Jarethan said: "ArtMan said: "This has only happened to me once, when actors are switched out during performance. Although I prefer the original cast member, I would rather the understudy had went on for the entire performance than see them switch out. I know there is no way to control this, but I felt at least for my performance, I was seeing two different person's interpretation and it bugged me. I came back the next night and luckily saw the main actor's entire performance. Do people on here feel the same way or does it not matter to you that you had two different portrayals during the same performance?"
When I saw Big Fish, NLButz did not return for Act 2. He wasn’t his usual energetic self in Act 1,so I assumed that he was sick. As an audience member, if he was pushing to go on, I probably would have preferred that he call out, because the transition was very jarring. His understudy was fine in the role, but his approach to the role was so different that it really had a negative impact on the performance.
I guess my view is that performers (and I am convinced this is true of Olivia, as it has happened so many times) should not call out because they are not feeling it or are just not in the mood to work. If they are really sick, then they should skip because their performance will likely suffer and/or they won’t make it through the show, which really can impact audience engagement.
i just realized that ithappened one other time, when I lived in Charlotte, NC. Ralph Macchio (remember him) was in the touring How To Succeed. He did the first scene, and was replaced after that. He left so early in the show that there really was no negative impact on the audience investment in / enjoyment of the show."
This happened to me at THE PROM. Caitlin Kinnunen was replaced early in Act 2, after the curtain went down after "Love They Neighbor" for a 15-minute hold. She was seemingly performing at 100% until that point, but we later checked her social media accounts and apparently she was having a panic attack WHILE performing, which was the reason for the change.
I would agree that the switch was jarring and took me out of the show; I was grateful to return to The Prom (at my own expense) and see Caitlin's performance all the way through.