She's at it Again!!!

[jimnysf]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 9:39pm

At least she worked part of her shift this time.


http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=1449239

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 9:43pm

How dare she not perform in the second act to preserve her health!


Burn her!!!

[jimnysf]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 9:45pm

She seems to take an awful lot of time off for someone who is new to Broadway. Broadway won't stand for such poor attendance!

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 9:47pm

It's Fantasia. She can do whatever she wants. Oprah will protect her.

[D2]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 9:51pm

Until the advance sale dwindles because no one wants to buy tickets to a show where the star never shows up.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 9:58pm

I hate it when people stop performing because they get sick! They are robots! They should keep going!

[jimnysf]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:00pm

She seems to have a very poor work ethic! Maybe she needs to seek medical attention because she sure is absent a lot.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:02pm

I know! Gosh, what poor work ethic is it to call out for health reasons. I guess we should be burning Laura Benanti and Donna Murphy along with Fantasia, right jimny?

[D2]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:03pm

That's not the point, Millie. Fantasia is the name that is drawing people into the theatre night after night - and as JimNYSF points out she has a very spotty track record in attendance. If she is sick, yes of course she needs to take care of herself - but this is a business, like any other. You try calling in sick time and time again and see how long you hold on to your job.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:05pm

You try calling in sick time and time again and see how long you hold on to your job.

Exactly! She would never pass her probation period working for me!

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:05pm

How many times has she actually been out, though?

[D2]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:09pm

That I don't know, but it does appear that she doesn't appear frequently - enough to cause comment on all the boards with each non-appearance.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:10pm

Fantasia has been reccuringly sick over the last few weeks, and continues to push herself to be in the show earlier than she probably should to not dissapoint the many fans who come to see her (which is why she's yet to recover to 100% health.)

She is really damned either way: if she rushes back into the show and never gets better, she'll be criticized for not taking the proper time to regain her health and continuing to be absent, as well as performing sick. If she sits the show out for a longer period of time to get back to full performing capacity, as she's been advised to by her doctors, she'll be crucified for being absent still.

I love that people are saying she has a "spotty track record" and "never shows up." The girl has missed eleven or so performances since joining the company in April.

Considering every single one of her missed performances has been due to a justifiable illness (and most within the last month and a half or so,) I give Fantasia major kudos for working as hard as she does with such a taxing role.

Saycon Sengbloh, who is in her last week with the company, was thrown on quickly last night and did a fantastic job. She's performed wonderfully within the show during her short six week run.

Updated On: 8/17/07 at 10:10 PM

[Flaunt It]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:11pm

And who was the standby that went on? Maybe she needs to pull a Charlotte nd only do 6 shows a week.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:15pm

LOL! She's been in the show for less than 4 months and she works 8 shows a week and has missed "eleven or so performances"! That is a very bad track record, indeed! If I missed 11 or so performances at my job in a 3 month period, I'd be out of a job!

[D2]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:15pm

You are right - they're damned if they do, damned if they don't. Personally, my feeling is that if she is legitimately ill, she'd do better to take the time off to recuperate fully and then rejoin the show when she is completely well. Nothing is worth prolonging an illness.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:17pm

Well, keep in mind, one of those performances she wasn't there for was so she could perform on the Tonys.

And I wonder what it would be like if we took the attendance records of all the leading actors on Broadway and compared them to Fantasia. I think it seems she's out a lot because it's always reported.

[musicalsFan]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:19pm

Give it a rest, Jimnysf.

What is this vendetta you have against her?

10 times since April 10. 2007.

It's been 19 weeks (1 week of vacation not counted) + 2 days = 154 performances

10/154 = 6% performances

When she misses 1/4 - 1/3 (eg 25% - 33%) of the shows as Donna Murphy did in Wonderful Town, then maybe you would have a right to start a hissy fit.

Jeez. And do some freaking math.


Updated On: 8/16/07 at 10:19 PM

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:20pm

Well, no one should have to throw a fit over the Donna Murphy thing, as she had some serious vocal issues during Wonderful Town.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:20pm

....and of those eleven or so absences, all of them have occured within a concentrated period over the last month and half or so, as I said.

Performing on Broadway is not like a normal job. Getting sick happens, and if Fantasia needs to miss performances to get better and be able to be at her best for the many fans coming to see her, that is what she needs to do.

Is it her fault for getting sick?

By the way--- mathematically, Fantasia has been with the show for weeks going on ninteen (since April 10th.)

Since she began, there have been 152 performances, with her missing about 11 of them. 141 performances out of a possible 152 is a 92% attendance rate. I'd call that a pretty damn good track record in a role as tough as Celie.

[D2]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:21pm

There's no doubt about it - 8 performances a week is a grind. But that's what they sign up to do when they work on Broadway, and if they aren't up to it, maybe they'd better think twice before signing the contract. Or make the deal to do 6 shows a week instead of 8, with a fairly reputable standby for the other two performances.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:21pm

Oh, poor misguided musicals fan! You obviously do not work in the real world, and if you did and had an attendance record like that, you'd be fired.

[musicalsFan]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:23pm

I understand somethingwicked.

The problem is D2, that jimnysf is not applying the same standard to Fantasia as everyone else on Broadway.

Where is his hissy fit about all the absences by the trained professionals orginal cast who signed their contracts over at ACL?

It is simply ridiculous this vendetta.

Fair is fair. And if someone is sick, they're sick.

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:26pm

jimmynsf, a job on Broadway isn't like the real world! Something as common as a cold or the flu wouldn't hinder your performance at an everyday job like it would performing on a Broadway stage, plain and simple. Even mentioning the two in comparison is ridiculous.

And D2, as I said, Fantasia has been in the show 92% of the time. For someone like her whose coming into her first Broadway show without theatrical training and the stamina acquired with the experience of doing eight shows a week in the past, as well as having to battle a reccuring illness while performing such a demanding role, I find her attendance to be damn good (as do the people that matter higher up within the show's production team.)

Updated On: 8/16/07 at 10:26 PM

[musicalsFan]

Posted: 8/16/07 at 10:26pm

I don't work in the real world????
I've worked enough in the real world to see slackers aplenty.

Fantasia has shown that she's NOT one of them.

How about comparing apples to apples, Jimbo?
I repeat, where is YOUR indignation about all the poor attendance records of the original cast of ACL?


Updated On: 8/16/07 at 10:26 PM