Jester Understudy?

[Eliza81]

Posted: 8/21/24 at 3:49pm

I was at last night's performance of OUAM, and the understudy for the Jester had a script with him on stage. Has anyone ever seen this before? Sutton Foster announced at the end of the show that he was making his debut and that having only opened a week ago, he had to perform with no rehearsals. I would maybe understand this during previews, but the show is open now and I was very surprised to see a lead doing basically a staged reading. I understand the whole "show must go on" mentality, but this seemed strange. Anyone else experience this or know what happened?

Updated On: 8/21/24 at 03:49 PM

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 8/21/24 at 3:53pm

About five or six years ago I would agree with you... but after the last several years this has become not all that uncommon. It's also fairly standard that understudies aren't rehearsed until after opening... sometimes not even hired until the start of performances. 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 8/21/24 at 4:27pm

Shout out to Michael Olaribigbe on his Broadway debut, too! 

[Huss417]

Posted: 8/21/24 at 4:36pm

Eliza81 said: "I was at last night's performance of OUAM, and the understudy for the Jester had a script with him on stage.Has anyone ever seen this before? Sutton Foster announced at the end of the show that he was making his debut and that having only opened a week ago, he had to perform with no rehearsals. I would maybe understand this during previews, but the show is open now and I was very surprised tosee a lead doing basically a staged reading. I understand the whole "show must go on" mentality, but this seemed strange. Anyone else experience this or know what happened?"

If I didn't see Sutton's name in the post I would have had no clue what OUAM was. 

[quizking101]

Posted: 8/21/24 at 5:32pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "Shout out to Michael Olaribigbe on his Broadway debut, too!"

PRINCIPAL debut. He was in The Heart of Rock and Roll earlier this year, but never went on for a principal track. He was also one of the new cast members joining this run of MATTRESS after City Center, so it would make sense that he hasn’t had a chance to fully study or rehearse the roles he covers.

Similar thing happened earlier this year when Kara Young took over the last week of The Apiary at 2ST. While no script in hand, her lines were strategically placed all over the set wherever she needed to go.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/21/24 at 5:38pm

Usually, understudy rehearsals begin after opening night, as between the start of previews and opening they are rehearsing changes to the show.

It's not uncommon for an actor to memorize lines independently, but going on with a script is sometimes more for blocking than lines. Or it's a crutch just to be sure they don't have to call for line. Safety is of utmost importance, and you don't want someone colliding with another actor or getting hit with scenery or falling into a pit.

This show also had less than 2 weeks of rehearsal before it moved into the theatre for tech. A normal musical has 4-6 weeks. This Mattress was put together in a scrappy, cost-saving way.

Updated On: 8/21/24 at 05:38 PM

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 8/21/24 at 6:37pm

I was also there! I really felt for Michael Olaribigbe, who was VERY brave to go out there and do what he knew to the best of his ability. That said, I did feel really bad for Brooks Ashmankas and David Patrick Kelly, whose scenes and bits were often deflated due to the fact they didn't have a fully present scene partner. NOT SAYING it's Olaribigbe's fault - the whole situation was very unfortunate.

That said, I had a great time. Sutton was great; perfectly cast...though I wish they made some options available to her in the music to let her trumpet-esque belt soar a bit more...maybe a half-step higher here or there, or some opt-ups. ADORED Michael Urie. Simply perfect. Nikki Renee Daniels sang the house down and shone in the show's most thankless role. Will Chase was good but his musical phrasing was at times distracting. Ana Gasteyer was fine; needs to settle in more. The vocal choices made in 'Sensitivity' were rather bizarre. The aforementioned Ashmankas and Kelly were sensational given the hand they were dealt. And Olaribigbe should be very proud of the task they took on of getting out there and keeping the show open! And the ensemble shone; namely dance captain Sarah Michele Lindsey, who swung on in Olaribigbe's track!

A fun night! 

[willep]

Posted: 8/22/24 at 8:14am

Unfortunately understudies are hired late in the process and aren’t really around for rehearsals and certainly don’t get their own rehearsals until after opening. That being said, I think I’d prefer an understudy to have a script than the experience I had at Appropriate with Natalie Gold’s understudy who had to call for line a couple times and was clearly struggling to come up with some lines, which completely killed the momentum of scenes and had the audience worried for her every time she came onstage.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 8/22/24 at 10:16am

Eliza81 said: "ISutton Foster announced at the end of the show that he was making his debut and that having only opened a week ago, he had to perform with no rehearsals."

He was also on for the matinee, though Foster didn't say anything after the performance despite that being his actual debut. I thought he did a great job.

[macnyc]

Posted: 8/22/24 at 1:07pm

I also saw understudy Michael Olaribigbe last night, and I thought he did great. I noticed him holding a couple of pages of the script during one scene only, and held his own in his big dance number.

My friend and I loved the show and thought it was hilarious from start to finish. 
 

Updated On: 8/22/24 at 01:07 PM