I think Jay Armstrong Johnson was going back in for the show when they were looking for Jeremy Jordan's replacement, but I don't know if he's in the picture now that Jordan is continuing forward with it. I have a feeling that, after his experience with CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (which he turned down covering Daniel Radcliffe in HOW TO SUCCEED... to do,) he may not want to stand by for someone again so quickly. He actually
played Jack in the reading prior to the Papermill production, but I think he ultimately lacked the edge they wanted for the character.
While he was doing WILD ANIMALS YOU SHOULD KNOW for MCC, I'd heard that he was trying to transition out of covering and move into playing roles. If he was standing by in NEWSIES, he'd certainly be setting a pretty consistent precedent for himself when it comes to understudying, though he will very, very rarely leave town for work (and has turned down several semi-prominent opportunities to do so,) so his options are limited.
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Updated On: 1/20/12 at 11:14 PM