Understudies that never had there chance in the spotlight

[LeftBehind218]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 4:14pm

Emily Kinney from Spring Awakening she would have been a great Wendla...

[sgv123]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 4:19pm

I really would have loved to see Autumn in Legally Blonde.

[inick122492]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 4:24pm

Right now it looks like Laura Woyasz as the current G(a)linda stand-by. Hopefully Alli gets a cold or has a vacation... though she is a quite a G(a) linda herself.

[emilyfaye48]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 4:59pm

I would also loved to have seen Autum, I was sooooooooo disappointed by Bailey. Actually I don't know if you call it disappointment when you're expecting it to be terrible

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 5:05pm

I don't want to start a commotion. But I went and saw Bailey and braced myself for the worst. But actually I was not disappointed.

[beltingbaritone]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 5:12pm

I wasn't either BroadwayBound. And I went in with high expectations.

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 5:14pm

Shirley MacLaine...oh, wait.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 7:46pm

The first one that came to mind was Kevin Spirtas in The Boy From Oz. He never even got to go on since they just shut down the show when Hugh wasn't there. I don't quite understand what they were paying Kevin for...

[adamgreer]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 8:46pm

He never even got to go on since they just shut down the show when Hugh wasn't there. I don't quite understand what they were paying Kevin for...

I'm sure you know this but they are required by equity to have understudies. I'm sure they were paying Kevin Spirtas in the event that Hugh Jackman became ill at 7:45, when the audience was already being seated, and cancellation was impossible. Or, if Jackman injured himself during a performance and had to be replaced mid-show.

My first thought when I read this thread was Haven Burton in Legally Blonde. She went on as Elle exactly twice, and blew every other Elle Woods I saw (I saw all of 'em but Annaleigh) out of the water. Far and away the best one. I have no idea why they kept using Becky and not her. Funny thing was, Haven's Margot was not that good.
Updated On: 5/9/09 at 08:46 PM

[sgv123]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 8:51pm

^ I agree...I saw Haven,Becky and Laura and Haven was by far the best.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 9:18pm

there --> their (sorry lol)

Autumn as Elle

Also, I forgot the name of the understudy, but whoever understudied Hugh in Boy from Oz never had a chance to play the main role.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 9:20pm

We established that already. Try and keep up, millie.

[sayokay]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 9:22pm

Laure Bell didn't go on much for Glinda, I would have loved to see her. I didn't really like Haven's Elle, she couldn't hit that So Much Better note But I hear she's very good in Shrek.

[lakezurich]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 9:25pm

I am very disappointed that Saycon Sengbloh was never promoted from stand-by and given a chance to take on the role of Elphaba full-time. Hopefully she will at a later point.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 9:26pm

I didn't really like Haven's Elle, she couldn't hit that So Much Better note But I hear she's very good in Shrek.

Umm, are you on crack? Haven hit the SMB better note right on both times she got to do it. There is archival footage of it available if you know where to look. It sounded a hell of a lot better than Laura Bell's. Burton's voice is leaps and bounds better than any other Elle's. Even those who disliked her performance acknowledge that.
Updated On: 5/9/09 at 09:26 PM

[Sondheim_Geek]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 9:26pm

Mervin Foard as Sweeney in the 2005 revival.
Benjamin Eakeley as Tobias in the 2005 revival.

[Drunk Chita Rivera]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 9:27pm

"Laure Bell didn't go on much for Glinda, I would have loved to see her. I didn't really like Haven's Elle, she couldn't hit that So Much Better note But I hear she's very good in Shrek."


I'm pretty sure she could hit the note. It seems you are a Laura Bell fan, SHE couldn't hit the note.

[scott68]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 9:34pm

I agree with lakezurich, Saycon was the one who came to mind when I read the subject. I don't know how often she actually went on, if ever, but she's killing as Abraham Lincoln in Hair, and she definitely has star quality.

[Rudy2]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 9:48pm

"...their chance..." Their chance. Their chance in the spotlight.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 11:21pm

"Laura Bell didn't go on much for Glinda"

She went on as Glinda approximately 40 times. I saw her twice and thought she was excellent.

[viola13]

Posted: 5/9/09 at 11:32pm

Kinda random, but T.V. Carpio as Mimi in Rent. She was supposed to go on, injured herself, and never came back to the show. I also wanted to see the [tos] understudies, but they never went on on Broadway...

I'm dying to see some of the Hair understudies, but hopefully that'll happen.

[Ole Chum]

Posted: 5/10/09 at 2:46am

tv carpio understudied mimi? i never knew that.

but speaking of rent: shayna steele as anything.

[viola13]

Posted: 5/10/09 at 4:16am

Yep, T.V. was the third understudy for Mimi, but the regular Mimi went on vacation or something, and all the understudies were going to split the role while she was out. I had even heard from someone connected with the show that T.V. was looking really good in rehearsals, so I was excited to see her. But then she injured herself the week she was supposed to go on, and left the show.

[blaxx]

Posted: 5/10/09 at 4:27am

Her name is TV?! And her brother? CD player?

[jo]

Posted: 5/10/09 at 4:33am

Kevin Spirtas was the Standby for Hugh Jackman in The Boy from Oz, not the understudy. The understudy was John Hill in the early part of the run, where he also played the role of Mark Herron ( Judy's husband)in the production.

In one performance which I had seen, Kevin played the role of Mark Herron, in lieu of the absent John Hill.