manage to sell out show after show. Admittedly they are smaller houses - but it is the story that sells the shows for them.

Oh no it isn't.....


(I'll get me coat)