Patti Cohenour as Christine Daae — Page 2

Also consider that it may not be appropriate to take on a taxing role and perform it eight times a week before the vocal mechanism is more mature. In opera, too, there are young roles that only more mature voices attempt, for the artist's sake and in the interest of not taking on something that requires stamina and experience.

Sarah Brightman and Andrew Lloyd Webber were still married when the show opened on Broadway.

Patti Cohenour was the first alternate Christine. Rebecca was an understudy when the show first opened. I worked at the show when it premiered on Broadway.

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Updated On: 2/11/07 at 08:14 PM

Let's not forget that Andrew wrote POTP for his wife Sarah. It was "her show," which is why he did threaten to cancel plans for opening the show in NY if she was denied the opportunity to play the part, when she expressed interest. Of course when it opened, it was "Michael Crawford's show." So much for Sarah.

It's all pretty complicated. I was living in NY at the time, and knew several of the people directly involved in the drama when Patti first auditioned (a 3-hour private audition!), got the part, was told she might not actually play the part in the end, then took a back seat to Sarah's "crossing the pond."

It did come down to having Sarah in the show, or having no show at all on Broadway. But initially Sarah wasn't interested in doing the show in NY... there were games being played in London and NY... Patti was used as a bit of a pawn in this game... they went ahead and cast her as Christine, told Sarah, "Look, we already have someone who can play the part beautifully," etc. Then finally, Sarah said she wanted to play it in NY, and everything shifted. No wonder Patti was disillusioned with the business after that experience.

FYI, there was never a question about Crawford coming over. He was locked from the start as the Phantom, and American Equity was only too happy to grant him permission to appear in the NY production.

Such drama! God, it makes me queasy just remembering all of that crap.

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Oh, I wasn't aware that Jersey Boys had a regular alternate...has that always been the case or did they start that later in the run?


They just started it within the last few months.

Absolutely, Dottie!

Patti was brilliant in the part.

Sarah actually got a review that said...

"She couldn't act scared on a subway at 3 o'clock in the morning."

Ouch!

Meanwhile, Patti stood by anonymously and didn't get any opening night reviews.

I felt just as bad for Terri Klausner in Evita as well.

Just as they reach what might be the zenith of their careers, they end up one microscopic degree away from it, singing "The Alternate's Blues."

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In the world of opera...and essentially, Phantom of the Opera is as close as you'll get in the musical theatre world--older women very often play younger girls, because of the maturity needed to play them and because of the vocal demands.

Best12, I'm sorry I didn't get to see Terri as the alternate Eva (she had already left the show when I saw it). She's from my hometown, so I got to see her perform at a summer arts festival one year.

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I'm not sure why we should feel that bad for the alternate Eva Peron and Christine Daaes. They made huge paychecks.

MB---That's assuming they were in it for the money.

I don't think that could be said of any of these ladies.

Way too cynical a viewpoint, in my opinion.


EDIT: That philosophy might have made sense for something like "Wicked" when the paychecks are inflated and some serious cash is at stake, but just how much do you think Terri Klausner made on Evita, or Patti Cohenour made on Phantom?

Not very much AT ALL, if you put it in perspective, and consider the decade we're talking about.

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Updated On: 2/11/07 at 09:16 PM

MB---I dare say you don't know any of the people involved in such a gig.

I do.

And you're wrong. If they wanted serious paychecks they would have gone to Hollywood, like everyone else who wants to perform with dollar signs in their eyes.

Nobody ever retired being an alternate lead on Broadway.

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on the subject of older performers playing teens the casts of wicked and rent come to mind

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Yes, Julie Hanson is in her mid-20s and has been playing the role on and off for years...and doing a great job of it.

Sierra Boggess is 24 and is an awesome Christine, too.

I definitely prefer younger Christines in terms of looks. While I love Beth Southard's voice, I cannot believe that she's Christine because she looks too old.

Best12 - Fair enough. And like I said, I don't know what Cohenour was paid - obviously it was a small fraction compared to Brightman's "star" salary. Hers is a unique situation and being offered a role only to have it "demoted" is understandably a mortifying Broadway experience. Particularly as Cohenour was already a Tony nominee and probably wouldn't have taken the gig to be Sarah's cover.

But - what the non-star Christine alterates make in 2007 is incredibly fair compensation compared to what the full time Christines make (performing six extra shows a week!)