#1
Posted: 1/6/13 at 9:59pm
I attended today’s matinee of “My Fair Lady,” at Arena Stage, in Washington, DC, which had to be cancelled mid-performance when the actor playing Eliza Doolittle, Manna Nichols, suffered a flu relapse and her understudy, Erin Driscoll, also out with the flu, was unavailable to take her place. Apparently the 6 p.m. performance, the last in the show’s two-month run, had to be cancelled as well. An usher told me that two performances had to be cancelled earlier in the week because flu ran through much of the cast, and another performance proceeded with understudies in all the main roles. The Washington Post link below details what happened yesterday, when the show went forward with an ensemble member playing Eliza, book in hand.
I began to wonder how often a show gets cancelled mid-performance. I also started to wonder how a Broadway company can protect itself from having to cancel performances because illness runs through the cast.
BTW, based on the few short scenes I got to see, Manna Nichols deserves to be a star. Even coughing and flu-ridden, she sweetly sang “Wouldn’t it be Loverly,” and she has a great deal of stage presence. I hope to see her someday on Broadway.
Washington Post Article about
I began to wonder how often a show gets cancelled mid-performance. I also started to wonder how a Broadway company can protect itself from having to cancel performances because illness runs through the cast.
BTW, based on the few short scenes I got to see, Manna Nichols deserves to be a star. Even coughing and flu-ridden, she sweetly sang “Wouldn’t it be Loverly,” and she has a great deal of stage presence. I hope to see her someday on Broadway.
Washington Post Article about
You alone can make my song take flight.
