Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
#0Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 12:54am
I went to the matinee of 'Glengarry Glen Ross' today. There is a sign in the lobby stating that at this performance the role of Richard Roma will be played by Jordan Lage and the role of Baylen will be played by Jay Patterson. Now, although I am old enough to have seen the original production, I am not familiar enough with the play to know who in the current production is playing those roles. So I hand over my ticket and go to my seat. Two substitution slips are inserted in the Playbill giving the exact same information, no more. So now I have to flip through the Playbill to discover that Liev Schreiber is out today. Needless to say, I was very disappointed, but I decide to stay anyway (after all, where am I going to go at 1:55 pm?). The good news is that Mr. Lage was outstanding; I do not know how Liev Schreiber could've been any better. Mr Patterson, in a lesser role, was quite good too. The whole show is terrific, btw.
I think the way the producers (or is it up to the theatre?) handled this was pretty smarmy. They're banking on the fact that you're not going to take the trouble to get out of your seat and make your way back to the box office to ask for a refund. It reminds me of what David Merrick did when Ginger Rogers missed performances in 'Hello, Dolly!' The announcement went out over the PA: "Tonight, the role of Mrs. Levi will be played by Bibi Osterwald". Only those who were familiar with the show knew that Mrs Levi was Mrs. DOLLY Levi, the star of the show! (remember this was back in the mid 60's before the movie and before Carol Channing had brought HD to every wide spot in the road). By the time anyone realized what was up, Merrick had closed the box office windows, making refunds impossible. To this day, there are probably tourists from Des Moines who think they saw Ginger Rogers in 'Hello, Dolly' when they actually saw Bibi Osterwald. In fact, I believe it was that stunt which prompted Equity to require two forms of notice of a substitution. Also, if the ticket was purchases at TKTS, is it still possible to obtain a refund if an above-the-title performer is out?
'Our whole family shouts. It comes from us livin' so close to the railroad tracks'
nmartin
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/3/05
#1re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 8:06am
There's nothing like seeing the dreaded sign in the lobby or the cascading slip of paper falling into your lap that says,"At this performance...."
Updated On: 6/12/05 at 08:06 AM
#2re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 8:10amBut on the other hand, last night I was thrilled when that slip fell into my hands - a friend I hadn't seen in a couple of years was going on for one of the leads in Light in The Piazza and I had no idea she was even in the show - I got the double whammy treat of seeing possibly the best show ever produced and getting to see a friend live her dream by going on for a lead in such a great show! So sometimes there IS an upside!
"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!"
Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!
#3re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 9:41am
I remember being disappointed a few times when an actor I was looking forward to seeing was not going to be in the show. 
To
"Life is not measured by the number
of breaths we take, but by moments
that take our breath away."
"Life isn't about how to survive the storm,
but how to dance in the rain."
nmartin
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/3/05
#4re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 9:46amIf anybody remembers an off'B'way show called Scrambled Feet, there was a really funny moment dealing with stars being out.
Winkie Beer
Swing Joined: 8/11/04
#5re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 11:14amI don't think that is smarmy. The followed the rules. And, I think it is far better to see the sign and get the stuffer than have to wait for the announcement.
nmartin
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/3/05
#6re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 11:23amI think hushpuppy was just trying to convey the frustration that many feel when this happens.
iflitifloat
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/10/03
#7re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 11:40amDoesn't sound smarmy to me. I don't recall having seen it handled any other way. I mean, it was announced in two places that the role of Richard Roma was being played by Jordan Lage, and I can't imagine that there wasn't a list of the cast for that performance posted in the lobby...from which Liev Schreiber's name was missing. The information was there; you just didn't put it together.
Sueleen Gay: "Here you go, Bitch, now go make some fukcing lemonade." 10/28/10
magruder
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#8re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 12:03pmAccording to Equity rules, you have to announce an understudy in two of three ways: on a lobby board, with a slip in the program or with a live announcement prior to the start of the performance. The production announced it in the lobby and with a slip in the program, so they absolutely followed the rules. Nothing smarmy about it.
"Gif me the cobra jool!"
#9re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 12:28pm
"I don't recall having seen it handled any other way."
Most of the time, On the slips of paper, it says "'The part' usually played by 'so and so', will be played by 'so and so-not'"
"Do you know what pledge time is, Andrew"? said the PBS Executive.
"Yes", Lloyd Webber replied. "My 50th birthday special must be one program that gets done a lot."
"No", mused the man from PBS heedlessy. "Not so much. Our Stephen Sondheim Carnegie Hall concert. That's a big one."
Spoons, forks and knives seemed suddenly to suspend their motion in horror, all around the table.
riv
Leading Actor Joined: 3/6/05
#10re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 12:35pm"The best show ever produced"???
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#11re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 12:42pm
Magruder is correct. It is Actors Equity that sets up the format of announcing an understudy.
But it is to the producers advantage, because the last thing they want is an audience rushing to the box office at curtain time resulting in an empty theater.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
erinrebecca
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/29/04
#12re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 12:45pm
I didn't see anything wrong, or unusual, with announcing the change this way. I went to my collection of playbills, and every single one of the first twenty or so that I looked at which had slips in them, are worded like this: At this performance the role of ..... will be played by .....
There is no mention of who regularly plays the role. In my opinion, it's up to the audience to know who plays which role if the sole reason they're going is to see a particular actor.
CurtainPullDowner
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
#13re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 1:01pm
I remember a very funny moment at "Howard Crabtree's 'When Pig's Fly'" a few years ago. The understudy announcement was made (the cast was mostly unknowns, but extremely talented) and from backstage the u heard a loud disapointinting OOOOOOHHHHHHHH!
and then u saw one of the funniest shows ever.
Most Broadway shows have a cast board and they do say the part ususlly played by.....
so they are doing it legally but a little unfair I think not to do that.
SueleenGay
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/9/03
#14re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 1:30pmDid your ticket say "Liev Schreiber starring in GGR?" They didn't sell you a ticket to see Liev Schreiber, they sold you a ticket to see Glengarry Glen Ross. And that is what you saw.
PEACE.
roquat
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/25/05
#15re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 1:40pmWhen I went to see "Kiss of the Spider Woman", Vanessa Williams was out and there was considerable grumbling, etc., in the audience--until Nancy Hess, her understudy, entered and gave a radiant performance. After the curtain call, she stepped forward to give the "Broadway Cares--Equity Fights AIDS" speech, and pointed out that there were several posters in the lobby that had been signed by the entire cast, "including Vanessa Williams, so it won't be a total loss for all of you." How often do you encounter that kind of modesty in show business? I wanted to stand up and scream, "You were better than she ever could have been!"
I ask in all honesty/What would life be?/Without a song and a dance, what are we?/So I say "Thank you for the music/For giving it to me."
nmartin
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/3/05
#16re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 1:41pmSuellengay, After reading your post, I assume you're a producer?
#17re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 2:07pmSuddenly I'm hearing Forbidden Broadway SVU's "No Leading Lady Tonight" running through my head....
*~* Every time you double-post, God kills a kitten. *~*
Kay, the Thread-Jacking Jedi
Quando omni flunkus moritati (When all else fails, play dead...)
"... chasin' the music. Trying to get home."
Peter Gregus: "Where are my house right ladies?!"
(love you, girls! - 6/13/06)
#18re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 10:10pmAll this discussion made me go back and sift through my old Playbills. I found more 'At this performance the role of so-and-so usually played by Miss X will be played by Miss Y' than 'At this performance, the role of blah-blah will be played by Mr Z'. But I stand corrected that GGR was not the first show to do this, I just didn't recall it. Old age, I guess. Yes, I know my ticket didn't say 'Liev Schreiber in Glengarry Glen Ross' but the ticket NEVER gives the cast. My understanding is that, if an artist's name is above the title, you are entitled to a refund if that performer is out. One last thing in my defense: disappointed or not, I ALWAYS stay for the performance and I have NEVER been disappointed. I even got a chance to see Lilas White when she went on for an indisposed Jennifer Holliday in 'Dreamgirls' so you never know who'll you'll see. Besides, I love rooting for the underdog.
'Our whole family shouts. It comes from us livin' so close to the railroad tracks'
#19re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 10:22pm
"My understanding is that, if an artist's name is above the title, you are entitled to a refund if that performer is out."
Woa woa woa! I'm having a problem believing this. Have I missed somethin?
Variations on a Theme blog: http://panekattack.blogspot.com/
#20re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 10:30pm
From Point of View On-Line by Mark Evanier:
"In theory, if you arrive to find the star is out, you can get a refund or exchange. Neither is usually much of an option, especially for those in from out o' town."
Aren't those actors whose names appear above the title considered 'stars'?
Point of View on-line
'Our whole family shouts. It comes from us livin' so close to the railroad tracks'
#21re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/12/05 at 10:33pmIf a person whose name appears above the title is out, you are entitled to a refund. For example, if you went to see "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and Norbert Leo Butz was out, you could go to the box office and receive a refund. If a bit player were out, though, a refund will not be granted.
jo
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#22re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/13/05 at 12:35am
I do not know the overall practice, but when an above-the-title lead is scheduled for a vacation, that is usually pre-announced.
When I went to see WOMAN IN WHITE twice in London, the lead actor Martin Crewes was out both times. It was announced in the lobby on the roster board of the show's company. It's a good thing he was on the OCR as I wanted to hear him sing the role.
Tough luck, especially if you are from overseas or out-of-town and can't have your ticket rescheduled. One does not usually want to miss seeing the show and has to settle for understudies.
#23re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/13/05 at 12:37am
::insert The More You Know music here::
Wow, thanks guys!
Variations on a Theme blog: http://panekattack.blogspot.com/
Marquise
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/1/04
#24re: Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know
Posted: 6/13/05 at 3:16amroquat after reading your post i'm gathering you actually saw vanessa williams' performance in "spider woman" to make such a statement?
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