Karen Olivo's Attendance — Page 2

Tell that to TIMEOUT, they disagree.
"You were entitled to a refund,
according to the policy at the Palce Theatre."
Page 8 August 13-19 2009

Im pretty sure Winston is right though. For a show like god of carnage or something I remember the guy at the box office said (even though he highly doubted it) that if Gandolfini was out you can get a ticket for another show (not the same seat though). And thats understandable since the shows draw is the 4 actors ecsepcially Gandolfini.

I have heard once that Josiphina was out and the box office refused to do anything about it and I guess it is becuase the major majority isint seeing it for the cast as a show like god of carnage or blithe spirit etc...

Because then you would be able to ask for refunds if say Dee wasnt in Wicked that night or Robert McClure in Avenue Q (all just examples). Theaters would be giving out refunds all the time.

---

As I've said before: you cannot compare a limited run attendance record with an open run. Completely different. The "stars" that appear in those have FINANCIAL incentive to appear every performance. You can and are willing to put up with more when it's temporary. You know not to plan "social" conflicts for 3 months. You can't do that for a year. Nor is it fair to compare performing in a musical vs a straight play. More opportunities with sickness, fatigue and injury.

I really don't care about an actor's absences. I would if I were a producer and looking to hire....but not as an audience member. Even when I'm there to see a specific actor...I might be disappointed, but I get over it. I take sick days, I take personal days....sometimes, just because I feel like it. And I love my job, am an integral part of place of employment. Just like understudies, someone has to be paid to take my place. Are the people around me dissappointed? Some. Life goes on.

---

"Why do I feel that it is only a matter of time before someone chimes in that it was wrong of her to be out, she is being unprofessional and so forth?


...only if she were missing the first performance following her Tony win."

So if I remember correctly Alice Ripley was also out the day after she won the Tony. Why no heat for her? She really is the star of the show and is one of the main reasons people see the show. Also she was in the days after that, obviously not sick. Karen Olivo on the other hand was out for almost 3 weeks because she was incredibly sick. She even tried to perform but couldn't make it through the whole show.

Karen honestly isn't even out THAT much. She was out for a week on a planned vacation and it sounds like one show the weekend before. Not that much! I actually think Gavin Creel has missed more shows in Hair then in Karen in WSS (Excluding her sickness) Gavin was just on a planned vacation for a week and then before that he was out for about a half a week. And some before that. I love Gavin to death but I don't understand why Karen Olivo is always the one to get picked on. Is it just because you don't like the current West Side Story revival? Or because her choreography is toned down a bit? Or because you just need someone to pick on in your life to make yourself feel better?

So before you go judging her and saying how ridiculous it is that she is out all the time and she's a B**** or whatever try to realize her job. It's not too easy and when a bunch of sad lifeless people are home bad mouthing you on the computer.

"I don't think anyone called her a B****.

And if they did, then they are wrong."

They have called her that. I'm not gonna go search for it because it was a long time ago but she has definitely been called that.

Winston: "people are going to see Gypsy for Patti and no other reason."

Not so. Many people went for the show. I among them.

I actually think Gavin Creel has missed more shows in Hair then in Karen in WSS (Excluding her sickness)

But he didn't win a Tony. And if he did, it wouldn't have been the production's only Tony.

I missed Karen back in June. I'm still rather saddened, even though she had an "acceptable" reason to be out. And while I enjoyed the show (Kat went on for her that night, and she was good), I don't plan on going back - I'd rather spend my limited funds on other shows.

I'm surprised TONY (the magazine) printed something so misleading and false.

I saw West Side Story with the complete original cast but for me, even though Karen was spectacular, her performance was not enough to save the show in my opinion. Josephina and Matt are on stage much more than Karen and their mediocre performances left a bad taste in my mouth after seeing the show. Karen's moments on stage were spectacular but they were few and far between. So in short, I saw the show with Karen and still didn't find it incredibly enjoyable as a whole. I don't know what it was but I was expecting to be swept up by the music and the excitement of the show and I just wasn't.

---

"Karen honestly isn't even out THAT much."

I think Karen is a wonderful performer, but this statement is a little hard to defend. She has been out for at least 30 shows since the beginning of June. I'm not saying anything about whether the absences are justified or unjustified, but I don't think that one can say that she isn't out that much.

---

After Eight, I'm sorry but you're incorrect while it may be true that both you and I went to see the show and not to see Patti, the fact of the matter was that she was the main draw for people to see the show and the reason the show was revived on Broadway so quickly in the first place.

---

wasn't Ethel Merman's name about the same size as Gypsy on the marquee, too?

also, didn't Karen Olivo talk about needing to change her diet because she was getting injured while dancing so much? maybe she's still not taking as good care of herself as she needs to for such a physically demanding show.

(I saw her in May, and I thought she was wonderful, for the record.)

---

She was on the show last Saturday and her voice sounded great!

---