Is it common to replace entire cast with no notice?

paid full price for tickets to She Loves Me for this evening, Saturday, June 18. Upon arrival, there were two boards set up in the lobby indicating that pretty much the entire cast was replaced for this evening's performance. I cannot find any prior notice about this.

i understand that things can happen and a lead may have to miss a performance, but both Laura Benanti and Jane Krakowski were being replaced and it appeared many others as well for this performance. I have never had an experience like this - is it something theater goers should expect? 

Do they just all bail once the Tony's are over?

If it's just Jane and Laura what's the big deal? Watch them on the live stream.

So were over half of the stars out? 

No. I think there is a special place in hell for people who use their cell phones in theaters. I left without going inside the theatre.  The obvious bait and switch was so disgusting that I didn't want to see the play at all and, at least for this moment in time, am doubtful about purchasing tickets for future plays. Very bad feeling as a result of this. For those of us who are not "insiders" it is very expensive to see Broadway plays and I am not going to subject myself to anything like this again anytime soon.

As long as Jane, Byron and Nicholas are there, no problem.

Without them, it's an entirely different show.

 

 

Idk how id feel with Zach and Gavin out Skip. But I guess the other Laura is the more common Amalia these days so nbd. They shouldve been co-nominated for the tony.

I think I heard that if anyone above the title is out you can get a refund. Did you go to the box office and ask for one?

It sounds like you are someone who is closely tied to the Broadway ethos. For those of us exponentially removed from that, it is a much bigger deal for us to plan three months ahead for an evening in the city to see Jane Krakowski. If it had JUST been her who was out tonight, we probably would have been disappointed but still attended. Seeing both her name and Laura's as not present indicated a major change. I did not have time to take in both the boards because the ticket taker told me I had to move out of the way so I am honestly not sure whether the two boards indicated a wholesale change in the cast.

What I had time to see, in the nanosecond I was allowed before the ticket taker demanded I get out of the way, was two pink boards with names on one side and then name changes on the other and as a certainty the two female leads listed as absent. 

Thanks for the responses. Even the flippant ones are helpful as they reinforce my enlightened image of what Broadway is really all about. 

lol how is two people the "entire cast"?

It is disappointing but at the end of the day people are people and sometimes have to take time off work - it's how the world works. Fortunately, you were able to be offered a full refund and could have gone to the TKTS booth to catch something else. There is no "bait and switch" here, in my opinion.

That said, this doesn't mean I feel some criticism is deserved to theatre practices though. When there are "below the title" stars out that are clearly a draw to the show, refunds should be given. In London, where the star is currently out of "Funny Girl", refunds should be given. But in this specific case, I think you have been accommodated for well. 

the op left the theater immediately I believe 

The understudy board at Studio 54 is pretty big so if they had to put up a second one, that would mean there were 10+ people out of the show tonight. 

Is the OP certain that one board wasn't the cast list and the other was the understudy board?