ALW's Cinderella - Gillian Lynne / U.K. Tour (rumour)

So very true. What an awful end to a great career!

It's not a legitimate complaint, she's right. When you book to see a musical, it is the musical you have booked to see, not a particular performer in the show. The company is entitled to make changes if deemed necessary and the performer is under no obligation to the audience to perform, only to her employers.

I think this is the consequence of names being used to sell tickets and being put on posters as a major reason to see the show. When a show doesn’t use it’s cast as a selling point they avoid this issue.

I was actually just looking at the twitter threads again and you're absolutely right. 

There are multiple threads on the go on the subject, I clearly missed the worst one on my first read through. I only saw the ones where it seemed she was being a bit harsh and ranting, but she really does have good reason for being put out. 
Perhaps part of the issue is how much she's keeping it going, but I do see why she's annoyed originally.

Shes handling this appallingly. For all her social media experience, and considering she is supposedly a writer, is so bad at expressing herself.

Someone from the production needs to step in and tell her to step away. She isn't wrong technically but these are her customers and paying her wages, it's just basic customer service

It wasn't really a "rampage"? I don't even like her but I thought her tweet was perfectly reasonable.

People's sense of entitlement at times is nauseating. Of course we've all been disappointed when the "name" isn't available. Trips to the theatre are expensive, we have to carve out time and pay for transport and potentially accommodation etc., but tweeting the performer to complain and including the understudy/alternate is just rude and unnecessary. 

Especially when it’s a company decision, rather than a result of illness. Performers that make themselves so ‘available’ to their fanbase also need to realise that it works in reverse too.

In the Twitter mobile app, the icon at top right consisting of a star and two plus symbols, will enable you to switch between chronological and algorithmic sequencing of tweets.

Algorithmic sequencing is the bane of social media.

I heard this and I always remember prepandemic that it was common in musicals for the leads to do 6 shows and be covered for two in the week. But also remember this being a fairly upfront thing. Maybe she does them all.

I have always found her very confident and forward to be honest. Great voice though and she needs to learn that if you make yourself available you are available to everything. People have a right to be annoyed. Equally she owes them nothing. But you either take it all, good and bad or you don't engage, you don't complain and you just do your job and go home. The ones that do are probably mentally more healthy.

No formal training? Voice won't hold up with that. Maybe they didn't really know that if the names aren't going to be there then it will be a matinee or a Monday night. Been to loads of Sat matinees though and seen huge stars who are their doing there job. Musocal stars do tend to be absent though either by arrangement or the fact that that many shows has a huge toll on the voice. Or else they are slightly primadonaish. 

I think the point is it is not really very professional to get involved at all. Don't answer. That and the fact that through the years there have been some great lovelies who had a habit of missing shows to the err of the public. The late much missed Dame Rigg amount them. She wouldn't explain and nor should she. Carrie shouldn't have said anything and nor should she but she is all about the social media and in my eyes it's a bad thing but its how someone like her builds her profile. 

Truth is if you fork out a lot of money and are excited to see someone it's going to hurt if they aren't there and to be honest there should be arrangements if a show involves a huge name casting. Insurance would be huge. I have been to any number of shows musicals, dance, plays where the lead is off. Sometimes I have assumed because that's the arrangement and sometimes because they are genuinely ill.  Of course you are disappointed but I have always enjoyed the shows anyway. It is common in musicals for an alternative to do it and in recent years I have seen less and less people miss their shows for anything but illness. Probably just speaks to the increased professionalism in all walks of life really.

Her name isn't 'Hope Fletcher', btw - Hope is her middle name. She'd just be 'Fletcher'.

I think she was well within her right to speak out against people sending her rude messages and asking for refunds. She also specifically asked people not to tag the alternate in disappointed tweets, so it's not like she's just thinking about herself. I wouldn't say she's stepped out of line in what she's said. People need to accept they've booked to see a musical and not a specific person, and that it's not a performer's fault if they're not on. There are disclaimers on pretty much every show booking site making it clear they do not guarantee the appearance of any cast member - those are the conditions you book your ticket under.

I don't think she's ever 'boasted' about no formal training, though. She's not saying she's superior because of it. She's just showing there's a different way into theatre, especially for people who can't access formal training because of financial roadblocks or the like. I'm pretty sure she's never slated formal training in any way.

Still 100% not stunt casting. For one thing, she is a musical theatre performer. For another, she's damn good at it in my opinion, and the opinions of many others. She might not be your cup of tea and that's fine, but she's still not stunt cast.