Satine mid-show switch @ Moulin Rouge 1/1? — Page 2

She did 7 shows the week of Christmas. It's interesting, women like Idina Menzel and Laura Benanti have received criticism about their attendance (If/Then & My Fair Lady) on Twitter/Instagram, but I have never seen anyone say a thing to Karen. Weird.

I have seen MR 3 times and loved every time; she was in it all three times. She gave fine performances all three times. I have never felt, however, that she was critical to the show's success. I personally believe anyone of a certain age with talent could succeed in that role.

It is not like it's Dolly, Mame, Charity, Evita, Reno Sweeney, etc., etc. MR is an ensemble show IMO if ever there was one. Since she is not a box office attraction, she had better watch out, as she is replaceable; and this of all the great publicity if MR fired their leading lady for a poor attendance track record.

Y’all are on crack

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When I saw Hamilton Chicago in the summer of 2017 she was out. Don't know the track record she had on that, but its a guarantee that no matter what show she is in, no matter when I go to see it, I will see Karen Olivo's Understudy..

In The Heights - U/S (Krista Rodriguez was AMAZING)

West Side Story - U/S (Natalie Cortez was AMAZING)

Hamilton (Chi) - U/S (whichever U/S on was AMAZING)

The only time I have seen her live was Brooklyn.. before the current track record seems to have begun.

The problem with spotty attendance is that it is so subjective. Unless you have some master list when she actually showed up, called out, was out sick, was taking a planned absence... we're just sort of speculating. Even the random reports here leave out the vast majority of dates.

For example, every time I've gone to a show, she's been in? So, if I think she has 100% attendance, based on my personal experience, I'm correct. Which is why this stuff always seems hard to assess...

The OP is not lying. I don’t know about now, but The understudy board used to be in the box office part of the lobby on the right wall next to the seating chart back during legally blonde and west side story, when the Times Square information center was next door.

I saw in the heights over 20 times and every time Karen was in the show, she was always in and I know I met her at the stage door more than once and I don’t have any recollection of her being anything but pleasant. She was out the second time I saw WSS, but I’ve seen moulin rouge twice now and she was there both times while Danny Burstein was out the second time.

We need to be grateful that if you care that much about seeing anybody on broadway, the box office is always more than willing to exchange tickets so you can do so. In London, I paid for Dreamgirls far more times than I care to admit so I could see Amber Riley in the show, because they will not exchange a ticket in the west end no matter what.

I agree that it's a little ridiculous to make this discussion about race, especially considering that yes, there are multiple performers of different races that have stirred up controversy here for similar things. Mainly I was curious if anything occurred during the performance I attended that I may have missed.

I can't speak to her attendance (she's been on every time I've seen a show she was in--WSS, Murder Ballad, In the Heights, Brooklyn), but as for the question of whether to see it without her, I personally found her performance the only reason to see the show. That said, I wasn't a fan of the show. People who love it seem to love the whole thing, and I think I'm in the minority, but I would say try to reschedule if possible if she's out. As far as Burstein, he's one of my favorite performers, but I don't think his role allows him the opportunity to do anything special enough that would make his performance a must see.

People have called out white people forever on this board for missing performances. So, the person accusing people of being racist regarding Karen is just ridiculous.

Donna Murphy in Wonderful Town and Bernadette Peters in Gypsy also had their attendance scrutinized. Chad Kimball in Memphis as well (and the latter missed a significant number of performances).

Considering he had severe nerve damage and couldn't lift his arms for an entire year, I think he gets a pass.

''Considering [Chad Kimball} had severe nerve damage and couldn't lift his arms for an entire year, I think he gets a pass.''

I interviewed Chad Kimball for Talkin' Broadway in 2012 and asked him about his missed performances in ''Memphis,'' and the Tony nominee said: ''I had nerve damage for eight months before it was diagnosed. I thought it was just aches from doing the show, but when I couldn't raise my arm above my shoulder, I knew something was going on. It was called brachial plexus nerve damage of the severe sort. I also had a cervical sprain. ...Some really great physicians got me through it, and I'm happy to say that I'm almost back to 100%, and I'm so thankful. Memphis also was physically the most demanding show I've ever done. As Huey, I was onstage practically the entire time, and when I wasn't, I was changing clothes and coming right back on.''

Asked if he was concerned about the criticism over his missing shows, Kimball said: ''Yeah, it's hard because you want people to know you're struggling with something and that's why there are absences, but you can't please everyone. Some will misread the situation, and that's just the way it is. What they didn't understand was my absolute love of the show. I wanted to do every single performance, but my body wouldn't allow it. For awhile, I was doing physical therapy, so I did only six shows a week. But I was just spent. I was losing confidence in my physicality. I had to say goodbye and it was very hard. In a lot of ways, Memphis was my first love. But my cast was extremely supportive.''

Another performer who's been criticized a lot for missing shows a lot is Laura Benanti, especially during the 2016 revival of ''She Loves Me.'' It was only much later that she revealed that she was only in her first trimester at the time, and was suffering from a severe pregnancy sickness condition: Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Still, Benanti pressed on and performed as much as she could, and sick buckets were hidden all over the stage in case she needed to vomit. In fact, the Tony-winning actress felt queasy even during the live taping of ''She Loves Me''; at one point, she admitted she threw up in her own mouth but swallowed it, and ''kept going.''

So yes, it's disappointing when our favorite performers call out sick, but we seldom know the full story or what medical circumstances they might be struggling with. It's hard for me to believe that any professional actor worth his/her salt would WANT to miss shows, let alone develop such a reputation. If Karen Olivo's dealing with any health issues, I wish her the speediest recovery. I guess I've been lucky. Each time I've seen ''Moulin Rouge!,'' Karen's been in, and she and Aaron Tveit always are ''spectacular, spectacular!''

Updated On: 1/3/20 at 10:46 PM

FlyHigh523 said: "EvaLyn said: "To be fair to Karen, who I saw in Moulin Rouge both times I saw it and in West Side Story both times I saw it, Satine is a really vocally and physically demanding role.

I actually would love to see any of her understudies though, so if there is any preplanned missed shows for her, is there a place to check? And is SRO the only option for cheap tickets aside from the lotto at the moment (is last minute cheap Stubhub a possibility?)"

I’m pretty sure her standby, Ashley Loren, covers all Tuesday shows now. So, Karen only does 7 a week (to my knowledge)"

Can anyone else confirm this? I would love to see Ashley Loren in the show as I already saw Karen Olivo (good but not great) and loved Ashley when I saw her sing with Carly Rae Jepsen and at some 54 Below shows.

Hairspray0901 said: "I was thinking of grabbing a ticket for tonight. Worth seeing without her AND Danny Burstein?"

When I go look at the Cast on the website, Danny Burstein isn't even listed anymore. It says Zidler is played by Austin Durant.

Knowing KO somewhat, she seems both conscientious and a good company member.

Surely the fact that she is re-employed is evidence enough that producers know she is a good worker?