In the original Mame, Angie was succeeded by Celeste Holm during her vacation and who later did a tour, Janis Paige, Jane Morgan and finally Ann Miller. There may have been others.
I think for Ann Miller That's How Young I Feel was rechoreographed so Annie could do her patented taps.
The woefully produced 1983 production probably had no understudy except on paper. If Angie was sick, there would be no show.
This production was to have played 6-8 weeks at the Academy of Music in Philly and then come in. It opened there to respectful notices, but not really money reviews, and the advance was small. Producer Mitch Leigh (also the composer of La Mancha) opted to close in Philly after a week and move to New York opening mid-summer at the Gershwin with NO advance. The decision to open in New York was made so quickly and so late that there were no ads in that Sunday's papers. The first ones appeared Monday for a first preview on Wednesday.
I was at the first preview that was 3/4s full and probably had about a thousand dollars in sales. The rest was paper.
Rarely have I heard such a warm welcome for a show. It was all people in the business or on the edges of it. Lansbury's entrance stopped the show. All she did was blow the bugle. Bosom Buddies stopped it cold. Angie and Ann Francine took improvised bows after it so the audience would stop applauding. The curtain calls went on and on. It was an affectionate gesture to a good show with a much-loved star that was limping back into town after being injured on the road.
After a short preview period it opened. They made it through about 5 money-losing weeks before Mitch Leigh pulled the plug. Ironically in the last week the gross which was inching up each week, came pretty close to break even.
I don't think Angie appeared again in a musical until Night Music.
"If my life weren't funny, it would just be true. And that would be unacceptable."
--Carrie Fisher
