Rannells has been cast in a Anne Hathaway and Robert DeNiro movie that recently began shooting. I don't know if Girls will have any reshoot or early filming for season 5 (of course, that counts on his character)
If the movie is already shooting, it would be affecting his rehearsals, not his ability to extend in October. Girls shoots in Brooklyn and he has a small part that isn't in every episode, so he could still do that on a day off or during the day. Surely Lena would work the schedule around him.
It will be interesting to see how the show fares when NPH leaves. I have a feeling it will still do well because there are many people who could not get tickets to see NPH, so will settle for/still want to see the show, even with a different actor. Only time will tell.
Good point, haterobics. I follow his twitter and Instagram for most info on him ad the dude just seems busy. Maybe he has something up his sleeve.
Should the show continue, I'd like too see Michael Cervaris put the heels back on, even for a short time. He was the first Hedwig I saw in NY and it made me a huge fan of his work.
I'm not a big speculator. I'll go see Rannells and hope he does a great job. If there's a Hedwig after him, I'll see that person; if it closes, it closes.
As far as answering the question about the West End. I saw the show in possibly 2000 with I believe it was Michael Cerveris. The one thing I recall is the sound was so loud that unfortunately the lyrics to just about every song could not be understood as they became extremely distorted.
"I hope your Fanny is bigger than my Peter."
Mary Martin to Ezio Pinza opening night of Fanny.
No, he posts on each and every thread on here! (Rolls eyes). And if he did what is it to you? Who are you, the thread police? Better watch out Hater, you might get a ticket! LOL but seriously- the reason I say eww is because he just looks ugly as ####
I would think they'd try and bring someone in after Rannells to keep the show going through the end of 2014 at least. I do think the show will only survive long term if a name is attached to the role.
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
My guess would be they hired Rannells as a buffer. He's a Broadway vet and someone who will likely be able to handle the role. If they had brought in a bigger star right away and the person was less experienced in theatre the performance could flop and people will say it just doesn't work without NPH.
This way they get out of NPH's shadow and possibly in the future can experiment with more risky casting like a pop or TV star or someone like that.
Just to note: The Intern is filming locally and it seems as though the bulk of the shooting schedule in no way interfers with HWEDWIG's current performance schedule, so they would be minimal concern there as far as sorting it out. As far as GIRLS, I would think it plain and obvious that schedules would, indeed, be readily worked around and arranged prior to Rannells signing a contract dor Hedwig. In a situation such as that, he would need clearance from GIRLS' producers before he could sign on for anything else.
Does anyone else suspect that Rannells coming in is really just an extended vacation for NPH but that he'll come back to the role later? I saw an interview with Neil this week talking about his upcoming time off and he said he was going to rest until the end of the year. Something about the way he said it made me wonder if the ultimate plan here is for him to return to the show after New Year's. He doesn't have any other projects coming up that I know of. Lena Hall also recently said she was under contract at Hedwig "for a while"...I'd think that means longer than mid-October, but maybe not.
Didn't NPH seemingly just book himself on AHS: Freak Show?
Also, if he was taking a break and returning, the time when ticket prices soar and shows do really well is Thanksgiving through Christmas, I think.
The length of an actor's contract doesn't always matter much. I mean, the people in Holler If Ya Hear Me had contracts that extended long past tonight, but once the show ends, the contract length has no bearing.