hairspray opened on broadway with two stand-bys (Tracy and Edna/Wilbur) and three swings -- two white male and one white female. over the run, a black female swing was brought in, then a stand-by for Velma, then a b;ack male swing. The current breakdown is stand-by Tracy, stand-by edna,wilbur, stand-by velma, female authority, white male swing, white male swing, white female swing, black male swing, black female swing/dynamite understudy. one of the white male swings has gone on as a black boy many times. in fact, a white male swing has gone in a female track a few times and vice versa.
on the us national tour, there are two standbys -- tracy and edna/wilbur, two white male swings, two white female swings, and a black female swing/dynamite understudy.
toronto had three stand-bys -- tracy, edna/wilbur, and velma/female authority, two white male swings, two white female swings, and a black female swing/dynamite understudy
the black male swing was added at around the time you saw it. Willis White swung the broadway production over the summer before the tour launched and abdul latif was brought in about a month after willis left. I am NOT at all fond of willis.
Yup...i saw Ryan wilson (white) go on as Thad twice in Toronto...I also heard a story that they ran out of girls in the cast on Broadway once and a male swing had to go on as "Louie" instead of Lou-anne...hah...I heard that was a riot.
Marry Bond-Davis is ausome, but Fran Who was the MMM is The Toronto production was def my favorite her "I know eher i've been" is AMAZING! and she smokes! that was a shocker
Fran Jaye's "I Know Where I've Been" truly is thrilling, but I was always annoyed by her enunciation -- she was always slurring her lyrics to her songs, so I could never hear what she was singing. Otherwise, she was great -- she was singing through tears at the last performance.
Actually, the entire Canadian cast was phenomenal. I hope some of the other productions pick them up, because every one of those folks deserves to be a star.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner
HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
I wish Nic Dromard was going into the US tour, but he is doing another tour now... Caissie Levy is joining the US tour. I am VERY happy about that. I'd like Sheldon Smith and David Hurtwitz in the US tour too though....
hairspray has definitely been creative when it comes to covering someone who's out- a boy can be a dynamite, and yes some of the nicest kids in town have had their names changed to fit the number of people they have with someone else covering a line if it needs to be said by a girl or boy. the only one who really has to be a girl is brenda cuz shes got mornin sickness and all. i think when they had less swings they tried to have a person who was mixed race and/or tan be a swing-- a happy medium i guess.