oh, wow, i just found this today! shame on me!
well, pianoma68, i saw the show the same day that you started this thread; july 9, and i saw joe cassidy perform for freddy. he was AMAZING. i loved, loved his performance! i mean, at the beginning, i kept on thinking, "he isn't norbert leo butz. omg, i can't believe this happened to me....ect." but, as the show went on, i kinda forgot that he was just an understudy, because, well, he was really good! and, i looove his voice! (however, now that it's been over a month, i'm starting to forget what it sounded like cuz i've been listening to norbert's voice on the recording so much!) ah, well. plus, i also got to meet him at the stage door, and he is just SO NICE! i mean, i can understand, cuz, usually he's just an ensemble member, so the extra attention must be nice. i got a picture taken with him and his signature. when i was hanging out at the stage door, all i had in my hand at the time was the $10 program, and my mom was like, "open it! quick! he's here!" so, i just opened it to sara g's page, and when he got it, he's like, "you want me to sign on sara's page!? *laughs* here, i'll there's a picture i'm in here somewhere...*flips through the entire book, finds his picture, and signs it*. i felt so bad, b/c he took so much time in finding the picture! lol. and, he was also the last one to leave. he actually waited for the crowd to die, and i was one of the last ones remaining, which was when i found it to be a good time to ask for a picture. he's a really cool guy! :)
plus, i know that he also did the last five years after norb did it. (i think) he always seems to be his shadow! lol
My name is Jamie.
NYU class of 2011!!!
Updated On: 8/11/05 at 01:11 AM
I have seen MANY understudies and thought they were sensational, but Joe Cassidy as Freddy just didn't do it for me. Norbert has a unique impish quality. And I do love his distinctive voice. I thought Joe Cassidy was kind of boring as Freddy, but as Andre he was adorable. Joe's very likable--perhaps that's part of the problem. You have to both like and be appalled by the Freddy character...and he has to be just silly enough to be sympathetic. 
