SOR Alex Brightman missing ALOT of performances — Page 4

Back in the day (circa '80), LuPone came under fire for doing only 6 "Evitas" a week, yet performing her club act on Saturday nights at Les Mouches over months. The "Evita" schedule was laid down by the Stigwood organization, with one supposes, Prince's endorsement, not LuPone's contract. At the time -- we had no cyber world -- people criticized her heavily for mocking the stringent demands of the role, "missing" matinees, while doing a vocally demanding cabaret act only 90 minutes after the Saturday curtain fell. In truth, LuPone had zero to do with how many times she played Eva. Her infamous vocal problems with the score, as she noted in the most lucid and truthful part of her book, weren't about her voice being taxed per se, but about negotiating the rangy demands. She admitted she was as likely to blow out her voice on a Monday night as later in the week. It was about the nightly attack.

When people talk about "vocal" problems: I've heard singers say it's not what we non-singers believe; sometimes the voice can be more supple and in better shape later in a week than at the top, if one sings properly. It can be tighter and less flexible at the start. So it's not clear that buying seats on, say, a Tuesday or Wednesday means the star is experiencing better vocal health

Updated On: 2/22/16 at 07:03 AM

He was out of today's matinee again. Still enjoyed the show (the kids are fantastic!), but bummed that I missed what many of you said is a great performance.

I saw Lupoke mid-cold. She has a tissue up her sleeve and still killed it. Now that's a professional.

And that's the difference between the stars of the old school, and the "stars" of today.

jv92 said: "I saw Lupoke mid-cold. She has a tissue up her sleeve and still killed it. Now that's a professional.

And that's the difference between the stars of the old school, and the "stars" of today."

"Gypsy" is a monster of an acting role, but it's not as tough a sing as it has the reputation for being. Nowhere near as hard as "Evita," for example. Rose has two huge belting songs, and some midsize songs, but she also has a few quiet little gems--which are what's *actually* missing from today's musicals. It's also not a rangy sing at all. Don't think it belts higher than a C or C sharp, although there may be the odd D in there.

The role definitely took a toll on Bernadette Peters, who is amazing but just has a smaller instrument. For someone like LuPone to sing it is kind of like rolling out of bed. It just suits her voice, like Reno Sweeney would suit her voice...far more than ANYONE's voice is suited to "Evita" (a fun sing nonetheless).

Updated On: 2/25/16 at 08:41 AM

Kad said: "RippedMan said: "Does his pay change? How does it work as an actor for his paycheck? "

He's paid per week, not per performance, so as long as he has allotted time off he can use, and gives the producers enough time in advance, they probably won't dock pay"

This is incorrect. After an actor's annual sick days are used (I believe it's five), they do not get paid for shows they miss. Yes there is a weekly salary, but for every show called out, they are docked 1/8th of their salary. An understudy performing a role receives an additional 1/8 of his/her normal salary -- in other words, the understudy gets paid double time for that performance.

He's been averaging two misses per week. Get an alternate. It's really not that hard.

I don't understand what the problem is. The only people who are suffering are the ticket buyers showing up expecting to see him.

As much as I adore Alex, and his role in this show, his absence doesn't surprise me in THE SLIGHTEST. Simply put, when you listen to the cast recording of the show versus the many live TV appearances and his performance in the actual shows, you can tell how much they changed the intense belting section and sharp key changes towards the end - particularly when he does "There's no way you can stop the School of Rock" - he goes a whole range lower in all the promotional material I've seen versus what is on the OCR.

If that isn't a sign that this is vocally taxing on him, I don't know what is. And I'm sure it won't be long before they have to officially give him an alternative/find a replacement. :/

Updated On: 2/25/16 at 04:12 PM

May I suggest that someone create the STREISAND/MURPHY scale to rate performer's attendance? Streisand famously never missed a performance of Funny Girl and Donna Murphy missed so many her last time out that it's likely to be the last time a producer invites her to perform.

I see that folks are also giving praise to Patti Lupone, so maybe we can include her somewhere on the scale.

As to Mr. Brightman's not being at performances, I can only say that as someone who travels into NYC to see Broadway theatre and does not have the option to cash out a ticket and come back next week, I expect the performers to be on stage unless there is something "unexpected" -- like an injury or illness. Otherwise, if the role is to rotate (and there's nothing wrong with that), it should be clearly announced way in advance -- either like Hamilton (with certain performances being performed by x), or Matilda/Billy Elliott where we all knew that we just were not going to know until we walked into the outer lobby and looked at the board.

Why would producers want to hush up something like a vocal injury?

But really, what performers DO (or did) frequently skip out simply because they don't want to perform a given day? Surely such a mindset must be exceedingly rare or limited to a subset of the performers who never pursued Broadway as a career staple to begin with.

Mike66 said: "Donna Murphy missed so many her last time out that it's likely to be the last time a producer invites her to perform."

What a moronic thing to say. Not only did she have a vocal cord injury as stated above, but Wonderful Town wasn't even the last time she appeared in a major New York production. Since then, she's appeared in Lovemusik and The People in the Picture on Broadway and Into the Woods in Central Park. And she barely missed any performances during her run in any of those shows (not to mention that she was nominated for Tonys for both of the Broadway shows AND won a Drama Desk for Lovemusik). Maybe you should think before you speak?

Updated On: 2/25/16 at 05:35 PM

This is why I want to be a professional voice teacher and performer to bring back some of that healthy singing that seems to have escaped so many current Broadway actors.

Brightman is indeed currently on a 6 performances a week schedule. Not sure if it's permanent.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/11/theater/how-broadway-actors-stay-healthy.html?ref=theater&_r=1