Cameron Mackintosh Asks Understudies to Stop Tweeting Their Upcoming Appearances

That PBOL headline actually should be past tense, since it's already been established and people just weren't following it. (See original article here. https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2016/cameron-mackintosh-understudies-twitter/ 



Previous discussion elsewhere:

https://theatreboard.co.uk/thread/1480/understudies-forbidden-reveal-dates

If the regular performer is suddenly unable to perform then I think that they should be able to announce it themselves and give their explanation. It's them that could get a mark on their reputation from an unexplained absents.

Nonetheless, they have a point. It may be in their commercial interest that understudies don't post ahead of time. I say that with a caveat though as I know many people would love to see certain understudies on (I so wish I was in the city for Jenn Colella's Elizabeth and would have been paying full price in a heart beat). However, it can cause others to not want to see the show on a certain day - see all the 'will X be out on this day' threads.

"In my opinion, if there are scheduled absences the understudies have a right to announce they'll be performing. "



I agree with you, but I think this is a very American point of view.

Idk about this. It goes without saying that actors covering leads in certain shows have followings, fans who would want to know when they're going on for a lead so that they can go out and purchase tickets for that performance. There are people in the Phantom fandom - fans a bit more crazy than I - who want to know when one of the covers is going on. Cam Mac is easily the most successful MT producer of our time, and I'll be forever grateful to the man for bringing us Les Mis and Phantom - but he also has a history of being a bit of a hardass.

He canned half the cast of the Broadway company of Les Mis in the 90s, he was behind George Lee Andrews and David Cryer being asked to leave Phantom (he had an understandable desire to get some fresh blood in those parts, but those two gentlemen were pros, they nailed Andre and Firmin nightly, no matter how long they had been with the company), and with this - I don't know. I'm sure there will be people who feel every which way on this, look at stuff with equity rules and say "technically, this can happen" - but as a matter of principle, he wont be loosing any money if, in a hypothetical, a Phantom cover lets their fans know they'll be going on for Barbour that night.

It's not like Hugh Jackman's cover in a hypothetical production is saying "Hugh's out tonight, come see me" on Twitter, with the end result being a horde of customers asking for refunds - this rule should be firmly limited to productions with an A list star where knowledge of a cover going on would result in a big loss for the production monetarily. Difficult issue (especially if it makes it over here from the West End), and Cam Mac probably has a dozen other reasons for asking understudies to do this, but that's my two cents.

Updated On: 9/14/16 at 01:30 PM

Especially in very long-running shows.

I agree with this, because he's saying they can still announce that they are performing, but they have to do it after the official announcement. Isn't this how replacements work?

Nice to have further confirmation that Cameron MacIntosh is a total dick.

Personally, I think it should extend beyond this. I think those ridiculous Saturday Intermission Pictures and other tweets and posts that are linked to a production need to be halted. I find them incredibly unprofessional and they reflect on the company and the production. Many of them are adolescent or sexual in nature.

I think performers contracts should include that they can't facebook, tweet, etc on behalf of the production. It's cloying and very needy.

Some people will say its free promotion for the show, but lets be honest. The people interested in these type of posts are theatre nerds. This isn't reaching the masses.

Updated On: 9/14/16 at 08:36 PM

I didn't say they were offensive, I said they are unprofessional and I believe they are. It's only my opinion. There's no clutching of anything going on.

Updated On: 9/14/16 at 09:32 PM

whatdoesntkillme said: "I feel like the real solution to this is to stop giving out refunds/exchanges if the "star" is sick. You bought tickets to a show, not a [insert performer name here] concert. "

That's part of the issue here -- hardly any of Cammack's shows have stars, much less ones above the title. The "star" term is fluid, of course, but it's not like they make it a regular occurrence to offer refunds if your preferred Valjean or Phantom is out, so why is he making a big deal about it now? (While... probably not still offering refunds?) If he wants the show to be the star, then don't treat the understudies as something hush-hush and instead as something that just happens.

First signs of senility ?