Renee Fleming: A Real Pro

I bought tickets to the Saturday evening performance of Carousel with the hopes of seeing Renee Fleming before she left the show. I then discovered that she would be singing Danny Boy at John McCain's funeral that morning and figured that there was no way she would fly back to NYC on this day to play the evening performance. I just knew her understudy would go on. I was so wrong. This magnificent pro not only sang a moving tribute to John McCain in DC in the morning but she returned to Broadway to lend her glorious voice to a stirring rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone. She was magnificent. It makes me wonder what other Broadway stars would have operated in the same way under these circumstances.

Updated On: 9/3/18 at 07:44 PM

Honestly? Lots likely would have done so.

Nothing compared to Stritch's story of her dash to Boston from Broadway!

mtcond said: "It was also her final performance in the show. She had a leave of absence scheduled that started this week, but now she won’t be returning before the September 16 closing. Which also might explain her extended entrance applause, though with her appearance at the McCain funeral earlier in the day her applause was earned several times over. We are lucky to have her forever on the magnificent cast recording."

Her final performance was actually on Sunday night, and she received thunderous applause at her entrance, after #YNWA and especially at curtain call. Sadly, she slipped and fell after taking her bow but she stood up, brushed it off smiling the whole time. A pro indeed.