The whole Ethel Merman thing is bull****. They have good understudies for a reason. If Ethel had a great immune system, good for her, but I'd rather see a fantastic understudy than the lead hacking her way through a performance. Performers are human, and they should not show up to work when they are sick. The comparison to showing up for your job, like working in an office, is stupid. Or sure, you can say I show up to school everyday, she should show up to her job everyday. However, her job is very physical. You can relax in your chair at school or in your office, but you can't in a broadway show. So everyone needs to stop with all this business.
Updated On: 7/18/07 at 02:28 PM