NBC's ANNIE LIVE! (2021) - News & Discussion Thread- Page 16

[ACL2006]

Posted: 11/12/21 at 6:08pm

everythingtaboo said: "Talk about a bombshell announcement!

Megan Hilty Steps In As Replacement For Covid-Struck Jane Krakowski In ‘Annie Live!’"

I might actually watch this now.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 11/12/21 at 6:17pm

Worth noting that Megan Hilty played this role in the Hollywood Bowl production a few years ago - I was lucky enough to see it. She was as good as one might expect. Not the comedic genius of her performance in Noises Off, but very solid nonetheless. I'm excited to see her take another crack at it, but I was looking forward to seeing Krakowski give it a go. 

[adotburr]

Posted: 11/12/21 at 6:17pm

ACL2006 said: "everythingtaboo said: "Talk about a bombshell announcement!

Megan Hilty Steps In As Replacement For Covid-Struck Jane Krakowski In ‘Annie Live!’"

I might actually watch this now."

Was thinking this very same thing. Not a huge Annie fan but I’ll check it out now. 

Updated On: 11/12/21 at 06:17 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 11/12/21 at 6:17pm

WOW

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 11/12/21 at 6:31pm

JBroadway said: "Worth noting that Megan Hilty played this role in the Hollywood Bowl production a few years ago - I was lucky enough to see it. She was as good as one might expect. Not the comedic genius of her performance in Noises Off, but very solid nonetheless. I'm excited to see her take another crack at it, but I was looking forward to seeing Krakowski give it a go."

Hilty with Roger Bart (Rooster) and Ana Gasteyer (Hannigan)

[ggersten]

Posted: 11/12/21 at 7:59pm

Bernadette Peters, Kristin Chenoweth, Megan Hilty.

[pmensky]

Posted: 11/12/21 at 8:15pm

Does anyone know what they would do if there was an outbreak in the cast on or before the day of the show? Would they shut it down like they shut down Chicken and Biscuits and the various shows on the West End that faced this problem?

[latitudex1]

Posted: 11/12/21 at 8:37pm

pmensky said: "Does anyone know what they would do if there was an outbreak in the cast on or before the day of the show? Would they shut it down like they shut down Chicken and Biscuits and the various shows on the West End that faced this problem?"

I believe every lead has an understudy for probably that exact purpose.

[pmensky]

Posted: 11/12/21 at 8:41pm

latitudex1 said: "pmensky said: "Does anyone know what they would do if there was an outbreak in the cast on or before the day of the show? Would they shut it down like they shut down Chicken and Biscuits and the various shows on the West End that faced this problem?"

I believe every lead has an understudy for probably that exact purpose."

Yes, I’m aware there are understudies, but if both an understudy and a lead both test positive, then what? The understudies are active members of the ensemble. They’re not standbys being isolated in quarantine..

[HogansHero]

Posted: 11/12/21 at 9:39pm

@pmensky Obviously, if there is no uninfected person available for every role, they would not be able to move forward. They are not going to have a contagious person performing. It's a familiar property to a lot of actors so it may be possible to fill in for at least some roles with minimal rehearsal, but if your scenario came true, they would obviously have no choice but to postpone or cancel. And yes it would be a disaster for them. 

[Tag]

Posted: 11/12/21 at 9:50pm

pmensky said: "Does anyone know what they would do if there was an outbreak in the cast on or before the day of the show? Would they shut it down like they shut down Chicken and Biscuits and the various shows on the West End that faced this problem?"

We've seen this type of situation before with Rent.  They cobble together dress rehearsal footage and air that.  I can't imagine these live shows aren't safeguarding themselves (in addition to having understudies) with good quality, ready-to-go, rehearsal footage.  They'd be foolish not to after the Rent debacle.

[SpiritualGangster]

Posted: 11/12/21 at 11:10pm

ggersten said: "Bernadette Peters, Kristin Chenoweth, Megan Hilty."

You forgot to acknowledge Barbara Erwin who originated the role in the Original Broadway Production…let’s give credit where credit is due, shall we?

 

[bjh2114]

Posted: 11/13/21 at 12:25am

SpiritualGangster said: "ggersten said: "Bernadette Peters, Kristin Chenoweth, Megan Hilty."

You forgot to acknowledge Barbara Erwin who originated the role in the Original Broadway Production…let’s give credit where credit is due, shall we?"

Well to be fair they also didn't mention J Elaine Marcos or Karen Byers-Blackwell from the two Broadway revivals. Pretty sure they were just focusing on the filmed versions...

[jlindsey865]

Posted: 11/13/21 at 12:48am

SpiritualGangster said: "ggersten said: "Bernadette Peters, Kristin Chenoweth, Megan Hilty."

You forgot to acknowledge Barbara Erwin who originated the role in the Original Broadway Production…let’s give credit where credit is due, shall we?

"

Yes.

And plz don’t forget Christina C. who played the role in a dinner theatre production I did two years ago. #creditdue

[SpiritualGangster]

Posted: 11/13/21 at 1:02am

SMDH….

 

Updated On: 11/13/21 at 01:02 AM

[ksdc]

Posted: 11/13/21 at 1:23pm

Sergio’s recent Instagram post refers to “Gold Cast.” Wonder if this means there is more than one cast. There are certainly more orphans that the usual 6+Annie so perhaps some are understudies. 

Edit: actually Gold Coast is a studio being used by the production. So I guess no alternate casts. 

Updated On: 11/13/21 at 01:23 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 11/13/21 at 2:18pm

Tag said: "pmensky said: "Does anyone know what they would do if there was an outbreak in the cast on or before the day of the show? Would they shut it down like they shut down Chicken and Biscuits and the various shows on the West End that faced this problem?"

We've seen this type of situation before with Rent. They cobble together dress rehearsal footage and air that. I can't imagine these live shows aren't safeguarding themselves (in addition to having understudies) with good quality, ready-to-go, rehearsal footage. They'd be foolish not to after the Rent debacle."

Due to what transpired with RENT Live!, they now film the earlier dress rehearsal full-out as if it’s the live performance.  The actors in RENT Live! didn’t perform the dress rehearsal full-out, which they admit to regretting later as it wasn’t intended to be used, so now everything is performed full-out just in case.  No marking.  The 3pm ANNIE Live! dress rehearsal is being filmed with a full audience identical to the live 8pm performance (different audiences). If the 8pm live performance has issues, the 3pm dress rehearsal filming is their back-up.  

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 11/13/21 at 2:38pm

That's all well and good but if the positive test manifests before the 3PM dress (and I would imagine it would almost always), aren't they still in the same place? Am I missing something? I see how that filming would save the show if someone broke their leg, but I don't see how it helps in this context.

[pmensky]

Posted: 11/13/21 at 3:06pm

HogansHero said: "That's all well and good but if the positive test manifests before the 3PM dress (and I would imagine it would almost always), aren't they still in the same place? Am I missing something? I see how that filming would save the show if someone broke their leg, but I don't see how it helps in this context."

I would think the goal would be to get as many runs in early and as much footage captured in case something happens. Whether or not they’re capable of running the show earlier than a couple days before it airs would be the question. Hopefully they’ve worked it out.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 11/13/21 at 4:00pm

I had a friend in PETER PAN Live! and he said they did about 10 full performances prior to the live performance.  He said they were mostly for camera blocking purposes and timing, but they did the show from start-to-finish in real-time (timing the commercials) about 10 times. I’m sure these are being treated more seriously than before so they most likely will have a full, perfectly edited back-up to use in case of anything.  

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 11/13/21 at 4:27pm

HogansHero said: "That's all well and good but if the positive test manifests before the 3PM dress (and I would imagine it would almost always), aren't they still in the same place? Am I missing something? I see how that filming would save the show if someone broke their leg, but I don't see how it helps in this context."

I guess that’s just the risk they’re taking. It certainly raises the stakes even higher than the already high stakes of these live shows. Maybe they have some sort of insurance in place for if they have to cancel altogether.

[Loopin’theloop]

Posted: 11/14/21 at 8:59am

joevitus said: "Kad said: "Does it read as "Annie"?

Yes.

That's all the matters.

We are so far removed from the source material comic strip at this point, does it even matter, anyway?"

It matters to me. And I've had this complaint since the Rob Marshall t.v. version (which is where I think changing the dress and hair stems from). It erases Harold Grey completely from the work that originates with him. There isn't a whole lot of Little Orphan Annie in Annie, and that's fine, but there should be something left."

The only time anything ‘should’ be including in a play or musical is if it is essential to the storytelling.   End of 

 

[Loopin’theloop]

Posted: 11/14/21 at 9:03am

That’s a really sweet cameo for Andrea McCardle, having her as Eleanor Roosevelt meaning she gets a verse of tomorrow. 

[MissJennifer]

Posted: 11/14/21 at 10:09am

Regarding how much of Harold Gray is left in the show after all these revisions...

With all due respect to these posters and to Gray, the original stage show had wandered far afield from Gray's original strip even in its earliest form. Gray would have spit NAILS if he'd seen a show based on his work that presented FDR and the New Deal in a sympathetic light, and even had a song praising the New Deal...he hated FDR and his New Deal like poison! It seemed every other strip in the thirties and forties had Warbucks slamming both...Warbucks even faked his death for a time while FDR was president but returned after FDR's death because "the climate of the country agrees with me more now." Gray believed strongly in the pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps philosophy and thought the New Deal interfered too much in people's lives and encouraged them to become too soft. So I'm not too bugged about further revisions that wander afield from Gray, since the original show did that in the first place! 

[BwayLB]

Posted: 11/14/21 at 11:23am

I first saw Megan play Glinda in LA back in 2007. Been a fan of her since