Understudies for plays

[broadway86]

Posted: 6/4/18 at 2:39pm

It occurred to me yesterday that, out of all the Broadway plays I've ever seen, there has only been one understudy: Kelly McAndrew covering for an injured Ashley Judd in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. 

With that one exception, I have only ever seen full casts when it comes to non-musicals. Have you ever seen an understudy in a play? Which role, and what did you think of their performance? 

 

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/4/18 at 2:46pm

I saw Don Harvey go on for Chris Noth in That Championship Season. Noth was still filming The Good Wife at the time and was in and out of the show. Harvey was excellent.

I also saw several understudies each time I saw August: Osage County.

I think understudies in plays go on with much less frequency because it’s much easier to “push through” when you have a cold or other minor ailment if you don’t have to sing.

[AC126748]

Posted: 6/4/18 at 5:24pm

Here's a few instances that I can remember from over the years:

Dee Pelletier on for Amy Morton in AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (final cast, two weeks before it closed -- I also saw Morton with the full original cast earlier in the run)

Tony Carlin on for Byron Jennings in HEARTBREAK HOUSE

Roxanna Hope on for Gina Gershon and Liam Craig on for Mark Rylance in BOEING BOEING (at two different performances -- I also saw it with the full original cast)

Richard Gallagher on for Santino Fontana in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

Victoire Charles on for Portia and Susan Heyward on for Condola Rashad in RUINED (same performance)

Deborah Offner, Amy Warren and Mimi Lieber all go on for Andrea Martin at the same performance of ACT ONE -- Martin played three roles in the show, and each of the three understudies played a different track. I've never seen a principal track split up like that before or since.

Brian Avers on for David Wilmot in THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE (I also saw Wilmot, who was amazing)

That's all I can think of, although I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting.

 

Updated On: 6/4/18 at 05:24 PM

[broadway86]

Posted: 6/5/18 at 11:42am

adamgreer said: "I think understudies in plays go on with much less frequency because it’s much easier to “push through” when you have a cold or other minor ailment if you don’t have to sing."

For sure. Imagine being Hugh Jackman during his Boy from Oz run. I couldn't even fathom the pressure.

[TheatreRocks]

Posted: 6/5/18 at 1:27pm

I saw Mark Nelson go on for Nathan Lane last week in Perestroika.

[Harriet Craig]

Posted: 6/6/18 at 8:50am

Caroline Lagerfelt for Blythe Danner in Betrayal

Stephanie Pope for Tonya Pinkins in Jelly's Last Jam

James Lecesne for Michael McKean in The Best Man. (I was annoyed with Michael McKean when I saw the understudy slip in the program, until I found out later that night that he had been hit by a car earlier that day and had a broken leg, and it was the first performance he had ever missed in his life.)

And the one that really hurts, because it spoiled my otherwise perfect record of having seen Audra in everything she's done on Broadway:  Helen Goldsby for Audra McDonald in Master Class.

If we included opera performances, my list could go on forever.

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 6/7/18 at 1:19am

TheatreRocks said: "I saw Mark Nelson go on for Nathan Lane last week in Perestroika."

How was Lane's understudy? (And had Lane been on in part 1?) Tony season be taking a toll on him.