CALL ME IZZY Previews- Page 3

[THDavis]

Posted: 7/6/25 at 6:55am

Larry6417 said: "Yup, only found out when I got to the theatre at 7:30 that she was "out". Flew in from LA to see this.

Scrambled to see another show....ran to the Booth....oops JJOHN PROCTOR started at 7....ran to BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB...damn it started at 7:30!

Ran up 8th Ave and looked down each street for something I haven't yet seen, and ....

JUST IN TIME (7:56pm!) - Jonathan Groff was great, but what starts out promising just becomes another insipid juke-box-musical.

Disappointing evening at the theatre, but I did get to see PURPOSE this afternoon and that made it worth the hassle.

QUESTION: Do I take a chance and try to see IZZY on Tuesday or will she be outta that one too?"

Any chance you can wait to buy tickets until later in the day on Tuesday so you can confirm she’s in? I also flew in from LA to see this - Smart is excellent and she’ll satiate your appetite to see her, but this show is a dud.
 

Also agreed on Just In Time, for what it’s worth: like they couldn’t write a “good” jukebox bio musical so they just leaned on Jonathan Groff to sell it, which he does, but excellent showmanship only carries this show the first 30 minutes before I was ready for substance. 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 7/6/25 at 8:43am

She is clearly sick, she was originally only out of the matinee and then it changed to all weekend. Hope she feels better, she is truly sensational but I do think Johanna Day would be incredible as well.

You can get rush tickets on TodayTix until late in the day - I would just wait until then and buy your ticket that way.

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/6/25 at 11:12am

I would love to see Johanna Day go on. (I saw Smart, who was great -- the play, not so much.) She's a two-time Tony nominated actress with a long and distinguished career. I get the disappointment of not seeing the marquee name, but Day is the definition of a "luxury replacement" to me.

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 7/6/25 at 6:47pm

Anyone see Day go on this weekend?

[macbeth]

Posted: 7/7/25 at 11:46am

Saw her this afternoon in what I think was only her third performance in the role. Honestly, it felt like she was completely set up to fail — she looked painfully uncomfortable with the material, seemed under-rehearsed, and clearly hadn’t been given much direction. The show dragged on a full 10 minutes longer with her than with Jean Smart, and by the end it felt like she was just clawing her way to the finish line. They even had a stage manager camped out in the front row feeding her lines at one point. She kept coughing and clearing her throat, so she might’ve been sick too — who knows.

To be fair, it didn’t look like it was her fault. She’s obviously a capable actress and had a few moments where her talent peeked through, but it honestly felt reckless on the production’s part to shove her onstage when she was so clearly not ready.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 7/7/25 at 1:05pm

I believe putting a standby onstage in a one-person show is particularly challenging. Solo pieces are by design and execution meant to showcase the synergy of a particular artist and role; they are invariably developed together. Of course it's possible to have an understudy serve both material and venue. But in this case, with a beloved media star the reason for the production's existence - this isn't a play by an established playwright, or produced elsewhere - it seems more logical to go dark. I'm radically pro understudy. I saw a thrilling Mockingbird during the tricky winter of Broadway's reopening with both male leads replaced (Let us pause to cheer Christopher Invar, whose Atticus made a new case for the Sorkin iteration). The entire performance felt re-minted. But a company rallying around new actors is a given in such ensemble-led circumstances. It simply isn't possible with one actor on big stage alone.  

Updated On: 7/7/25 at 01:05 PM

[THDavis]

Posted: 7/7/25 at 1:41pm

How does preparing a standby/understudy in a one person show usually work? With the show being a limited run that only runs about a month more, at what point do they rehearse an understudy to cover the only performer in the show? It really does seem like the production set Ms. Day up for failure. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/7/25 at 9:47pm

Day probably had one rehearsal. In a one person show, does the standby get a put-in?

FYI, Smart is now out through July 10. Ticket holders were notified today that Day would be on through Thursday.

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 7/8/25 at 1:42pm

Per the show's Instagram account, Smart injured her knee and Day will play Izzy through at least July 11

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/8/25 at 1:55pm

I wouldn’t be surprised if they just closed. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/8/25 at 2:58pm

Jordan Catalano said: "I wouldn’t be surprised if they just closed."

The show's grosses with Smart weren't good. Without her and the show is in great danger of closing sooner than later.

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 7/8/25 at 4:43pm

Just got an email blast for 50% off and that Day was on through Friday. Seeing as they were already running a 50% off promo for the show WITH Jean I can't see this moving the needle.

It seems the hope is for Jean to be back this weekend but if not I can't imagine this going into a second week with Johanna on

Is this the kind of incident that production insurance would cover?

Also seems they have taken the back five rows off sale for the rest of the run...

Updated On: 7/8/25 at 04:43 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/8/25 at 8:40pm

Just feels like if Smart can't return soon that this show could close this Sunday.

[Bobster159]

Posted: 7/8/25 at 9:32pm

BoringBoredBoard40 said: "Also seems they have taken the back five rows off sale for the rest of the run..."

They had them offsale last week too, you can see in the grosses, they're 200 seats short on capacity each show. A miserable situation. I don't know how they make it to the end of the run if she's not back quickly.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 7/8/25 at 9:49pm

I haven't seen the show. Is it possibly one that could be re-staged so Jean could, like, just sit?

[THDavis]

Posted: 7/8/25 at 11:25pm

everythingtaboo said: "I haven't seen the show. Is it possibly one that could be re-staged so Jean could, like, just sit?"

I hope Jean Smart gets as much time off as she needs to properly recover, but you bring up a good point: there’s not much reason she’d couldn’t sit the entirety of the show. The majority of the show it felt as though she was, in fact, telling the story sitting on the toilet. 

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 7/9/25 at 9:30pm

anyone go today? heard the matinee had less then 200 people...

[willep]

Posted: 7/9/25 at 9:34pm

Just saw it this evening, I would say less than 200 people, honestly felt closer to 100. Only two people upstairs, not an exaggeration. But Johanna made it through without calling for line!

Updated On: 7/9/25 at 09:34 PM

[Ricey2]

Posted: 7/9/25 at 10:03pm

I also just saw it tonight. Honestly? I really liked it. Went in with low expectations, but I was engrossed the whole time. Laughed, felt on edge… it was a good time. Predictable, yes… but that was fine with me?

 

It was ungodly empty though and should frankly close if Jean Smart isn’t back soon. 

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 7/9/25 at 10:55pm

Ricey2 said: "I also just saw it tonight. Honestly? I really liked it. Went in with low expectations, but I was engrossed the whole time. Laughed, felt on edge… it was a good time. Predictable, yes… but that was fine with me?



It was ungodly empty though and should frankly close if Jean Smart isn’t back soon."

were you there on a comp?

[AlmostFamous3]

Posted: 7/9/25 at 11:09pm

Watched tonight’s performance with Johanna Day and she was wonderful. This was my second time seeing the show after attending the first preview with Smart. Johanna delivered a true masterclass performance. On top of it all she sounded very sick—coughing throughout the show—yet she didn’t just push through, she gave a moving, commanding, and deeply committed performance. She really made the role her own.

As others have said, it’s hard to fill the theater when you market the show as the Jean Smart show—and she’s out. Even the merch doesn’t mention the name of the play, it just features the word 'SMART.'

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/10/25 at 9:55am

Smart is out with an injury and Day is playing the role sick in an empty theater. This show has no luck. If they cancel a performance or two this week, we'll know why.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/10/25 at 10:35am

This is a really strange, interesting case study in putting on a Broadway show.

On one hand, the timing was perfect: started previews on the heels of a new season of HACKS and leading up to Emmy season, and was Smart's first Broadway appearance in 25 years.

On the other hand, the timing was bad: it was the most star-filled spring season on Broadway in years - and as far as Broadway buzz goes, all attention was on the new shows with bigger stars.

It's always interesting when a Broadway show opens on the heels of a huge TV show or awards campaign. Sometimes they sell (Bryan Cranston as LBJ on the heels of Breaking Bad) and sometimes they don't (Brian Cox as LBJ at peak Succession hype, Elisabeth Moss in Heidi Chronicles on the heels of Mad Men, Laurie Metcalf in Doll's House on the heels of Lady Bird).

And then there some actors who return to the stage time and again but are rarely ever moneymaking stars. Metcalf, Allison Janney, John Lithgow, Laura Linney, Mary-Louise Parker, Nathan Lane without an equally-famous costar...etc. When Adrian Brody makes his Broadway debut later this season, I wonder if he'll be in that camp too.

I love Jean Smart. I get why she wanted to do something totally different from a scenery-chewing dark comedy. But this was a poor vehicle for her. Let's hope she returns to the stage again soon under better circumstances and with an equally-meaningful costar.

Updated On: 7/10/25 at 10:35 AM

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 7/10/25 at 11:52am

And then there some actors who return to the stage time and again but are rarely ever moneymaking stars. Metcalf, Allison Janney, John Lithgow, Laura Linney, Mary-Louise Parker, Nathan Lane without an equally-famous costar...etc. When Adrian Brody makes his Broadway debut later this season, I wonder if he'll bein that camp too.
 

Is Adrien Brody coming to Broadway? I don't recall seeing any stories about that. Is it supposed to be a transfer of The Fear of 13?

Updated On: 7/10/25 at 11:52 AM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/10/25 at 1:33pm

KevinKlawitter said: "Is Adrien Brody coming to Broadway? I don't recall seeing any stories about that. Is it supposed to be a transfer ofThe Fear of 13?"

Oh did I just let a rumor slip?! Yes, a transfer is being planned. Though we all know how plans can change especially when stars are involved...

Updated On: 7/10/25 at 01:33 PM