Gender-blind understudying?

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 5:30pm

Trying to find examples where a male actor understudied a female actor, or vise-versa. Apart from children's roles in shows like Matilda and Fun Home, the only examples I can currently think of is that Betsy Hogg covered Mrs. Bumbrake and Teddy as well as Molly  in Peter and the Starcatcher . 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 5:35pm

Andre Ward understudied Mary Testa and Jackie Hoffman in Xanadu.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 5:41pm

JoAnn M. Hunter understudied Francis Jue as Bun Foo in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

[A1st]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 5:49pm

Marisha Wallace, when she was in Aladdin, understudied Babkak. 

Updated On: 10/16/15 at 05:49 PM

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 6:23pm

During the run of JEROME ROBBINS' BROADWAY Jack Noseworthy was understudy for Charlotte d'Amboise in the role of Peter Pan. of course that's different because the role is actually male. 

 

On the other hand, IBDB lists him also as the Grandma Tzeitl understudy...

Updated On: 10/16/15 at 06:23 PM

[candydog2]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 7:49pm

Every now and then male swings fill in for female ensemble members if there aren't enough female swings and vice versa. It's not uncommon. Sometimes the ensemble member's "track" has to be split between more than one swing though in order for it to work.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 8:31pm

That happened a lot on the Legally Blonde tour. A friend of mine was on it and I recall hearing about one weekend (I think it may have been in DC) where there were two guys in wigs filling in during "So Much Better" so they could actually spell out "Elle Woods" at the end of the number because of a mix of planned absences and unplanned injuries decimating the ensemble (the show was already short for that number since they cut an ensemble track when sending it out and had the "S" on a handbag that the final person in the line-up held up).

[Broadway Bob*]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 10:34pm

Nathan Lane's original stand-by in ...FORUM, Bob Amaral, stayed on as stand-by when Whoopi Goldberg took over the role. However whenever he went on, the show reverted back to the character being a male instead of the new female incarnation that Whoopi played. Talk about confusing for the rest of the cast! LOL!

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 10:39pm

AEA AGMA SM said: "That happened a lot on the Legally Blonde tour. A friend of mine was on it and I recall hearing about one weekend (I think it may have been in DC) where there were two guys in wigs filling in during "So Much Better" so they could actually spell out "Elle Woods" at the end of the number because of a mix of planned absences and unplanned injuries decimating the ensemble (the show was already short for that number since they cut an ensemble track when sending it out and had the "S" on a handbag that the final person in the line-up held up)."

It's been a while since I've watched the MTV recording of the show, but isn't the "S" always on a handbag?

Updated On: 10/16/15 at 10:39 PM

[ClumsyDude15]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 10:55pm

It's been a while since I've watched the MTV recording of the show, but isn't the "S" always on a handbag?

 

No. On Broadway, it was an ensemble member wearing one of the hoodies pictured above. 

 

I know infamously Legally Blonde and Hairspray both had incidents with female swings covering male roles and vice versa. Many a time there was a "Tommy" instead of a Tammy in Hairspray or a female covering one of the Harvard admission gentlemen in Legally Blonde. 

Updated On: 10/17/15 at 10:55 PM

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/16/15 at 11:22pm

Shoshana bean understudied Edna in hairspray

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 4:21am

Not according to IBDB, who list her as having understudied Tracy and Velma. 

[JBradshaw]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 4:36am

You are correct, Shoshana never understudied Edna. 

Fyi Shosana's Tracy was fantastic.

on topic I've seen women fill in for male ensemble roles in "Chicago" when a lot of people have been out. I've also seen guys and gals filling in for ensemble tracks of the opposite gender when a bunch of people were out in "Rent"

 

 

ChairinMain said: "Not according to IBDB, who list her as having understudied Tracy and Velma. 

 

"

 

[StephenDeA]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 8:30am

While Mykal Kilgore was not a cover for the role of Dionne in the revival of Hair, he was a cover to sing her part in "Aquarius"..

[mailhandler777]

Posted: 10/17/15 at 11:10am

Both Tiffany Engen and Kate Rockwell went on as Lowell in Legally Blonde more than once on Broadway.