You probably already know that an understudy is an actor who is hired to replace a lead or a strong supporting character in a Broadway play in case of injury or illness... it's never quite as dramatic as it's portrayed in "42nd Street" ... usually it's to fill the role during a planned vacation or leave... much like Donna Murphy replacing Bette Midler in "Hello Dolly" during her break.
I've seen "Hello Dolly" with Carol Channing, Pearl Bailey and Barbra Streisand in the film version but I went to a preview of "Hello Dolly" before it opened (I really don't mind previews especially if I've seen the show before)... and it was just fine and ran with out stopping for any corrections or adjustments... So I thought to myself well... that's that I'm done with "Dolly" for at least 10 years until it's revived again... but a friend of mine... I'll call her Debra because that is her name... told me Donna Murphy was the best "Dolly" ever! I was feeling a bit of "Dolly" fatigue because I had just seen the show before it opened officially... Well long story short I went to see Miss Murphy's performance and she was without a doubt the best Dolly Gallagher Levi of all time.... IMOHO.
Many people don't like seeing the understudy and if they bought tickets expecting to see the star they can run to the box office before the show begins to trade the tickets for another performance. When cast replacements are used union regulations (Actor's Equity) requires that before the show starts an announcement is made over the speaker system and a notice is placed in the show program or on the cast board in the lobby of the theatre... I heard that during the first run of Chicago and announcement was made that Gwen Verdon would not be in her usual role of Roxi Hart and the expected sighs and groans of disappointment echoed through the theatre until they announced that it would be filled by Liza Minnelli... and the audience broke out into cheers and applause.
I always believe you have to give the understudy a chance... because they would not have the role unless they could do it and do it superbly. A couple of the understudies you may not know about are Lainie Kazan was the understudy for Barbra Streisand in "Funny Girl" and Madeline Sherwood (the Reverend Mother in "The Flying Nun) was a very accomplished and respected stage actress and was the understudy for Bette Davis in "Night Of The Iguana"
I myself am no stranger to being an understudy as I did it for three different shows when I was in the chorus of a musical... I've also been a swing performer in a few shows that have a large ensemble and supporting cast and typically you need to be ready to perform two or three roles with little notice... just in case... again it's typically during vacation or leave... otherwise you fill in the large chorus and/or play a small part.... as a side note to all this I'm going to tell you a little secret about matinee performances... me and everyone else I have ever spoken to about it... coast and put our performance on auto-pilot during a matinee... unless we know someone in the audience... it's not that it's not a good performance... it's just not running full speed on all cylinders... Eight shows a week are not easy... so you conserve a little energy where you can get away with it.
I would have to say that Eve Harrington is probably the most well known and despised understudy portrayed in film and on stage... I wrote a little about it here... Looking Back On Hollywood... and More About Eve
"All About Eve" was adapted into the musical "Applause" (it was originally called "Applause Applause) by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams with a libretto by Betty Comden and Adolph Green for Lauren Bacall's musical theatre debut... Shows used to run out of town performances to rehearse the show and work out the kinks... "Applause" was playing in Baltimore before it opened on Broadway with Diane McAffee as Eve... but she was not working out to everyones expectations so the part eventually went to Penny Fuller... But Diane McAffee fared well in the end... she had a run-of-the play contract so she got paid even though she was not in the show... and later performed in a tour of the show and met and eventually married Brandon Maggart and her children are Maude Maggart and Fiona Apple... the fun part of the story here is Penny Fuller (like me) was not interested in doing a tour and stayed with the show through the different actors playing Margot Channing... one of the replacements was Anne Baxter who played Eve in the movie version. During one of the performances Penny Fuller found Bette Davis backstage watching the show from the wings as she wanted to see the show but it was sold out... so during one performance the original Margo watched the original Eve play Margo opposite the new Eve... A side to this is that Lee Adams thought Eleanor Parker was the best Margo Channing... I wish I had seen her performance... as another side note... when Lauren Bacall left "Woman Of The Year" and was replaced by Raquel Welch... the chorus gave her a silver platter with an inscription that read.... "Raquel Welch The Real Woman Of The Year"... and my final side note... "Applause" took forever to be released on CD and every time I was walking by the old Tower Records near Lincoln Center I would go upstairs and ask the man who was in charge of that area if it had been released yet and he said... "You and Lauren Bacall are driving me crazy with this... just leave me your phone number and I'll call you when we have it in stock!"... and he did.... and finally...a friend of mine had a part in the City Center revival with Christine Ebersole as Margo and I just loved seeing the show performed again... and as the song goes... "Nothing I know brings on a glow... like sweet applause..."
As far as "Hello Dolly" goes... as much as I love Bernadette Peters... I'm officially "Dollied Out" unless Mezzanine-First Row-Center tickets fall into my lap.
See you next week.
I've seen "Hello Dolly" with Carol Channing, Pearl Bailey and Barbra Streisand in the film version but I went to a preview of "Hello Dolly" before it opened (I really don't mind previews especially if I've seen the show before)... and it was just fine and ran with out stopping for any corrections or adjustments... So I thought to myself well... that's that I'm done with "Dolly" for at least 10 years until it's revived again... but a friend of mine... I'll call her Debra because that is her name... told me Donna Murphy was the best "Dolly" ever! I was feeling a bit of "Dolly" fatigue because I had just seen the show before it opened officially... Well long story short I went to see Miss Murphy's performance and she was without a doubt the best Dolly Gallagher Levi of all time.... IMOHO.
Many people don't like seeing the understudy and if they bought tickets expecting to see the star they can run to the box office before the show begins to trade the tickets for another performance. When cast replacements are used union regulations (Actor's Equity) requires that before the show starts an announcement is made over the speaker system and a notice is placed in the show program or on the cast board in the lobby of the theatre... I heard that during the first run of Chicago and announcement was made that Gwen Verdon would not be in her usual role of Roxi Hart and the expected sighs and groans of disappointment echoed through the theatre until they announced that it would be filled by Liza Minnelli... and the audience broke out into cheers and applause.
I always believe you have to give the understudy a chance... because they would not have the role unless they could do it and do it superbly. A couple of the understudies you may not know about are Lainie Kazan was the understudy for Barbra Streisand in "Funny Girl" and Madeline Sherwood (the Reverend Mother in "The Flying Nun) was a very accomplished and respected stage actress and was the understudy for Bette Davis in "Night Of The Iguana"
I myself am no stranger to being an understudy as I did it for three different shows when I was in the chorus of a musical... I've also been a swing performer in a few shows that have a large ensemble and supporting cast and typically you need to be ready to perform two or three roles with little notice... just in case... again it's typically during vacation or leave... otherwise you fill in the large chorus and/or play a small part.... as a side note to all this I'm going to tell you a little secret about matinee performances... me and everyone else I have ever spoken to about it... coast and put our performance on auto-pilot during a matinee... unless we know someone in the audience... it's not that it's not a good performance... it's just not running full speed on all cylinders... Eight shows a week are not easy... so you conserve a little energy where you can get away with it.
I would have to say that Eve Harrington is probably the most well known and despised understudy portrayed in film and on stage... I wrote a little about it here... Looking Back On Hollywood... and More About Eve
"All About Eve" was adapted into the musical "Applause" (it was originally called "Applause Applause) by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams with a libretto by Betty Comden and Adolph Green for Lauren Bacall's musical theatre debut... Shows used to run out of town performances to rehearse the show and work out the kinks... "Applause" was playing in Baltimore before it opened on Broadway with Diane McAffee as Eve... but she was not working out to everyones expectations so the part eventually went to Penny Fuller... But Diane McAffee fared well in the end... she had a run-of-the play contract so she got paid even though she was not in the show... and later performed in a tour of the show and met and eventually married Brandon Maggart and her children are Maude Maggart and Fiona Apple... the fun part of the story here is Penny Fuller (like me) was not interested in doing a tour and stayed with the show through the different actors playing Margot Channing... one of the replacements was Anne Baxter who played Eve in the movie version. During one of the performances Penny Fuller found Bette Davis backstage watching the show from the wings as she wanted to see the show but it was sold out... so during one performance the original Margo watched the original Eve play Margo opposite the new Eve... A side to this is that Lee Adams thought Eleanor Parker was the best Margo Channing... I wish I had seen her performance... as another side note... when Lauren Bacall left "Woman Of The Year" and was replaced by Raquel Welch... the chorus gave her a silver platter with an inscription that read.... "Raquel Welch The Real Woman Of The Year"... and my final side note... "Applause" took forever to be released on CD and every time I was walking by the old Tower Records near Lincoln Center I would go upstairs and ask the man who was in charge of that area if it had been released yet and he said... "You and Lauren Bacall are driving me crazy with this... just leave me your phone number and I'll call you when we have it in stock!"... and he did.... and finally...a friend of mine had a part in the City Center revival with Christine Ebersole as Margo and I just loved seeing the show performed again... and as the song goes... "Nothing I know brings on a glow... like sweet applause..."
As far as "Hello Dolly" goes... as much as I love Bernadette Peters... I'm officially "Dollied Out" unless Mezzanine-First Row-Center tickets fall into my lap.
See you next week.
