Mary Louise Burke - Balusters
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters
Swing Joined: 5/3/09
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#1
Posted: 5/23/26 at 6:17am
Anyone know what may be going on with Mary Louise Burke? She’s been out of the show since last Wednesday and hasn’t been back since. She’s out for the rest of this week too. Hope she is ok.
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#2
Posted: 5/23/26 at 6:58am
Oh, gosh. Hope she is okay. Definitely going to hurt her Tony chances too.
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#3
Posted: 5/23/26 at 7:16am
She’s been contending with an extended illness (though I don’t have deeper details) and is out on doctor’s orders. She is 82, so I can imagine whatever it is contending with/recovering from is being done with an abundance of caution.
Sophie Hayden is a Tony nominated actress in her own right, so I feel like she’s going to give you one hell of a performance.
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#4
Posted: 5/23/26 at 9:09am
I saw Hayden’s first performance last week and, aside from some tentativeness here and there, she was wonderful. Burke is such an idiosyncratic actor it was hard not to imagine what her line readings would have been, but Hayden was a delight. It was sweet to see the cast cheering her on at the curtain call.
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#5
Posted: 5/23/26 at 10:08am
iluvtheatertrash said: "Oh, gosh. Hope she is okay. Definitely going to hurt her Tony chances too."
Given she has a 0% chance of winning the Tony, I highly doubt this will affect her chances. Much more importantly, she's an 82 year old stage legend battling an illness. Let's keep the focus on that part.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#6
Posted: 5/23/26 at 12:02pm
I was sad when I learned MLB was out. Hayden was just okay, but it’s not a big part and didn’t really impact my appreciation of the play. I could pretty easily imagine what Burke would have done with it.
Richard Thomas and Anika were the standouts for me.
Wishing MLB a speedy recovery! One of our great theatrical treasures!
I kind of wish we got a pic of what the community looked like and a map of where all the neighbors live. Let’s see those houses from the outside! This is not a complaint or a wish for a cheat-sheet, just a testament to how well DLA wrote these people that you want to know more about them.
Broadway Star Joined: 10/13/06
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#7
Posted: 5/26/26 at 2:30pm
ErmengardeStopSniveling said:
"I kind of wish we got a pic of what the community looked like and a map of where all the neighbors live. Let’s see those houses from the outside!This is not a complaint or a wish for a cheat-sheet, just a testament to how well DLA wrote these people that you want to know more about them."
I did too. I could see this being successfully adapted to a series on one of the streamers.
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#8
Posted: 5/26/26 at 4:32pm
Broadway61004, I literally said "Oh, gosh. Hope she is okay." That was the first thing I said. And then I made an observation about the Tony because many of us have expressed we'd love to see her win for a life in the theatre. Take a breath.
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#9
Posted: 5/30/26 at 8:01pm
Has Sophie Hayden officially replaced Mary Louise Burke? I saw the play this afternoon. Sophie is no longer listed as an understudy. Penny and Ruth are now both being understudied by Glynis Bell. It seems to have been a while since MLB actually performed the role.
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#10
Posted: 5/30/26 at 10:21pm
Mary Louise Burk performed on Sunday, May 10 and I believe she performed on Tuesday, May 12 and hasn't performed since, so if they have bumped the understudy up to take over the role for the remainder of the run they've done so quietly without a press release.
Swing Joined: 5/3/09
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#11
Posted: 5/31/26 at 8:39am
It's an equity rule that if an understudy plays the role consecutively for a length of time that they no longer can technically be considered an understudy. They must be placed on contract as performing the role.
Swing Joined: 11/11/16
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#12
Posted: 5/31/26 at 10:18am
I was there 5/29 and the Playbill still listed Sophie Hayden as the understudy then (insert from Playbill below). Sophie and Glynis Bell are both on website right now as understudies for Ruth and Penny. Same here, wishing the best for Marylouise.
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#13
Posted: 6/10/26 at 4:30pm
Based on the information I was given, plus an Instagram post by Sophie, Marylouise has not been back to the production and Sophie Hayden will remain in the role. It is not likely MLB will return
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#15
Posted: 6/10/26 at 5:33pm
JMH27 said: "Was MLB at the Tony Awards on Sunday?"
I didn’t see her there and I didn’t see any pictures of her from that night. At the ceremony, they only show the stills of the nominees and not the reaction closeups you get at home. That would’ve been the only way to tell.
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#16
Posted: 6/10/26 at 7:49pm
Hope MLB is okay. She's always such a delight on stage.
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#17
Posted: 6/11/26 at 7:43am
Understudies.com is now listing Sophie Hayden as appearing in all remaining performances through the closing date, June 21. I really hope Marylouise is okay.
Mary Louise Burke - Balusters#18
Posted: 6/11/26 at 8:33am
JMH27 said: "Was MLB at the Tony Awards on Sunday?"
Yes, I believe I saw here seated in the audience and wondered if she had returned to the show. But sitting down for an award ceremony you can leave at any time is not the same as having to perform in front of an audience.
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