Well I do feel the need to keep it here b/c I do not so easily give my bad opinion, a lot of factos have to come together. I've talked about this prior in the thread but for this purpose will reiterate...
1. The actual mistakes in the performance-I'd forgive the couple of flubbed lines in The More We Dance but to be silent for 40 seconds straight of Dirty Rotten Number is inexcusable. It's a very very important song, and it takes away from the show to lose that. But hey it's not just that he forgot the words, I mean, no one's perfect it happens. HOWEVER if you forget your job is to not make most of the audience aware. I mean a member like me would know if Norbert folded his napkin differently, but most audience members never hearing the show before would not realize a whole part was skipped. But to not only stay silent for 40 seconds, to try to come back in very lightly mumbling making it soo obvious was...more inexcusable. Especially as a member of pits, I've worked w/ my share of actor mistakes--missed lines, skipping parts of songs, coming in the wrong part--but it's our, the pit's job to cover. If he couldn't remember that verse, if he just went to the chorus boom the orchestra would have followed after a second and no one other than me and a couple others would notice. I mean I was in the front row, I noticed the conductor just staring at him waiting for some kind of cue for the orchestra, but he just sat there and didn't come back in till the 40 seconds he couldn't remember were up. The combination of these two factors made that just...very unprofessional.
2. The nature of his part in the show. If John did this, while others might have said, doing it every night how could he forget, I would have supported him, pointing out think of how hard he works, 8 times a week does this show perfectly, becoming pretty exhausted in the process, etc. I mean in over 400 performances in a year, of course I could forgive flubs...though I know John is so much of a professional I know he would have covered and just moved on. Dennis is only John's standby, (well now he understudies Greg but not originally). I cannot say for him he does 8 shows a night, he's tired, he hardly does it. So to say he's so exhausted from being in the show every night. Furthermore, Laura was in for Sherie and she was perfect. Now in her case if she flubbed I might say well she's usually in the ensemble, again always performing 8 nights a week, but has to know every line to her part in addition so again, I wouldn't be thrilled but I would be understanding. I mean there's one part he really had to know and barely gone on and to mess up for that long a period to make it that noticeable and make it unprofessional...yes, I do think it's fair for me to judge him on this one day.
Could I see him again and could he be perfect? Sure, I don't know if he's ever been as bad as he was the time I saw it. But also considering I'm acquainted w/ several cast, mainly ensemble members, I think it's an insult to their hard work in the show for them to give 150% every night and for him to come on maybe...once in the month or so? and to make such a gigantic unprofessional mistake...I don't want to see him again.
And just to prove my whole thing of understudies...let me say I adore Joe Cassidy. I also adore Norbert obviously but Joe definitely has his strengths, including a strong singing voice, and I really don't grown or get disappointed if I see Norbert isout, actually last time I was quite excited. I've seen Rachel de Benect go on for Muriel and considering she looked and therefore had to play the part so differently, I thought she did a great job, great singer. I'm probably a tad biased when it comes to Laura, but she has a gorgeous voice and her too I thought did a great job. Julie Connor, I do admit missing Sarah, but I wouldn't say Julie was bad, just not at the level Sara is, I mean she's usually in the chorus in that number, so I can imagine it being difficult going from the chorus to lead of the same number.
Sorry I know this is repeated and perhaps steamed, but again if you read many of my posts on the main board about the repeated contracts/vacations DRS threads, if I do respond, almost all the time I encourage everyone to see the show regardless na dnot worry about anyone being out, the show is really great, and I've liked almost all the understudies I've seen, etc, and of course the overload of those kind of posts got me more steamed about that.
And b/c I never pass up an oppertunity to do this, I'd also like to take this oppertunity to give credit to the often uncredited pit, who constantly cover up and are ready and on track to cover "mistakes" to the degree that most audience memebrs never notice. They really are the "unsung" (haha) heroes of musicals.
"If there was a Mount Rushmore for Broadway scores, "West Side Story" would be front and center. It snaps, it crackles it pops! It surges with a roar, its energy and sheer life undiminished by the years" - NYPost reviewer Elisabeth Vincentelli
