Canceled Show - Does the cast still rehearse?

Thinking about the canceled performances of Shuffle Along, I was wondering about the remaining members of the cast and crew on those days. If a performance is canceled, can the producers use those hours for rehearsal? (And are there special accommodations for previews?)

For ongoing productions, if there's no specific reason to run rehearsals, when a show is canceled, do the actors and crew get paid? (assuming it's not a weather situation where it could be hazardous to come in)

Updated On: 3/24/16 at 03:16 PM

Yes, they are using the time to rehearse other parts of the show.

If a performance is canceled while the show is still running then, yes, they would still get paid.

I believe that a couple of early performances of the recent Cabaret revival were cancelled because Alan Cumming was sick and his understudy had not had adequate rehearsal time to be prepared to go on.

Many shows through the years have cancelled scheduled first previews. I know, because I had to reschedule! In 1961, How to Make a Man cancelled several performances after opening, then resumed playing the following week, at the end of which it closed. During the run of Wildcat, several performances were cancelled due to Lucy's illness.



Perhaps some old-timers here remember the stunt David Merrick pulled with Philadelphia, Here I Come! Not wishing the critics to review the final preview, he simply cancelled it, forcing them to attend the opening. He said it was due to a rat in the generator.

Updated On: 3/25/16 at 10:45 AM