#1
Posted: 6/5/08 at 4:26pm
I have always wondered.
Goodbye
Updated On: 6/5/08 at 04:26 PM
How many times are understudies and stand-bys guaranteed to go on?
#2
Posted: 6/5/08 at 4:28pm
72 times in 18 years. There's a story on the West End board at the moment.
A young actress with Noel coward after a dreadful opening night performance said to him 'Well, i knew my lines backwards this morning!''
Noels fast reply was ''Yes dear, and thats exactly how you said them tonight'!'
#3
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...
#4
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.
Cheyenne Jackson tickled me. AFTER ordering SoMMS a drink but NOT tickling him, and hanging out with Girly in his dressing room (where he DIDN'T tickle her) but BEFORE we got married. To others. And then he tweeted Boobs. He also tweeted he's good friends with some chick on "The Voice" who just happens to be good friends with Tink's ex. And I'm still married. Oh, and this just in: "Pettiness, spite, malice ....Such ugly emotions... So sad." - After Eight, talking about MEEEEEEEE!!! I'm so honored! :-)
#5
Posted: 6/5/08 at 4:40pm
Merwin did go on recently in The Little Mermaid, though.
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#6
Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:03pm
No guarantees. Ask anyone who understudied Merman.
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#7
Posted: 6/5/08 at 5:38pm
Unless it is written into the contract (which is very, very, rare), there are no guarantees.
"Just a Guy. Your feelings are touching. I am gladdened by the thought that you will one day wind up 6 feet under as we all do." - MrRoxy ------
"I do not suggest you walk out the door onto a New York street with your vulnerable child part exposed and not protected..." - Jason Bennett
#8
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.
Standby's will go in when their counterpart is on vacation. that's basically the only guarantee.
#9
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.
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#10
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.
Some get a lot of stage time, some none at all. It's a waiting game.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#11
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.
"I told you, NO Rodgers and Hammerstein!"- Bart Simpson
#12
Posted: 6/5/08 at 8:23pm
dramama - was that in response to MY post? I specifically said Standby's. Not understudies.
#13
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.
Then someone should tell that to the Understudy I just worked with. It was in her contract.
"Just a Guy. Your feelings are touching. I am gladdened by the thought that you will one day wind up 6 feet under as we all do." - MrRoxy ------
"I do not suggest you walk out the door onto a New York street with your vulnerable child part exposed and not protected..." - Jason Bennett
#14
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...
#15
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.
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.
#16
Posted: 6/5/08 at 10:19pm
Understudies have other roles in the show.
Standbys usually do not. But Lenora Nemetz does in GYPSY.
Standbys usually do not. But Lenora Nemetz does in GYPSY.
#17
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)
"I told you, NO Rodgers and Hammerstein!"- Bart Simpson
#18
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.
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.
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#19
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.
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.
#20
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.
This was mutually agreed to by the actress performing the role and her understudy. And it was in the rider for both performers.
"Just a Guy. Your feelings are touching. I am gladdened by the thought that you will one day wind up 6 feet under as we all do." - MrRoxy ------
"I do not suggest you walk out the door onto a New York street with your vulnerable child part exposed and not protected..." - Jason Bennett
#21
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.
Dean: Can I tell you something?
Lorraine: That depends on what it is.
Dean: I think you're really really pretty.
Lorraine: (after a pause) Ok, you can tell me that.
#22
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.
"I told you, NO Rodgers and Hammerstein!"- Bart Simpson
#23
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.
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.
#24
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.
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.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#25
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
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