As is posted, this isn't unprecedented, and it makes good sense. Plus, though Menzel missed partial weeks (4 performance once, based on prior or contract-set commitments), did she ever have a full week off? I don't think so. This may have been part of a larger plan for a long time. It gains more attention because it's a month before the final performance.
For the record, I was there yesterday afternoon, full company in, full house, the show (and its star) in superb shape. Vocally and otherwise. Very focused and committed work, notable for the 8th show in a week. La Chanze was full throttle, the men all very much connected to the piece and its sometimes odd demands on them (both Synder and Rapp have strange half-scenes around their crises with this woman, sometimes forced to walk into a beat, announce a problem or decision, and then ... blackout). Yes, it's an imperfect show, but delivers a lot of genuine entertainment and emotional payoff. And a score that can be wonderful in places, odd and off-point in others (the Rapp/Tam duet in act two is just a clunky non-moment that means nothing and merely gives Tam something to do otherwise lacking; and a peculiar melody that doesn't land.). People get very teary in then end. And it was cheered to the rafters, huge responses throughout. It felt very much like an audience in the first 6 weeks of a run.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
Updated On: 1/12/15 at 10:00 AM