JUST IN TIME 5.0 - Nicholas Christopher — Page 3

Race is not a significant theme of Just In Time, so the race of the actor playing Bobby Darin doesn't matter.

Correct. People who have an issue with this are the same people who had an issue with Bad Bunny performing at the Superbowl or who blamed the Democrats for the government shutdown. We all know what that means.....fuq em.





Race is a theme when it is a semi autobiographical musical about a real person . Would you feel the same way if it were a musical about Della Reese staring Lea Michele ? Nicholas is an amazing talent and should be applauded but I, just as many seem to , feel he is miscast as Bobby Darin . I think bringing up Bad Bunny and the government shutdown is bit of a stretch to drag racism into it. Not every opinion is political or racist.

Updated On: 10/7/26 at 04:43 PM

Sutton Ross said: "1. Learn how to quote better or figure out how the quote message button works.

2. Her name is Lea Michele.

3. Nope."

Dear Sutton Ross........thanks for corrections

Blue_Lotus said: "I really like Nicholas Christopher, but as some of you have expressed I'm not sure if he's going to move tickets in the way that Groff, Jordan or Morrison have."

That's where I am with this, also. Both Jeremy Jordan and even in his short stints - Matthew Morrison were well known for tv roles as well as Broadway - which sells more tickets. Both neither one of these actors came close to being the ticket selling juggernaut that Jonathan Groff was (and that's why this musical recouped its investment).

Someone had mentioned Aaron Tveit for this role - but again - other than a quick stint on the tv version of Schmigadoon -he - like Christopher - does not have that ticket selling mojo that is needed for this role. All you have to do is look at the box office numbers for Chess when Lea was out - they dipped dramatically - even if all the other leads were in.

I think he's a fantastic performer - but I hope this is just a stop gap until maybe (hopefully) Groff comes back to finish out and close the show early next year.

Christopher will be a good test of how well the show can sell based on its subject matter, reviews, and reputation while in the hands of a talented performer less well known than his predecessors. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't, but I certainly can envision Christopher giving a strong performance.

kdogg36 said: "Zeppie2022 said: "A Russian chess player is not the same as a famous white musical star whose life story is being told. Would you cast somebody white to play Michael Jackson in MJ? Color blind casting works in many roles but playing somebody famous in their life story may not be the best idea. no matter how talented they are. I agree with other posters, this show will close by January."

Race is not a significant theme ofJust In Time, so the race of the actor playing Bobby Darin doesn't matter.

I haven't seenMJ, but the nature of our culture is such that race will pretty much always bea significant theme when the subject is a famous person of color, whether the material makes that explicit or not."

Yes, race is not significant theme in the show. His Italian American heritage does play a bit part of the show in the beginning. I just think generally when you are doing a show about a famous performer, you would try to have the person in the role have similar characteristics. For example, would they cast a 60-year-old white man in the role. Probably not. Would they cast somebody who is 6ft 6in tall? Once again, probably not.

Wish Mr. Chrisopher well and hope the show continues to have success. I agreed with "Mysterious Lady" that show will not last long and it will be mainly due to Mr. Christopher is not a big name outside of Broadway fans. This show needs a star who is well known by the general public from TV, movies in addition to Broadway.

BrodyFosse123 said: "OhHiii said: "Very talented and inspired casting. He will sell 5 tickets. So. I’d put my money on a January closing."

While we’re at it, I think Rosie O’Donnellwould be a perfect Bobby Darin. Gender-switching roles keeps things fresh and new again.

"

This made me laugh so hard! Thank you.

quizking101 said: "OhHiii said: "Very talented and inspired casting. He will sell 5 tickets. So. I’d put my money on a January closing."

The show seems to be doing just fine and has long since recouped. People aren’t necessarily going for the main “star” casting anymore since they seem tohave expanded their stunt casting net to the ladies of the show.

I’ll be honest - this show bored the living bejeezus out of me the first time I saw it, but Nick is such a freakishly versatile generational talent that I’m pretty sure he’s going to absolutely devour this and I will drag myself back to see that he does."

I'm not familiar with his work, BUT if he really is " a Freakishly versatile generational talent" than I feel like I need to be. Any suggestions that showcase this description?

Updated On: 10/8/26 at 06:34 AM

darreyl102 said: "quizking101 said: "OhHiii said: "Very talented and inspired casting. He will sell 5 tickets. So. I’d put my money on a January closing."

The show seems to be doing just fine and has long since recouped. People aren’t necessarily going for the main “star” casting anymore since they seem tohave expanded their stunt casting net to the ladies of the show.

I’ll be honest - this show bored the living bejeezus out of me the first time I saw it, but Nick is such a freakishly versatile generational talent that I’m pretty sure he’s going to absolutely devour this and I will drag myself back to see that he does."

I'm not familiar with his work, BUT if he really is " aFreakishly versatile generational talent" thanI feel like I need to be. Any suggestions that showcase this description?"

The statement is hyperbole, but he is very good. Odd casting ethnically - Bobby's being a NY Italian is a huge part of who he was, and maybe the casting for this show should pay more attention to that - but if Jelly's Last Jam is any indication he will be compelling.

Many have pointed out that he isn't really a name, but my guess is he's going to come out of this engagement much more of one than he is now. The show has been a TKTS staple since Groff left it back in March; by now it is probably selling itself.

Updated On: 10/8/26 at 09:29 AM

"I don’twhy you people are convinced that the show cannot run without a star. Did Jersey Boys have a star? Not really, and yet it was appealing to essentially the same demographic."

I like your optimism and I don't want to take that away from you, but I do want to emphasize some key details that differentiate Jersey Boys from Just In Time.

Jersey Boys premiered on Broadway with a cast of complete unknowns. Its star was a nobody making a Broadway debut; I could be wrong, but I don't think a single member of that cast had starred in a Broadway musical prior to Jersey Boys. Certainly not any of the guys playing the Four Seasons. The show was marketed on the strength of the story and the nostalgia of the music, NOT the recognizability of the star. That's why it was so easy to continue replacing the lead roles with unknown actors (many of whom would later become bigger stars, like Andy Karl and Andrew Rannells!)

On the other hand, Just In Time has ALWAYS been a star vehicle whose marketing has ALWAYS revolved around the name recognition of its star. Just look at how big Jonathan Groff's, Matthew Morrison's, and Jeremy Jordan's names and images are on almost every poster, Playbill, etc. I mean, normally if a Broadway show has a gap between a star leaving and a new star coming in, an understudy or alternate will play the role for 2-3 weeks in the interim. However, as we see with Just In Time, they bring in another major star to fill that gap.

Stars were born with Jersey Boys. Existing stars are plucked from the heavens and put on stage for Just In Time.

That being said, whilst on the Jersey Boys train, I'll still echo what others have said on this site, which is that it would be so cool if John Lloyd Young played Bobby on the tour.

Tveit in Moulin Rouge was a guaranteed booster since he was the Tony Award winner for the leading role. Tveit as Sweeney isn’t really a comparable situation for two reasons:

1) He also had Sutton Foster and Joe Locke join at the same time, so we don’t know what influence Tveit really carried here.

2) The grosses had already softened by then and the critical response was less than favorable.