Announced replacements that never happened- Page 2
Announced replacements that never happened
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?
Stand-by Joined: 2/7/06
Announced replacements that never happened#26
Posted: 5/28/26 at 11:35pm
Jefferey Tambor of Transparent was set to, and might have actually done a couple of performances of La Cage Aux Folles a while back as Georges.
While never officially going anywhere, cast members were hearing for the 10th anniversary of the original run of Les Miz, that Tom Jones was going to be Valjean on Broadway. Again, not sure how far that ever got in reality.
And the late Louis Gossett Jr. was announced to play Billy Flynn on Broadway. Not sure if he actually performed the role.
And there are those who were cast and then let go before opening for whatever reasons.
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/19/05
Announced replacements that never happened#27
Posted: 5/29/26 at 1:51am
Richard Dreyfuss as Max in The Producers
Roșie O'donnell aș Big Sue in Taboo
Announced replacements that never happened#28
Posted: 5/29/26 at 5:36am
While not officially announced, it was rumored, and even reported, back in 2013 that Nicole Scherzinger might be stepping into the Pippin revival as a replacement for The Leading Player.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Announced replacements that never happened#29
Posted: 5/29/26 at 7:59am
Lou Gossett lasted four days in CHICAGO, Jeffrey Tambor did about two weeks in LA CAGE. Barry & Fran Weissler were behind both shows.
Here’s Tambor’s Song on the Sand. The staccato “La da da da” is certainly a choice and I wouldn’t want to hear him in concert, but his voice isn’t awful and he probably would have been good with a role like Cladwell in Urinetown instead of a romantic lead.
https://youtu.be/Z6Oqbp2Okpo?si=u8G2UhFdBX5gopDq
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/4/04
Announced replacements that never happened#30
Posted: 5/29/26 at 8:03am
bwayphreak234 said: "While not officially announced, it was rumored, and even reported,back in 2013 that Nicole Scherzinger might be stepping into the Pippin revival as a replacement for The Leading Player."
and waitress
Understudy Joined: 3/3/23
Announced replacements that never happened#31
Posted: 5/29/26 at 8:46am
was Nicole going to play Jenna?
Announced replacements that never happened#32
Posted: 5/29/26 at 9:06am
Cloris Leachman was scheduled to step into YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN as Frau Blucher and was about to begin rehearsals when the stock market crashed and the show closed (along with many others) in Jan 2009.
Announced replacements that never happened#33
Posted: 5/29/26 at 9:23am
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."
Nothing. Jojo herself posted on Instagram that she never even signed a contract. So there’s no legality.
Announced replacements that never happened#34
Posted: 5/29/26 at 9:36am
Tsao5 said: "Jefferey Tambor of Transparent was set to, and might have actually done a couple of performances of La Cage Aux Folles a while back as Georges.
While never officially going anywhere, cast members were hearing for the 10th anniversary of the original run of Les Miz, that Tom Jones was going to be Valjean on Broadway. Again, not sure how far that ever got in reality.
And thelate Louis Gossett Jr. was announced to play Billy Flynn on Broadway. Not sure if he actually performed the role.
And there are those who were cast and then let go before opening for whatever reasons.
"
Tambor did about two weeks of performances in LA CAGE before he was replaced. There were conflicting stories at the time -- one that he left the production for health reasons, another that he wasn't up to the role's vocal demands and was let go.
Gossett did go into CHICAGO very briefly -- I think it was two or three performances -- before he withdrew for health reasons. (I believe he claimed the dust in the theater exacerbated his asthma.)
Announced replacements that never happened#35
Posted: 5/29/26 at 9:42am
I didn't see Tambor in LA CAGE, but I've heard a soundboard audio from one of his few performances. He's not terrible, but you can hear that's uncomfortable with the music.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/04
Announced replacements that never happened#36
Posted: 5/29/26 at 10:16am
An earlier post seemed to imply that the reason After Midnight closed was because the unions wouldn't allow them to shut down over the 4th of July week. The reason that the producers wanted to shut down for that week was they wanted to save money.
In other words, they did not want to pay anyone in the show for that week. No one. The actors, the musicians, the crew, the ushers, the cleaning staff, bix office, etc. it was an unreasonable concession to ask for.
What union would agree to that? None of them, and rightly so. I enjoyed AM very much. Dule Hill was charming, KD Lang sublime.
The simple fact is that AM was never a big money maker. The fact that it ran as long as it did was a mystery.
https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/14/after-midnight-to-close-after-8-months/
On topic: the actor (I'll have to look up his name) who was to follow Christopher Walken in James Joyce's The Dead never had a chance to appear because the show closed.
Announced replacements that never happened#37
Posted: 5/29/26 at 11:24am
If someone asked me if I would take a pay cut for one week but job would keep me employed after then, I’d take it. Versus what happened, which is immediate layoff and no pay after…
Announced replacements that never happened#38
Posted: 5/29/26 at 1:14pm
ghostlight2 said: "On topic: the actor (I'll have to look up his name) who was to follow Christopher Walken in James Joyce's The Dead never had a chance to appear because the show closed."
Stephen Bogardus replaced Walken and played the last two weeks of the Broadway run (April 4-16, 2000), then went on to do the mini-tour with Blair Brown's replacement, Faith Prince.
Announced replacements that never happened#39
Posted: 5/29/26 at 1:19pm
Valerie Cherish in "Chicago"
Announced replacements that never happened#40
Posted: 5/29/26 at 1:28pm
MimiChika said: "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."
Nothing. Jojo herself posted on Instagram that she never even signed a contract. So there’s no legality."
If that's true, I'm sure that her reps told her to delete it immediately and to STFU!
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
Announced replacements that never happened#41
Posted: 5/29/26 at 2:08pm
Observation said: "Valerie Cherish in "Chicago""
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/5/04
Announced replacements that never happened#42
Posted: 5/29/26 at 2:23pm
"If someone asked me if I would take a pay cut for one week but job would keep me employed after then, I’d take it. Versus what happened, which is immediate layoff and no pay after…"
...said no union person ever, BJR. Over TWELVE unions said no to that request. The show was losing money week after week. I am surprised that the show wasn't closed by the theater, as it underperformed consistently.
Do you really think that it was reasonable to ask all employees of After Midnight to forgo pay for a week in the hopes of it miraculously became a box office smash?
Thanks for the correction regarding Stephen Bogardus, ACetc.
Announced replacements that never happened#43
Posted: 5/29/26 at 2:29pm
No union would agree to it because it is indeed an unreasonable ask that sets a terrible precedent. It opens the door to more producers asking for dark weeks without pay to save money. There was no extraordinary circumstance at play to merit the request.
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
Announced replacements that never happened#44
Posted: 5/29/26 at 2:51pm
Donna McKechnie, on her PLAYBILL: My Life in the Theater series, speaks about her time in the 1971 Broadway revival of ON THE TOWN. The show wasn’t doing so great at the box office the producers asked everyone in for a meeting (cast, crew, creative team, and musicians). They basically asked everyone for a pay cut in order to be able to keep the show running for a couple of weeks. Everyone agreed but it didn’t help much as the production ended up closing about 2 weeks later.
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