Is there a reason why Meteor Shower ditched its whole original cast?

[Emma White]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 11:06am

I was binge-watching The Office and thinking what a shame it was we didn't get to see Jenna Fischer on Broadway, she's so funny. Does anyone know the story behind why the show didn't keep any of its original cast? Has anyone seen both productions?

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 11:08am

It was a completely different production with a different director

[MadonnaMusical]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 11:08am

Capitalism is the reason. 

[LesWickedly]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 11:10am

Maybe 7 years ago Jenna Fischer would be a bigger name, but now Amy Schumer’s name is much bigger. The whole cast is fairly more recognizable. Jeremy was a last minute replacement for a much bigger name, Alan Tudyk. It’s just all about the names.

[Emma White]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 11:16am

"Maybe 7 years ago Jenna Fischer would be a bigger name, but now Amy Schumer’s name is much bigger. The whole cast is fairly more recognizable. Jeremy was a last minute replacement for a much bigger name, Alan Tudyk. It’s just all about the names."

Right, and as a young person who knows very little about comedy, even I know Amy Schumer is wildly popular right now. 

Is Laura Benanti a "name" outside of the Broadway world?

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 11:28am

Benanti is a draw for the typical Broadway audience, and with Schumer in the show you don't need much else.

[michaelhale]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 11:42am

IdinaBellFoster said: "Benanti is a draw for the typical Broadway audience, and with Schumer in the show you don't need much else."

To add: anyone who doesn't like Schumer is likely to love Keegan-Michael Key enough to see the show anyway. The casting in this show was really smart to draw people into a play haha

[JSquared2]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 12:43pm

michaelhale said:
To add: anyone who doesn't like Schumeris likely to love Keegan-Michael Key enough to see the show anyway. The casting in this show was really smart to draw people into a play haha"

Huh??  Don't quite get your reasoning there.  If anything I would think Amy Schumer and Keegan-Michael Key share a similar audience base.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 12:55pm

They each appeal to a very distinct audience, which is smart. Benanti pulls the musical theater queens, Shamos pulls the straight play goers, Schumer is the hot ticket right, and Key appeals to the straight guy demographic.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 1:01pm

For what it's worth, at first, I didn't want to see the show because I don't like Amy Schumer, but then I did want to see the show because of Keegan Michael Key.

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 2:24pm

As much as I liked Amy Schumer and Jeremy Shamos in the roles, I'd be very interested in seeing what Jenna Fischer and Greg Germann brought to the play. 

[raddersons]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 2:49pm

Amy Schumer doesn't play the straight-man very well. Jenna Fischer probably would have nailed it -- she made a living off of being "just your average girl" in The Office.

EDIT: I'd probably see it again if she was announced with an extension.

Updated On: 11/29/17 at 02:49 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 2:55pm

The original cast wasn't ditched. It was an entirely different production.

[michaelhale]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 3:19pm

JSquared2 said: "michaelhale said:
To add: anyone who doesn't like Schumeris likely to love Keegan-Michael Key enough to see the show anyway. The casting in this show was really smart to draw people into a play haha"

Huh?? Don't quite get your reasoning there. If anything I would think Amy Schumer and Keegan-Michael Key share a similar audience base."

Clarification: Schumer fans likely are Key fans as well, they're both comedians of the moment and thus probably have a similar argument. My comment is on people who don't like Schumer, that's a different audience including people like me and LizzieCurry here. I didn't mean to imply they had separate audiences, just that there are a number of people who don't like Schumer and that audience is very likely to be swayed by Key, so they have all their bases covered.

[Emma White]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 4:56pm

raddersons said: "Amy Schumer doesn't play the straight-man very well. Jenna Fischer probably would have nailed it -- she made a living off of being "just your average girl" in The Office.

EDIT: I'd probably see it again if she was announced with an extension."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO70ecRUzBQ

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 5:05pm

Kad said: "The original cast wasn't ditched. It was an entirely different production."

This seems to be irrelevant info in this thread, heh.

[PatrickDennis92]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 5:10pm

Has there ever been a production that kept its producers, director and design team and ditched the entire cast? Just curious if that’s ever happened.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 11/29/17 at 5:11pm

I very much dislike Schumer, but I thought she was mostly good in this role. However, Emma White, I can't help but agree that Fischer would be beyond perfect in this role. Again, Schumer wasn't bad at all, but in some areas where it felt ever so slightly stilted and weird to hear her play the housewife-y character, Fischer would've nailed it (and even the comedy in the third chunk).  

(Also, none of this really matters long-term because Benanti was far and away the best part of the show.)

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/30/17 at 1:39am

PatrickDennis92 said: "Has there ever been a production that kept its producers, director and design team and ditched the entire cast? Just curious if that’s ever happened."

Certainly hasn't happened here. Only holdover seems to be Steve Martin on the creative team. Not sure about producers, as I didn't see them listed for the previous run.

[A Director]

Posted: 11/30/17 at 1:54am

Without this cast, the show would never have made it to Broadway.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 11/30/17 at 8:28am

haterobics said: "PatrickDennis92 said: "Has there ever been a production that kept its producers, director and design team and ditched the entire cast? Just curious if that’s ever happened."

Certainly hasn't happened here. Only holdover seems to be Steve Martin on the creative team. Not sure about producers, as I didn't see them listed for the previous run."

Pretty sure it was just a co-production between the old globe and long wharf

[AC126748]

Posted: 11/30/17 at 8:43am

Call_me_jorge said: "haterobics said: "PatrickDennis92 said: "Has there ever been a production that kept its producers, director and design team and ditched the entire cast? Just curious if that’s ever happened."

Certainly hasn't happened here. Only holdover seems to be Steve Martin on the creative team. Not sure about producers, as I didn't see them listed for the previous run."

Pretty sure it was just a co-production between the old globe and long wharf"

It was. And even though it was a co-production, the San Diego and Connecticut casts were entirely different, with the sole exception of Josh Stamberg -- who himself was brought in at the very last minute after Craig Bierko left the production abruptly right before performances started.

[haterobics]

Posted: 12/17/17 at 2:46am

Saw this today. They weren't ditched. They escaped.

[devonian.t]

Posted: 12/17/17 at 3:32am

PatrickDennis92 to answer your question, almost the entire cast was replaced when Little Shop of Horrors transferred from its tryout to Broadway.

[Just_John]

Posted: 12/17/17 at 10:51am

I saw Meteor Shower in San Diego and without having seen the Broadway cast yet, I'm sure the cast they went with was the better choice.