Andrea McArdle in the original production of Annie, Kelsey Fowler and Sarah Hyland in Grey Gardens.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
For what it's worth, I saw the show last Wednesday evening. And, Lila wasn't on as Annie, her understudy was and did a great job, might I add.
"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear"
Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll
Have you ever known a child actor WITHOUT an alternate (or three in the case of Billy Elliot)?
Pugsley in THE ADDAMS FAMILY. And in the case of SHREK, the girls rotated the roles of Young Fiona and Young Shrek, but niether of them never went on unless they were sick or something. And weren't there actually like 7 Billys?
Theatre is my life. No one can take that away from me.
Chances are very good you will catch an understudy. I went on a Friday night and.... understudy. 3 of my friends went on different nights and .....understudy.
That said.. this i a disappointing production of an iconic show. I'd see almost anything else instead of this. My opinion. And no.. I did not like the understudy but to be fairI did not like Katie Finneran, in this role, the sets, the choreography, the lack of heart or much of anything else about this production except the gentleman playing rooster who nailed it
McArdle was made a kind of star in the original, and it's hard to fathom people readily accepting her replacement. I can well recall that her absences were few and far between, and certainly not regular.
Those days are likely over.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
too bad this show doesn't get sick and we can put in the original sets, staging, choreography and stars (yes Dorothy will come back from the dead to perform) as an UNDERSTUDY