What’s In A Name? When the advertised star isn’t on.

I don't disagree with any of this - I just think a bit of flexibility when dealing with situations would be helpful.

I think it might be worth contacting the producer. You write eloquently so I’m sure you could email them explaining your case. x

I guess it's maybe different when huge names are involved - what happened when Glenn Close was ill and absent from Sunset, and Ria Jones went on? Were refunds/exchanges given then? That would've been more understandable if people were disappointed in not seeing a Hollywood star and seeing an understudy who would've been unknown to most of them. I know I would've been gutted if I hadn't seen Glenn. I wouldn't have expected a refund but an exchange would've seemed fair as it was sold massively on Glenn's name.

All of this probably warrants its own thread for further discussion rather than continuing to take up the Joseph thread 😀

I know that I'm booked to see Linzi's last show, and if she isn't in it - well, I don't want to go and see the show. I'm normally an advocate for 'you book to see the show, not a particular person', and from a business perspective I can see why that's the attitude taken by most box offices. But every so often there really is a show you wouldn't have booked to see if it wasn't for a particular performer. I've seen Joseph many, many times. It was my first West End show. I've been Narrator in amateur productions twice. I've reached Joseph saturation point, with the one exception that I just want to see Linzi perform.

Honestly, though? It's not even about the money for me. It's more that I simply don't want to trail all the way down to London to see someone I haven't heard of, no matter how good they are, in a show I know inside out already. If for some reason Linzi isn't on for Saturday, I'd rather see something else.

Luckily I don’t like farms 🙂

The issue with refunding or exchanging at the very last moment is that it does put the show at risk if more than say half the customers decided to get their money back or exchange and in the very unlikely situation that everyone decides to get a refund/exchange  due to the star being off then the performance would have to be cancelled which would leave both the producers and the cast and crew out of pocket.

If the show doesn't go on, the cast and crew don't get paid as has happened with the various cancellations due to self isolation, Producers of shows do not unlimited resources or money at their disposal.

I've had a lot to say on this already (!), but I should add, I'm really not one for complaining!  Yesterday though was an exceptional situation.  I booked for Mamma Mia a few years back, when Linzi was playing Donna.  That night, Linzi dropped out and we got her understudy.  I remember thinking "Oh no, that's a shame / unlucky!" and then enjoyed the show, and the understudy was fantastic anyway.  I'd booked because I wanted to see Mamma Mia - Linzi was a massive bonus, but not my sole reason for booking.  As for Joseph though, this was Linzi Hateley, in Joseph, as the Narrator, at the Palladium - that's a massive big deal for me who loved that show as a 12-year-old, hence my disappointment!

The issue is that if 1 or 2 shows starting offering exchanges or refunds every time someone was off then audiences would be expecting every show to do that and a lot of shows or theatres simply do not have the resources to do that. I know some seem to think theatre owners and producers are greedy so and sos but they have to be able to make money in order to A. invest in other shows and B. Make a living.

I need to chip in here cos I know quite a bit about consumer law. A show is a service so under the consumer rights act it must be performed with reasonable care and skill (amongst other things but that’s the main one that applies). It’s also covered under contract law so there will be terms and conditions that apply and that you will have had to agree to when you buy a ticket. If the theatre put on a show as agreed to a reasonable standard, then they’ve fulfilled the contract and CRA so as a consumer you don’t have legal rights to a refund. If you think they’ve breached their contract by not putting on an advertised star then you need to check terms and conditions to see if they stipulate the appearance of said star. If not, it becomes very difficult.

I can understand why people feel they want a refund but they are not legally entitled to one in most circumstances. You pay to see a show and understudies exist to fill a gap so the show can go on. Unfortunately the nature of the beast has always been even pre pandemic that certain people cannot be guaranteed and that’s even more likely in these days when there’s daily covid tests and one positive result can bench a performer for 10 days!

It’s always disappointing when the person you booked to see isn’t on, but it is what it is and can’t be helped. Life’s full of disappointment, u just handle it like an adult, take it on the chin, square your shoulders and move on without stamping your foot or being miserable about it.

Two different things are being conflated here though - tickets and feelings.

I think everyone can understand feeling disappointed about the person you wanted to see not being on, and I don't think anyone would say that isn't perfectly natural. But feelings don't govern the terms and conditions of any business. Simple as that.

Nor should they, otherwise hardly anyone could afford to take on the burden of putting on a star vehicle production. For example, if Bette Midler got sick and missed a month of her run in Hello Dolly the finances would be completely different to her just missing one show. That's why a refund guarantee makes no commercial sense whatsoever and no-one should feel entitled to one. Exchanges are perhaps different but generally the shows affected by the absence of a star will be such a hot ticket that there wouldn't be availability to switch everyone. And they still need an audience for the understudy show.

The Linzi situation is slightly different as she isn't an A-List star and there are some tickets left for another performance she's scheduled to do, but there is also something to be said for not opening a can of worms and setting a precedent not all shows could live up to.

It's also a shame how many people in this thread seem not to care about the understudies at all, and rudely dismiss them out of hand and demand a refund rather than taking a chance and potentially seeing a future star.