Roger Bart Scheduled to Return to YF — Page 2

"Are my suspicions coming true here. Are they fading Mr Bart out? After all he is the one cast member to get weak reviews so far. I saw it last week and agreed that, allthough he's very good i just thought he was miscast. It wont be the first time a situation like this has come up on Broadway or in London."

I doubt that this is a calculated ploy to replace BART.

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I don't agree with Reidel's assessment that Matthew Broderick lost out on the lead in Young Frankenstein because of his "hapless" performance in the Odd Couple. I think he lost out because Mel Brooks decided it was more lucrative to his pocketbook not to have a star whose name would be above title. Since Broderick's name has been above title in every musical he has been in, that is a more realistic reason not to have cast Broderick in the role. And since Broderick seems to be doing very well these days with several movies about to come out and his Off-Broadway show, The Starry Messenger scheduled for early 2008, I don't think he really needs the gig. Mel's loss, IMO.

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I agree with you Diva. To have Roger be pumped with drugs is a big mistake and not worth the risk to his future. I hope he gets well soon!!

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Sorry, but if anyone here thinks that doing this show would not be harmful for Bart when he has a herniated disc, then you don't understand the condition. Walking can be a problem when you have a herniated disc and depending on how bad the disc herniation is, any physical activity like dancing, etc. can make the injury worse.

No one's health and future career is worth pumping up with cortisone to get through a performance. As I said in another thread on this topic, Lane had the same problem in the U.K. in the Producers and he tried to work through it and ended up in really bad shape. He is fortunate that he is doing OK now. This is nothing to mess around with. If Bart is in fact coming back tonight and he is OK, good for him, but anyone who has had a career on stage understands the pressure of carrying a show on your shoulders and you can easily talk yourself into trying to do a show when you are sick, based on the premise that the show must go on. I've done it and have been sick a lot longer than I would have if I had just taken a few more days off.

These are people we are talking about...not machines. If Bart can't make it for the critics, it is an unfortunate situation, but it would not be the first time. And Brooks should have considered a better known name for a "standby" than just to shove a kid in as understudy, though I heard Matthew is doing a respectable job.

The whole situation is unfortunate. I hope Bart is going to be OK.

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Yes, the most important thing is that Roger is healthy. The show is the show and it will do fine and it's not worth the risk for Roger.

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Hello all. Too bad Cheyenne Jackson is busy with another role at the moment. If the powers that be decided to find someone to take over Roger Bart's role while he heals, who is currently "available" who can do justice to the role? Just wondering... from RC in Austin, Texas...

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Someone posted he was still performing on Oct. 13. That is less than a month for rehabilitation. I don't know of anyone who can work that kind of miracle within that time frame. He would need at least a month's rest.

I hope he doesn't go through with it. Someone else will be able to play the part. A lot of bad luck going around though. The show has it's reputation to stand on. I agree that they really should have had a more suitable stand-by for the lead. I do believe the Man playing the part is very good but he does look young for the part. Maybe too much of a stretch for the good Doctor?

I know Broderick could handle the role but isn't he doing something else right now? Is there someone else you believe could fit the role as well? I would love for Bart to play the part but realistically, it would be unbelievable for me to imagine that he isn't racked with pain and killing himself with every move he made. I wouldn't want to be in the audience when he re-injures himself again.

I wasn't trying to be insensitive to what Bart must be going through. I just know how stubborn people are, so immediately a few solutions popped into my head. I wasn't sure how serious it was after reading the press release that announced Bart would show up for pre-views. Now I would just like to see them concentrating on a temporary replacement.

One of my Teachers had a slipped disc, had to go into tractions the whole painful recovery. She didn't have to dance or sing and was out for two months. I am so sorry for Bart because I don't want him to suffer at all but something like this just shouldn't be covered up or ignored.

Yes, it would be wiser for Roger to take more time off so he doesn't re-injure himself. I don't know how strenuous this role is in terms of physical comedy, but the back is a tricky thing and any little twist or turn could do permanent damage.

As far as Broderick goes, he is filming a movie in Louisana and has committed to his friend's play at MTC in February. Plus, there's no way he is going to bail out Brooks again since Mel initially promised him this role years ago and then decided to save some $ and get actors that would work under the title. Hopefully Roger will be ok eventually and can return to the role. In the meantime, they better give the understudy all the support they can.

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From what I've heard, Roger's first time out was exactly a week ago, October 20th. He may be making a return on Monday.

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Sometimes it just sucks being right. I didn't think he would do the smart thing. How will he be able to give a great performance? Well, maybe they found that ether after all.

This just makes Mel look worse. He is the boss and should have insisted on a full recovery. The show could have gone on and Bart could have made a triumphant entrance a month from now, proving what a great guy Mel was for making sure his cast was not put at risk of any further injury.

It just makes those people over at Xandu look that much better for thinking of their leads future over the risk of the show. Here they did even better than they could have hoped for. You can bet, I will make it out to see Xandu when the tour comes out to San Francisco. Maybe even pick it up when I make it back to New York this Spring.

I'm a little surprised that Opening Night isn't being postponed. The average person with tickets to the show doesn't know whether the show is in previews and isn't going to care, and the extra time makes Mel look good and also gives the creative team more time to improve things.

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"Your sentiment is endearing, but being a great guy doesn't help recoup a $20,000,000 investment." wbaf


Putting an Actor up there who is suffering from a severe back injury will just be sad not funny. Some may laugh because they don't realize it isn't an act but most people can read a newspaper. If he just pulled a muscle, I would feel differently.

I'm afraid that this move makes me really want to reconsider if this is the show I really want to see. I was willing to ignore some bad songs because I liked the Movie. I thought it would be fun to see it played out on a stage and I really enjoyed Sutton Foster in The Drowsy Chaperone.

She will be in other shows. I just cannot ignore or pretend that Bart will not be suffering up there on stage. I have had several back injuries throughout my life. Now because of them, my life has become very limited compared to what I was once capable of doing. How can I support his doing something like this?

I'm sorry. I don't feel you are taking sides with that comment but it doesn't change how I feel about this move.