Les Miz cast changes -- POST THEM HERE!

What do we know and how do we know it?

[Please don't hesitate to make corrections.]

I learned from the (insufficiently titled) "Chip Zien Board" that Chip Zien will fill in for Gary Beach for summer vacation/recuperation (ten weeks?).

Alex will be on vacation (starting next week?) (for how long?) and John Owen-Jones will fill in. Will Owen-Jones stay with the show?

What will Greg Stone be doing?

I heard today that Robert Hunt will be in as Javert beginning next week. Could I assume that Ben Crawford will play Javert this full week? [He was excellent today, IMH totally non-professional O.]

Mandy Bruno and Ann Harada were also quite good today (finally?). Who are their replacements?

Carly Rose Sonnenclar (a personal favorite, forecasted to be a future star) was present at final curtain. She sings and acts Young Cosette beautifully, but is growing up. Is she leaving?

Zach Rand (Gavroche) did a few extra little dance steps at the end of final bows. Is he leaving as well?

p.s. I don't believe there is a morale problem. Without knowing about these changes, I noticed that many of the cast were very relaxed, "hanging outside" the stagedoor prior to the show, as well as afterwards. [Perhaps it was a Fathers Day thing.]


pps: If Lea Salonga is performing for Macy*s at 9:00 pm July 4th, who will play Fantine at that evening's performance?

Updated On: 6/24/07 at 09:43 PM

well apparently there's a rumor that Rosie O'Donnell will be taking over for Madame Thénardier in the fall...

Updated On: 6/17/07 at 09:46 PM

woops my mistake, my apologies

Where did you hear about John Owen-Jones? Isn't he currently playing Valjean in the WestEnd?

Updated On: 6/17/07 at 09:49 PM

Alex is on vacation starting Monday, don't know how long (but his performance could really use it), but the understudies are covering all week. I do not have the full schedule, just that Victor starts the week and has some personal days this week as well, so it isn't a beginning of the week/end of the week division. I don't know who is taking the weekend. It was supposed to just be a week when I first heard about it a couple months ago, so there's absolutely no need for a fill-in if that remains the case.

ETA: By understudies, I mean Jeff and Victor. There isn't time to rehearse Ben Crawford yet. Unless Alex's vacation is longer than a week. But the higher priority will be rehearsing replacements since there are two Valjean understudies who already know the music and blocking.

Updated On: 6/17/07 at 09:58 PM

Seriously?

Mandy was quite good today, but she was dressed before and after the show like it was special.

And -- Fantine and Eponine come out together, but Lea pushed Mandy forward so Mandy would take a bow by herself.

Replacement for Madame T?

p.s. And we don't want O'Donald as Madame T or The Donald as Mr. T.

What's Gary's ailment?

Either that or her last day was different.

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When did that come out? Because Cammack only saw the show last Saturday, and any decisions to buy out people's contracts were made this past week.

"What's Gary's ailment?"

Too much ham.

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Here are the updates to the Les Miserables cast revolving door, as per Lea Salonga:

An update on Les Miz Jun 18, '07 12:54 AM
for everyone
Oh my goodness... there has been so much news coming out on message boards and other blogs that I guess it's time to straighten a few things out (without giving away news that hasn't already been delivered officially).

First... Ben Davis' last show was on Saturday, June 16, and Mandy Bruno's was today, June 17. As for their replacements, Robert Hunt (who was in the ensemble of this production and a Javert on the tour) will be rejoining the show in a couple of weeks. Understudies will be going in for both roles in the meantime.

As far as ensemble departures, Kate Chapman's last show was today as well... replacing her will be Lucia Spina. J.D. Goldblatt's final show is this Thursday, but because he's been out sick (he had surgery on his foot last night and is now recovering), I don't know that he'll be able to play his last 5 shows. I hope he comes back though, he's great. That's it, as far as I know. Mike Evariste will be taking over. Don Brewer will be doing the Courfeyrac track while Ben Crawford will now be Brujon, as well as a Valjean understudy. Victor Hawks will be leaving the show on Saturday, June 23. Christy Faber will also be coming in as a vacation swing for the girls, and Jeremy Hays, currently in Dan Bogart's track, will be covering a myriad of roles this coming week. Whew!

Gary Beach will be having surgery, so he'll be out for a while. Chip Zien (Into the Woods) will be performing in his place. Gary and Chip are old friends, so Gary's really thrilled that Chip will be joining us. I think he'll be a great addition to the show.

And that is all! Any other rumors of firings and cast changesthat isn't written here are all untrue. If I didn't write about it, it didn't happen.

Lea says that Robert Hunt will be coming "in a couple of weeks," so it sounds like he'll be joining up after Oklahoma is finished (which is July 1). I notice that Lea doesn't mention anything about Ann Harada.

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"First... Ben Davis' last show was on Saturday, June 16, and Mandy Bruno's was today, June 17. As for their replacements, Robert Hunt (who was in the ensemble of this production and a Javert on the tour) will be rejoining the show in a couple of weeks. Understudies will be going in for both roles in the meantime."

Does this mean I might see Megan McGinnis on the July 4th matinee? Yay! If it's true.

And Alex is gone for how long?

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Okay, clearly the casting directors or my friend's agent were given/are giving erroneous info.

Why doesn't she say who's replacing Mandy? She skipped that part.

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