How many times are understudies and stand-bys guaranteed to go on?

[defyinggravity42694]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 4:26pm

I have always wondered.

Updated On: 6/5/08 at 04:26 PM

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 4:28pm

72 times in 18 years. There's a story on the West End board at the moment.

[Weez]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 4:33pm

They're not guaranteed to go on. That's part of the risk of being an understudy/stand-by. I know Merwin Foard never went on as Sweeney during the revival, and I don't know if he ever went on for anyone else either. Hmmm...

[D2]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 4:35pm

Ask Elaine Stritch about her stint as an understudy in CALL ME MADAM. She'll tell you all about it.

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 4:40pm

Merwin did go on recently in The Little Mermaid, though.

[puppetman2]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:03pm

No guarantees. Ask anyone who understudied Merman.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:38pm

Unless it is written into the contract (which is very, very, rare), there are no guarantees.

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:43pm

they don't write it into the contract.. at least not anymore.

Standby's will go in when their counterpart is on vacation. that's basically the only guarantee.

[Chevstriss]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 6:44pm

and some stand bys KNOW they will never go on no matter what, like Hugh Jackman's in BfO.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 8:20pm

Understudies are NOT guaranteed to go on during Vacation, particularly if the vacation is more than a week. They sometimes hire a temp replacement. (Although I'm not sure how frequently this happens.)

Some get a lot of stage time, some none at all. It's a waiting game.

[oohshizz146]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 8:22pm

No guarantee, unfortunately ! There hasn't been a Moritz understudy since Bashoff joined the Spring Awakening cast, I believe.

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 8:23pm

dramama - was that in response to MY post? I specifically said Standby's. Not understudies.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 8:46pm

"they don't write it into the contract.. at least not anymore."

Then someone should tell that to the Understudy I just worked with. It was in her contract.

[jv92]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 9:03pm

Check with Merman ("For Chirstssakes Elaine, will you go to New Haver and sing the F*CKIN' SONG!?"), into the car, out of car, onto the street, into the theatre, out of the theatre, onto the street, into the car, out of the car...

[zamedy]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 10:16pm

Pardon me for being uneducated in this department... but what's the difference between a standby and an understudy?

Is the life of an understudy extremely boring... just sitting around night after night after night? Do they change into costume each night just in case? I've always wondered about all of this.

[ljay889]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 10:19pm

Understudies have other roles in the show.

Standbys usually do not. But Lenora Nemetz does in GYPSY.

[oohshizz146]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 10:32pm

Also, understudies have some amount of notice, stand-bys have to be ready to go on at a moments notice (which is why they dont also hold ensemble parts)

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 10:33pm

There hasn't been a Moritz understudy since Bashoff joined the Spring Awakening cast, I believe.

I'm confused when I see that there is no understudy for someone. what happens if that actor is out, then? Mark Rylance, for example, has no understudy in Boeing-Boeing.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 10:46pm

Just a Guy, tell yer friend to check the fine print
It is unheard of for an understudy or a standby to have that in a contract, If an actor/actress is cast in a role they own that role and can not be forced to take any time off.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 11:00pm

I didn't say that they would be forced to take time off, did I? What I said was that she had in her contract that she would go on for one performance.

This was mutually agreed to by the actress performing the role and her understudy. And it was in the rider for both performers.

[misto625]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 11:10pm

Sometimes the understudy/stand-by for a role chooses not to be listed in a Playbill. For example, during the run of Doubt, I don't think Cherry Jones' understudy was listed in the Playbill but there definitely was an actress cast as the understudy. A similar thing could be happening with Mark Rylance in Boeing Boeing. In Shining City, Oliver Platt had no listed understudy.

[oohshizz146]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 11:19pm

givesmevoice, sorry about the confusion. there ARE understudies for Moritz, none of them have had to go on since Blake Bashoff took over the role a while back.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 11:20pm

"I'm confused when I see that there is no understudy for someone. what happens if that actor is out, then? Mark Rylance, for example, has no understudy in Boeing-Boeing."

Blake Bashoff has an understudy in Spring Awakening. Two of them, actually. They've just never gone on, because Blake hasn't missed a performance.

Mark Rylance also has an understudy, but he is not listed in the Playbill. If he ever goes on, he'll get a full insert with his headshot and bio. Some standbys and understudies negotiate those things into their contracts, generally when they're covering a high profile role or performer.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 11:20pm

In reference to "no understudy" since Blake Bashoff took over:

I believe what the poster MEANT to say: no understudy has been USED for the role of Moritz. Bashoff hasn't missed a performance since he took over mid-December. Even tougher than that: John Gallagher, Jr. missed very few shows as well. I believe there are TWO official understudies for the role.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/5/08 at 11:22pm

Yeah, according to my most recent Playbill from the showl, Blake Bashoff's understudies are Gerard Cannonico and Brian Charles Johnson.
Updated On: 6/5/08 at 11:22 PM