BROADWAY ACTORS WHO MISS ALOT.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 12:18am

Ok
I am gonna beat a sick Horse here.
Why do so many Broadway performers miss so many shows?
Especially the younger ones (not all).
A Broadway Show lasts usually 2 to 2 and a half hours, so times 8 that means they work about 20 hours a week at their job.
Yes, some take classes and audition and do other gigs but most actually do not. ( I know quite a few )
So why are there 3 or 4 swings or understudies on nightly at HOT FEET, WICKED, or THE WEDDING SINGER, JERSEY BOYS, etc.
I have worked in the Theatre a long time and I know it is hard and yer voice and body are your instrument, So take better care of it!
When I hear that a singer has "Blown Out" their voice I go "WHAT"?
If you are blowing out yer voice singing two songs a night wearing a mic You need to get a better teacher or get a different job.
I know I will get blasted from people for this but I went to the Theatre alot in the 60's and 70's and Most of the time You saw the entire cast out there dancing Fosse and singing Sondheim every night.
To those Performers who Act, Sing and Dance and have great attendance records, I applaud you!
To those who do not, I sic Harvey Feirstein, ETHEL MERMAN and Carol Channing on you!
and don't anyone say Carol Channing didn't have to sing what the new singers do. She carried HELLO DOLLY everynight, Singing, Dancing and doing Comedy scenes that killed!
OK, I'm thru, let the tomatoes fly!

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 12:29am

At least there was nothing about actors naked in his post.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 12:38am

I don't mind being called a name, but you could explain better Munk.
The Broadway actors who do other work are actually very few.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 12:44am

Ehh I wouldn't be too sure about that. They need to live in NYC which costs LOTS of money, even for a not even decent apartment. Ensemble members always, if not most of the times, have other jobs that go into paying the rent. Although I don't think that really has anything to do with your arguement of showing up for their shows but to an extent it could and does. People get sick. People will lose their voices even when they're not overworking them.
I'm sure no one says "Yes. Tonight I dont WANNA go be on Broadway. I'll skip."

Also, don't they have certain schedules for understudies? Don't understudies get the chance to perform because performers will have to share the schedule?

Updated On: 7/13/06 at 12:44 AM

[Popular]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 12:54am

You want ONE simple answer for why performers with different immune systems, personal life stresses, work ethics/discipline, etc miss shows?

Good job, you beat that dead (not sick) horse hard!
Updated On: 7/13/06 at 12:54 AM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 1:48am

No
understudies and covers have no clauses to perform in a Bway Contract
There have been few exceptions
very few

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 1:51am

Oh alright, I admit defeat there then. Fair enough. But I do think there are many, many reasons for someone to miss a show, and I don't think it's fair on their part to dismiss it as not taking care of themselves.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 7:51am

I don't think most of the actors on Broadway take their job lightly. Most of the time they are missing for a good reason. No one wants to miss shows. And they definitely work more than the 3 hours a day they are at the theatre. Have you read Making it on Broadway? Every actor says their entire day is geared toward their show that night. Everything they do: how much they talk, what they eat, what they drink, physical activity, etc. It is a ridiculously hard life. Maybe they do miss more shows these days... I don't know, I wasn't around in the 50s and 60s to see the greats perform. But I don't think it's as easy as you say it is.

[scooter38432]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 8:01am

OUCH!

Totally inappropriate response, Munkustrap!

It was a valid question as to why so many performers miss shows. Obviously, there is no single answer.

I've noticed it, too.
Harvey Fierstein was very vocal about how many of his young co-stars of HAIRSPRAY missed shows on a regular basis.

There are many factors involved, but there is a definite difference in the Broadway actors of previous generations compared to the performers of today. Yes, NY is an expensive place to reside, so sometimes people need more than one job, but that is nothing new. It always has been expensive and always will be. Most actors don't get paid a lot, in general.

I was shocked at the nastiness of some of these responses!

Lighten up! It's only a message board...

[LifeoftheParty227]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 9:08am

Seriously, some people are so arrogant

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 9:37am

Curtain, I am not trying to be rude here, but I think u r seriously ignorant. You sound like one of those people who complain that teachers in schools have too many holidays! I would like to see you live a Broadway performer's life!
Yeah, they don't do ur 7 til 11 jobs, but they don't just have that 3 hrs a day! And besides, even if they do, that 3 hrs are EXHAUSTING! Sometimes trying to give out ur best means you sometimes give in alot of emotion that you sometimes might hurt ur voice/body accidentally! And besides that performance, they have like rehersals/understudy rehersals/notes from resident director/choreographer..blah blah blah...
You guys finish ur job and then go get pi**ed but sometimes they cant cuz it might hurt their voice and they have to be seriously careful with what they eat.
It's just as intense as any job if not worse, in my opinion!
That's just my opinion, you may disgree.

[wicked_mimi]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 9:50am

CurtainPullDowner... If you "know" a bunch of people on Broadway why don't you ask them?!?!

Some performers take their job more seriously than others, just like in any other profession. However, the difference with doing a desk job with a cold and going on to a Broadway stage with a cold are two ENTIRELY different things! Some performers will perform sick (even though the people who paid $100 a ticket didn't plan to hear someone screech through songs) while others will take a day or two off. It really depends on the performer and their personal life.
Updated On: 7/13/06 at 09:50 AM

[Yeah, um, no.]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 10:15am

It's a dead, not sick, horse.

I'm going to start a new thread: BWW POSTERS WHO MISSPELL. A LOT.
Updated On: 7/13/06 at 10:15 AM

[Patronus]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 10:27am

I'm going to start a new thread: BBW POSTERS WHO MISSPELL. A LOT.

Do we really have enough "big beautiful women" who spell poorly to warrant their own thread?

[LutherB]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 10:51am

Yes there are a few actors still around today who make it a point to never miss a performance...most of them have worked with some of those legends you'd mentioned before...however, there are a LOT of things to consider.

-In the 50's and 60's, Broadway was not an 8 show/week schedule. Many Broadway musicals were playing between 5-6 shows a week.

-In the 50's and 60's, the Broadway theaters one was performing in, had simply not been cleaned in around 20-30 years as opposed to 70-80 years...Any idea how much dust and mold can grow in 50 years?

-The population of NYC was around 5-6 Million...3 Million more people spreading their diseases on subways make a big difference.

-In the 50's, 60's & 70's, the stars had a "show must go on" attitude, simply because back then, it was difficult to get someone to be an understudy who was truly another star. now we have Kathie Lee Gifford understudying Carol Burnett, we have Judy Kaye understudying Patti LuPone and Tina Maddigan understudying Laura Benanti. Oftentimes, if a star didn't go on, they would cancel the show. With the budgets of Broadway shows the way they are in this generation, The producers would much prefer to throw on a standby to losing the couple hundred grand by closing the show that night. Meaning, if a star didn't go on then, they were literally disappointing the 1500 people that wanted to see the show that night.

VERY few actors on Broadway today are even known outside that 10-block radius and a VERY small percentage of those in attendance even KNOW who the star is they're going to see. As much as we love Chenoweth, Menzel, even Chita and Bernadette...I can guarantee you that about 75% of the Broadway audiences today would need more than a name to recognize who any of those women are....

We live in an extremely different generation and environment today. And while, yes, I think in a small number of cases, the lack of a work ethic comes into play...for the most part, it has something to do with the other things I've stated here.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 12:21pm

Luther- some very good points.

Another thing, is it really that different? I keep hearing about a few special performers from back then that didn't miss performances: Ethel Merman, Carol Channing, and a couple of notable others. The list pretty much stays down to that. Yet there is a thread abot performers who today still don't miss shows. I don't see a fewer amount of names today than there were back then.

I hope that makes some sense.

[ruthiefan_felix]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 1:16pm

gd points Luther!
I think expectations for a performer and what is required has changed alot thru the years. And it's kind of a trend that we have standbys but what's the harm really?
I think 98% of those stars who misses performances have good reasons. I don't really care as long as their standbys/understudies are gd as well.

[Buscee]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 1:25pm

Good Points Luther, but I do believe Broadway shows always played and 8 performance week.

[Magdalene]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 1:32pm

All good observations.
I think (beyond illness) that it is the work ethic one is raised with, which is why most of the offenders appear to be young (not that I'm knocking youth, mind you)

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 1:36pm

The Producers routinely has swings and understudies going on - not many of them are 20-something chorus people... most are in their mid-late 30s and older.

(No offense to the cast, I realize that may sound rather rude of me. They are all wonderful, no matter what their age.)
Updated On: 7/13/06 at 01:36 PM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 2:33pm

I think that people's attitudes overall have changed about work. Not only actors, but everyone. People used to be very committed to their jobs. Now people take off when their dog is sick.

However, I do think it also has something to do with personal work ethic. Merman knew that the audience was coming to see Merman and if she possibly could help it, she wasn't going to let them down. One of the things that I have against Patti LuPone is that when the whole Sunset Boulevard fracas came about, she called in sick to the show. People wanted to see LuPone even more when they knew she wouldn't be doing it on Broadway. She let down her fans.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 3:05pm

1) NYC Population statistics:

1950 7,891,957
1960 7,781,984
1970 7,894,862
1980 7,071,639
1990 7,322,564
2000 8,085,742

The population of NYC hasn't been under 6 million since 1920.

2) An 8 show week has been standard for EVERY Broadway show (with the exception of a few specialty revues and one person shows) since AT LEAST the mid 1920s (and perhaps even before -- look up any show from the 20s and 30s on IBDB and check for yourself).

[TomMonster]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 3:19pm

Once again, I love you Margo for telling it like it is/was. The work ethic has changed.

Younger performers, even with mic's seem to be taking more time off then before. The only true difference is that modern dance and technology may make a show more difficult to do each week.

Also, many younger composers don't always understand the human voice and are used to writing stuff that is recorded in a studio and not intended to be sung 8 times a week. Also audiences, nowadays, seem to want more of a "movie" experience in the theatre than before.

I love crossing the line of cinema and theatre on the live stage, even in some of my own work, but one must always be aware of the consequences to the performer and audience.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 3:21pm

It's also amusing when someone new posts that 75% of today's audiences wouldn't recognize the names Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera and Kristin Chenoweth. All three have performed in various mediums for years--TV, stage, screen.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 7/13/06 at 3:41pm

I do work on Broadway also.
And I see several performers who have a great attendance record.
And many who don't.
But I'm not that rude that I go up to people and say
"Why did you miss 6 shows last month?"
Being there everyday I usually know anyway.
I never mean't to imply it is not a hard job, it is very hard, but it always was and remember there was a time when there were no mics. And the dancing in HOT FEET(i use the term loosely) is no more taxing than say SOPHISTICATED LADIES or EUBIE!
and as far as spelling erors, well whatever, this is not an English Class, it is a Chat Board where we type sometimes quickly and sometimes late at night!

Thanks to those with worthwhile and researched comments.
5 or 6 shows a week??? Please.
Updated On: 7/14/06 at 03:41 PM