Announced replacements that never happened

[AC126748]

Announced replacements that never happened#1

Posted: 5/28/26 at 9:55am

The premature closing of CHESS will close on Broadway got me thinking about replacements who were announced but never actually began performances due to the show folding before their start dates. A few I could think of off the top of my head:

Judy Kuhn in THE WOMAN IN WHITE

Rhiannon Giddens in SHUFFLE ALONG

Robert Stack in LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (original production)

Lucie Arnaz in WONDERFUL TOWN

Jenna Elfman in NINE -- sort of...

any others that people can think of?

 

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

[darquegk]

Announced replacements that never happened#2

Posted: 5/28/26 at 10:03am

The rumors of Britney Spears stepping into Sweet Charity were so widespread that it's even referenced in the original production of Spamalot... and then it didn't happen.

[carolinaguy]

Announced replacements that never happened#3

Posted: 5/28/26 at 10:04am

Question related to this kind of thing: Would someone like JoJo be eligible for any kind of compensation in a circumstance like this? They may have declined other work due to a commitment that is now void.

Just remembering you've had an "and" When you're back to "or" Makes the "or" mean more than it did before

[ACL2006]

Announced replacements that never happened#4

Posted: 5/28/26 at 10:10am

Mya Harrison as Velma in Chicago. Was rehearsing the part, got injured, and never returned.

A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.

[John Adams]

Announced replacements that never happened#5

Posted: 5/28/26 at 10:17am

carolinaguy said: "Question related to this kind of thing: Would someone like JoJo be eligible for any kind of compensation in a circumstance like this? They may have declined other work due to a commitment that is now void."

When I heard about the closing, that was the thought that immediately came to mind - and especially as they'd reneged on the day she was to start rehearsals.

I don't know who's responsibility it might be (ER, EE or both), but I would hope contracts could/would be negotiated re: compensation applicable to this situation (if that isn't already the case).

Who knows? Maybe JoJo's contract includes equitable financial compensation.

[BrodyFosse123]

Announced replacements that never happened#6

Posted: 5/28/26 at 10:24am

ACL2006 said: "Mya Harrison as Velma in Chicago. Was rehearsing the part, got injured, and never returned."

 

 

[eponine88]

Announced replacements that never happened#7

Posted: 5/28/26 at 10:25am

Slightly different scenario because if I remember correctly he announced he was pulling out before the closing notice was actually posted, but Mandy Patinkin in Great Comet comes to mind

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Announced replacements that never happened#8

Posted: 5/28/26 at 10:30am

Not Broadway, but Faye in SUNSET.

Period.


This thread has some good mentions. 

Updated On: 5/28/26 at 10:30 AM

[BrodyFosse123]

Announced replacements that never happened#9

Posted: 5/28/26 at 11:14am

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Announced replacements that never happened#10

Posted: 5/28/26 at 11:53am

carolinaguy said: "Question related to this kind of thing: Would someone like JoJo be eligible for any kind of compensation in a circumstance like this? They may have declined other work due to a commitment that is now void."

At a minimum she probably gets 2 weeks of rehearsal pay. Which is usually at scale, so about $2500 per week.

I’d be really ticked off if I were her or her agent. It looks bad for her reputation and she no doubt turned down other work because of it.

I’ve often been surprised that a “pay or play” model has never become a sticking point in AEA negotiations. (Meaning, the cast gets paid for their full contractual length whether the show runs or not.) In actuality that would never happen, as it would end all risktaking on Broadway. But it at least could lead to increased number of weeks paid at full salary or half salary if the show closes early. 

[seaweedjstubbs]

Announced replacements that never happened#11

Posted: 5/28/26 at 12:10pm

Both Gladys Knight and Natalie Cole were announced for AFTER MIDNIGHT, but the show closed before their scheduled debuts.

[Patty3]

Announced replacements that never happened#12

Posted: 5/28/26 at 12:10pm

The most infamous is Mandy Patinkin in Great Comet.

[deankelly87]

Announced replacements that never happened#13

Posted: 5/28/26 at 12:37pm

Somewhat different sort of show/ “event”, but half the announced cast/ replacements for  that Love Letters revival 10+ years ago never went on because it closed early…

[ACL2006]

Announced replacements that never happened#14

Posted: 5/28/26 at 12:43pm

seaweedjstubbs said: "Both Gladys Knight and Natalie Cole were announced for AFTER MIDNIGHT, but the show closed before their scheduled debuts."

All due to the show wanting to be shutdown for July 4 week and the unions wouldn't allow it. So it closed instead.

A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.

[Voter]

Announced replacements that never happened#15

Posted: 5/28/26 at 12:55pm

Patty3 said: "The most infamous is Mandy Patinkin in Great Comet."

Yea, but the show didn't fold before he could perform, he just dropped out over the optics.

[Jordan Catalano]

Announced replacements that never happened#16

Posted: 5/28/26 at 12:58pm

The 2014 Broadway production of “Love Letters” closed before Anjelica Houston, Martin Sheen, Diana Rigg and Stacy Keach could all go on. I was especially gutted about not getting to see Houston. 

[uncageg]

Announced replacements that never happened#17

Posted: 5/28/26 at 1:53pm

Not a replacement but Donna McKechnie never got to go on in "The Visit" since it closed before she could. 

She was in attendance the evening I saw it and I walked out with her. (She looped her arm around mine as we walked up the aisle and I thought I was gonna die!). I think she was to do two shows a week as Chita's standby. She said she was a bit nervous but excited. Sadly we never got to see her in the role. I had planned to go back to see her.

Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder

Updated On: 5/28/26 at 01:53 PM

[JSquared2]

Announced replacements that never happened#18

Posted: 5/28/26 at 3:15pm

Jordan Catalano said: "The 2014 Broadway production of “Love Letters” closed before Anjelica Houston, Martin Sheen, Diana Rigg and Stacy Keach could all go on. I was especially gutted about not getting to see Houston."

 

Apparently so "gutted" that you forgot that her name is Anjelica HUSTON!

 

[Jordan Catalano]

Announced replacements that never happened#19

Posted: 5/28/26 at 7:32pm

JSquared2 said: "Jordan Catalano said: "The 2014 Broadway production of “Love Letters” closed before Anjelica Houston, Martin Sheen, Diana Rigg and Stacy Keach could all go on. I was especially gutted about not getting to see Houston."



Apparently so "gutted" that you forgot that her name is Anjelica HUSTON!

"

Ok. I’ll be sure to proof read all your posts diligently from now on as well for some kind of “gotcha” moment. 

[joevitus]

Announced replacements that never happened#20

Posted: 5/28/26 at 7:36pm

I'll never understand the mentality that scrutinizes spelling/grammar errors as if we are publishing for the Harvard Law Review here, rather than tossing out thoughts when we have the time in the midst of other activities. 

[Sutton Ross]

Announced replacements that never happened#21

Posted: 5/28/26 at 7:41pm

ACL2006 said: "seaweedjstubbs said: "Both Gladys Knight and Natalie Cole were announced for AFTER MIDNIGHT, but the show closed before their scheduled debuts."

All due to the show wanting to be shutdown for July 4 week and the unions wouldn't allow it. So it closed instead."

Oh my God, is that what happened? I had no idea. That show was wonderful. 

[BrodyFosse123]

Announced replacements that never happened#22

Posted: 5/28/26 at 7:51pm

seaweedjstubbs said: "Both Gladys Knight and Natalie Cole were announced for AFTER MIDNIGHT, but the show closed before their scheduled debuts."

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Announced replacements that never happened#23

Posted: 5/28/26 at 9:08pm

Kind of off-topic but I loved AFTER MIDNIGHT. I wish Jazz at Lincoln Center or City Center could just remount it every few years with a different group of talent.

[TheOtherOne2]

Announced replacements that never happened#24

Posted: 5/28/26 at 9:33pm

This goes WAY back (to 1971), but Rita Hayworth in Applause.  In the first indication that she had Alzheimer's Disease, she withdrew because she couldn't learn the role in the time given. 

Updated On: 5/28/26 at 09:33 PM

[Fred Mason]

Announced replacements that never happened#25

Posted: 5/28/26 at 10:00pm

Wasn’t there some singer who got involved and started to fund the show to try and rescue it?  And why did they want to be closed July 4th week?