Lindsay Mendez in Merrily We Roll Along — Page 2

Jordan Catalano said: "Friend asked the box office today if she’d be back this week (he has tix tomorrow night) and they said “she should be in tomorrow” and he asked if they were SUUUUURE and was then told “you should check back closer to showtime tomorrow”. So whatever that all means."

How on earth could the box office staff be SUUUURE?

JSquared2 said: "Jordan Catalano said: "Friend asked the box office today if she’d be back this week (he has tix tomorrow night) and they said “she should be in tomorrow” and he asked if they were SUUUUURE and was then told “you should check back closer to showtime tomorrow”. So whatever that all means."

How on earth could the box office staff be SUUUURE?"


The point was they told him she’s back tomorrow and then changed it to “check back”. Thats all it is. Nothing more.

dramamama611 said: "The box office staff seems to be the last to know about these things. Casting, absences, vacations, etc."

It is not the box office's job to be the spokesperson for the show. Fielding questions from patrons about which actors are in & out really shouldn't fall on them. There should be a better mechanism for communicating ins and outs than an easily-missed houseboard/TV screen and slips of paper, but in some cases those things aren't known til half hour.

binau said: "The west end can be an absolute joke in this regard. When Glenn Close was off for Sunset they didn’t offer refunds or exchanges. The worst is that London theatre fans appear to be brainwashed to accept it and say that we’re only paying for the show and we agreed to the buried terms and conditions. Yeah, as if anyone would pay the same to see Glenn Close as their understudy.

Ive also had a condescending box office queen (I say this as a fellow queen but just so you understand the tone) when Taron E was out of C**k tell me I mustn’t go to to the theatre much if I think it’s reasonable to expect a refund if their above the title star is out (in this case because the play name was so controversial they couldn’t even print it in some ads - it was JUST the names).

Don’t even get me started on Jessie Buckley. She barely turned up.

i would go so far to say it’s not just the producer policy but also cast attitude that’s different too because the USA/NYC has a much stronger work ethic than the UK.

"

And you're basing this on what exactly? The stars you've cited, one of whom is American, and another who pulled out of the show entirely due to whatever affected him? Mendez had now missed more performances than Buckley did during her whole run. Wasn't there a whole discussion about Jordan Fisher's attendance rate?

Sometimes your attitude is so condescending, it's really ugly. Sorry, can't help but clock it, since it happens repeatedly. London critics? Don't know anything about theater. Stars? Lazy. Sunset Boulevard? Can only be "unleashed into the world" when it gets seen on Broadway.

binau said: "Well, the first thing I'd say is - I agree sometimes my tone is a bit much and please don't take me too seriously haha. However, to answer your questions directly:

1. In the case of work ethic, I've seen hundreds of shows in London and New York and my personal experience is that I can more generally count on NYC actors turning up to work than London actors. Additionally, right now it's starting to feel like the exception rather than the norm for leads to do 8 shows a week anymore. There is a reason why, for example, a lot of people online I've seen have been asking if Bernadette and Lea in 'Old Friends' do all 8 shows and what shows they are on/off because they know that it's common that people often just don't do 8 shows anymore in London.

However, I do want to be clear that this isn't *always* a good thing for the wellbeing of the actors - the USA and NYC in particular has a very strong work ethic that is very intense across multiple industries (I don't know if I personally could handle it). And the expectations in NYC are sometimes unreasonable. These people are human.

The main request I have is that producers won't rip people off by selling tickets on someone's name and then not delivering on this marketing by offering refunds or exchanges when they can't. My comment RE: work ethic was meant to be more in passing - I don't think this is actually the main issue. The main issue is producers.

2. I stand by my comments on London 'critics' sorry - there can be shockingly bad reviews that go beyond simply a difference of opinion sometimes because they get people to review shows who aren't 'theatre critics' they are journalists who have been hired to review shows. There is a big, big difference. In NYC there is a culture and tradition of genuine theatre criticism (and it's not without its faults).

3. You are taking my sunset boulevard quote out of context, or I didn't express myself well. To clarify, I am literally excited that once Sunset Boulevard has a cast recording and is on Broadway that the production will be seen by a greater audience.......because of both channels. I am excited at it continuing. I do think NYC Broadway is the closest thing we have to a world stage of musical theatre because it's the centre of musical theatre in the world, but I am certainly not suggesting at all, as your comment implies, that it's worth nothing until it gets to Broadway.

"

Sure, maybe I'm reading too much into passing comments, but apart from Whatsonstage, which reviews nearly all kinds of shows everywhere and thus hires a wide variety of people ( and even then, they a have a full-time chief critic, Sarah Crompton, who can be counted on to review all major or buzzy shows), nearly every paper has a full-time chief theatre critic and even the ones which don't like the Independent, only hires established critics who only do theatre. Guardian/Observer/ iNews/ Telegraph/Times/ FT/Variety/Metro/ Timeout/ the Stage/ Express, even rags like Daily Mail, spanning the entire spectrum of cultural and political leanings have full time critics. Susannah Clapp at the Observer has been a critic for nearly 30 years now.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "dramamama611 said: "The box office staff seems to be the last to know about these things. Casting, absences, vacations, etc."

It is not the box office's job to be the spokesperson for the show. Fielding questions from patrons about which actors are in & out really shouldn't fall on them. Thereshouldbe a better mechanism for communicating ins and outs than an easily-missed houseboard/TV screen and slips of paper, but in some cases those things aren't known til half hour."

1. I'm not blaming them, they aren't treated as part of the production and...

2. I think the box office SHOULD have the info as they are often the only "official" face patrons see.

I think, in this case, the production is between a rock and a hard place. They can't really say anything that Mendez doesn't approve, and it doesn't sound as if they KNOW when she'll be back.

I guess it is realistic to ask considering how they are promoting the show based on the three, and the high ticket price, why there is no media coverage of her absence.

Lea Michele's extended Funny Girl COVID absences were covered by the press, extensively. There were reports on the local news, as well. Even her non-COVID absences during the final week got some press.

As far as people not caring that Lindsay is out, the OP specifically said they were looking forward most to her performance, so, yeah, they care, and have every right to wonder what's going on.

Updated On: 11/28/23 at 09:34 AM

My Lea Michele comment was in response to the post directly above it saying that the press never covers Broadway absences. Obviously, I know it's not the same situation.

Maybe some people care, but people they don't ask for refunds. The show was 100% every week, with or without her. As I previously reported, Harry Potter+Groff+Sondheim are the reason this show is such a hit. Her being in the show or not, makes no difference to the producer's pockets. Lindsay is very successful, has a great voice, has a Tony Award, and she has made a lot of money in showbiz, she may be a big star in the future, but right now, her name doesn't equal sales. She is not responsible for even a 1% of the sales of the show.

It seems a bit odd they'd be shooting seven days a week but I suppose anything is possible now that the strike is over.