Has the lead for a major B'way musical/revival ever been replaced as quickly as Feldstein was in "Funny Girl"?

[ChgoTheatreGuy]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 4:32pm

I cannot say that I recall a person (I won't use the word "star" being replaced as quickly as Beanie Feldstein was in the revival of "Funny Girl".  I have seen a few pre-Broadway performances and thought that certain actors should have been replaced.  Does anyone know of any other actor that had had this happen to them?...

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 4:36pm

David Shiner was replaced by Rosie O'Donnell a month and a half after Seussical officially opened. 

[Dolly80]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 4:36pm

Who cares.

Move on.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 4:43pm

ChgoTheatreGuy said: "I cannot say that I recall a person (I won't use the word "star" being replaced as quickly as Beanie Feldstein was in the revival of "Funny Girl". I have seen a few pre-Broadway performances and thought that certain actors should have been replaced. Does anyone know of any other actor that had had this happen to them?..."

How sad for you.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 4:43pm

Dean Jones was replaced by Larry Kert as Robert a month into the original production of Company.

[Ke3]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 4:48pm

Can we get some sort of moratorium on new Funny Girl threads? At this point, the well isn't just dry, it's pumping up blood.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 4:58pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Dean Jones was replaced by Larry Kert as Robert a month into the original production of Company."

Different scenario: Dean Jones chose to leave the show due to personal issues (a divorce, etc).  He wasn’t “let go” prematurely, like Ms. Feldstein. 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 5:03pm

Ke3 said: "Can we get some sort of moratorium on new Funny Girl threads? At this point, the well isn't just dry, it's pumping up blood."

Agreed. But also, when the revival of Carousel was announced, Betsy Wolfe was announced to play Carrie? and then was replaced. This also happened with Betsy and the out of town try out for Frozen. But I'm not sure if Frozen was ever actually confirmed or just a rumor. This is also before the show started though, not midway through a run. And those kind of changes happen a lot. 

[JBradshaw]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 5:05pm

Not an original cast member but when Louis Gossett Jr came in as Billy Flynn in “Chicago” he lasted 4 performances. 
 

Chicago (Nov 14, 1996 - Present). Performer: Louis Gossett, Jr. Billy Flynn - Replacement (Feb 20, 2002 - Feb 24, 2002)

[willep]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 5:10pm

Chris Kattan in The Frogs.

[nealb1]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 5:11pm

Not an original cast member, but replacement Michele Pawk as Donna in "Mamma Mia" joined the show in October 2005, and left 4 months later, with 8 months remaining on her year's contract.  During the 4 months that she was in MM, she was out for 8 weeks due to a vocal cord injury.  

[fosterfan2]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 5:36pm

Madeline Kahn left On the Twentieth Century after 9 weeks. I can't remember if she was fired or quit.

Updated On: 9/21/22 at 05:36 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 6:04pm

Another replacement lead who didn't last long: Jeffrey Tambor in La Cage. Lasted 12 performances before dropping out, or being shown the door.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 6:12pm

fosterfan2 said: "Madeline Kahn left On the Twentieth Century after 9 weeks. I can't remember if she was fired or quit."

Per Hal Prince, Kahn gave half-assed performances, which upset not only him but the producers, even after this was brought to her attention.  Whenever her understudy Judy Kaye filled in, the level of her performance was beyond so after Kahn regularly missed performances, she mutually agreed to leave the show and Kaye took over the role full-time.  

[Auggie27]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 6:22pm

Fierstein covers the cast changes in the troubled La Cage revivals in his memoir, including Tambor’s. He’s honest and fair. Ditto Prince about the Kahn problems. And this thread doesn’t include road replacements, where these changes are far from uncommon. Every situation arrives with its unique circumstances, and the one precipitating this thread isn’t as odd or unprecedented as some opine. Arguably, this production wound have benefited from a tour or regional unveiling. The decision to open cold on B’way with a star unproven in a show-carrying role suggests either overconfidence or hubris. Perhaps both.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 6:34pm

Steve Kazee was replaced (by mutual decision) after PRETTY WOMAN's Chicago pre-Broadway tryout.

[willep]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 6:50pm

Auggie27 said: "Fierstein covers the cast changes in the troubled La Cage revivals in his memoir, including Tambor’s. He’s honest and fair. Ditto Prince about the Kahn problems. And this thread doesn’t include road replacements, where these changes are far from uncommon. Every situation arrives with its unique circumstances, and the one precipitating this thread isn’t as odd or unprecedented as some opine. Arguably, this production wound have benefited from a tour or regional unveiling. The decision to open cold on B’way with a star unproven in a show-carrying role suggests either overconfidence or hubris. Perhaps both."

I’m curious to hear how Fierstein’s version compares to Tambor’s in his autobiography, where, as i recall, he essentially says that he chickened out. I was one of the few who saw the show that week(?) that Tambor was in.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 7:15pm

Kristen Vigard was replaced by one of the other orphan girls during the pre-Broadway tryouts for Annie and subsequently demoted to alternate for the Broadway run.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 7:24pm

Remember when Sandy Duncan was in Finding Neverland for like 2 performances?

[lachri5]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 8:19pm

This reminds me of Taron Egerton dropping out of Cock in London recently.

[dwirth]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 8:53pm

Timothy Nolen was the 2nd Phantom on Broadway - replacing Michael Crawford - until he wasn't... replaced sooner than planned by Cris Groenendaal. Many stories as to why - but he was far more baritone than the Phantom should be to sing comfortably...

(My last visit to Phantom on Broadway was his last weekend... in Winter 1989... wow)

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 10:41pm

This thread is kind of sad. I’ve been in a situation where the pressure of a show is far too much and you simply crack. I had a horrific experience playing Angel in RENT (I was woefully miscast and the director let me know at every given opportunity) and as a result lost a lot of confident and didn’t perform for five years. 
 

When I finally did return to the stage it was in a production of Little Shop of Horrors and I was Seymour. Most of us know that Seymour is a BIG role and rarely leaves the stage so a lot of rehearsal is needed. For whatever reason this production has a very small rehearsal period and an even smaller tech period. The band was so far behind us and we had to rely on confidence alone to know when to come in, we’d never run Act One in the venue and a lot of the scenery was only available from the first performance onwards. I did one performance and decided to bow out. I wasn’t in a position mentally to be able to juggle all those factors and my brain went blank multiple times during the performance trying to process so much information at once.  
 

Thankfully I’ve had far more success in other shows but I do know what it’s like when you just don’t gel with a production and have to leave. The humiliation, the feelings of failure, the crushing blow to your confidence. 

[ggersten]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 10:43pm

Didn't the first replacement for Nathan Lane in The Producers last a short time?  

[willep]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 10:50pm

ggersten said: "Didn't the first replacement for Nathan Lane in The Producers last a short time?"

Are you thinking of Richard Dreyfuss, who was hired for the West End production and then replaced with Nathan Lane four days before previews?

 

Updated On: 9/21/22 at 10:50 PM

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 11:00pm

^no, Henry Goodman replaced Lane in the Broadway production and was fired after about a month.