Liev out of GGR and the smarmy way they let you know

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?

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But 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!

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If anybody remembers an off'B'way show called Scrambled Feet, there was a really funny moment dealing with stars being out.

I think hushpuppy was just trying to convey the frustration that many feel when this happens.

According 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.

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"The best show ever produced"???

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.

Did 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.

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Suellengay, After reading your post, I assume you're a producer?

All 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.

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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

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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.

roquat after reading your post i'm gathering you actually saw vanessa williams' performance in "spider woman" to make such a statement?