SOR Alex Brightman missing ALOT of performances — Page 5

From Brightman's blurb: "If I feel something coming on, a tickle in my throat — even if it’s a piece of popcorn — I’ll drink a little extra grapefruit juice, steam a little more and shoot Afrin in my nose just to make sure my body knows that I’m in charge."

Hope he's not using Afrin super regularly. That stuff is good to get you through a day when you absolutely cannot afford to be congested but it's pretty damaging if used regularly.

NJ_BroadwayGirl said: "From Brightman's blurb: "If I feel something coming on, a tickle in my throat — even if it’s a piece of popcorn — I’ll drink a little extra grapefruit juice, steam a little more and shoot Afrin in my nose just to make sure my body knows that I’m in charge."

Hope he's not using Afrin super regularly. That stuff is good to get you through a day when you absolutely cannot afford to be congested but it's pretty damaging if used regularly."

Oh dear lord. Normally I just roll my eyes at all the various desperate and weird attempts to self-manage pre-illness (if someone wants to eat sixteen oranges a day in a painful yoga position to avoid that cold virus, fine, whatever), but drugs are not to be trifled with. Lost effectiveness when overused, producing other side effects and long-term damage as you say. And that's not even mentioning addiction potential in a number of drugs. Anyway: Rebound congestion, Alex.

^It's the same thing with people being obsessed with extreme "detox" treatments. That's not how your body works or what it needs. At the very least these people should take physiology courses.

If one wanted to catch Brightman's performance, which day would be the safest bet? Tuesday? From this thread I gather no matinees.

I wonder if his weight gain required for the role had anything to do with changing to only 6 shows a week? That might have something to do with his stamina required for the role.

I think he said about 40 pounds he put on for the role. Though the role of Tracy in HAIRSPRAY is equally physically challenging, and no one ever playing the role dropped down to 6 shows/week.

lost 40 pounds?!?! Really?? Read any interview he did during previews & workshops for the show & he admits to gaining the weight. Also, look at pictures of him in SCHOOL OF ROCK & pictures of him before, he's clearly gained weight for the role.

"And with previews underway and two weeks left until opening, Brightman is working on more than just the show. He was originally asked to gain weight for the role—he put on 35 pounds—the creative team has asked him to lose a lot of it so he doesn’t hurt himself with all the jumping around and picking up the kids."

http://broadwaystyleguide.com/2015/11/alex-brightman-hes-the-guy/

In his Theater People podcast interview he said he's lost 40lbs since the show started.

Will Blum does the matinees now, and he is excellent.

Does anyone know what is happening with Alex and Wednesday matinee's now that there is only one performance that day?

I attended the evening performance on July 10th. I get to my seat after looking at the cast list on my way in, open my playbill to find that Alex AND Sierra were out. As bummed as I was, I'm always very optimistic and excited to see someone who doesn't get the opportunity to perform everyday. I saw David Merritt Janes as Dewy and Mamie Paris as Rosalie. David was good, but Alex definitely brings something special to the role (when he's on). Mamie blew my socks off! I was on board with her performance from very early on. I thought her voice was MUCH more suited for "Where Did the Rock Go" than Sierra's. If anyone else has seen Mamie or David, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Ok the Tonys are over, its obvious to the die hard fans of SOR that Alex cannot handle doing more than 5 to 6 shows per week, I think the management team owes it to the fans to finally establish a scheduled alt for the role of Dewey, people are paying ALOT of $$$$$ on theater tickets and should know which days Alex will be off, so they wont be disappointed seeing his name on the understudy board as it so frequently is.

And here's the link. Ta-da!

https://twitter.com/understudies/status/759097955060183041