Understudies that should have played the role full time
Understudies that should have played the role full time
#1Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 7:20pmSo with BroadwayGirlNYC latest story I started thinking about understudies that had a chance to play the role full time and the ones who did not... The first that come to mind Meghan Fay and Alexandra Socha
#2Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 7:22pmWho is Meghan Fay?
#2Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 7:32pmDo you mean Meghann Fahy? I don't mean to be rude but I mean c'mon is that hard to spell peoples' names right?
rmusic11322
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/07
#3Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 7:48pmHer name, yes. :/
PastorErnst
Broadway Star Joined: 4/20/09
#4Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 7:53pmNot that I mean to stay with Next to Normal, but I personally believe Brian Crum is far better than Kyle Dean Massey in the role of Gabe.
#5Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 7:55pmJayne Paterson in A Little Night Music (I haven't seen Bernadette, but Jayne was leaps and bounds better than CZJ)
#6Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 7:58pmJayne Paterson gave a standard regional theater performance as Desiree. She should not play the role full time.
#8Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 8:04pm
Bernadette's performance in NM was amazing. The performance was wonderful.
On another note Maureen Moore should have played Edie Beale in Grey Gardens full time.
#9Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 8:16pm
Jessica Phillips and Michael Berry are leaps and bounds better than Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, and in a perfect world, would have taken over.
I agree with ljay regarding Jayne Paterson- she was fine, but nothing worth headlining the first Broadway. Ditto Karen Murphy when I saw her as Madame Armfeldt.
#10Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 8:20pmI agree about Jessica Phillips, I really wish she had taken over. I would agree about Michael but I also liked him as the doctors, so I'd rather him understudy both than only stick to one.
yankee_fan907
Leading Actor Joined: 10/14/06
#11Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 8:22pm
Meghann Fahy does not fall into the category because she does in fact play the role full-time now.
And Bernadette Peters never understudied the role, so that's not a good answer either. Bernadette has probably never understudied anything in her life. Haha
BwayBaby18
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/19/05
#12Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 8:22pmJoe Cassidy was fantastic as Freddy in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I thought he was much better then Butz
#13Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 8:30pm
Jenny DiNoia needs to become a full time Elphaba somewhere. And I actually think Brian Crum is better as Henry, even though he's great at both. If he took over for Gabe though, KDM should be Fiyero in Wicked.
Other than those two shows, the understudies for the leads in Memphis are actually amazing, so maybe them.
#14Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 8:43pm
In fact Bernadette was a standby back in 1967
The Girl in the Freudian Slip
Booth Theatre, (5/18/1967 - 5/20/1967)
Preview: May 17, 1967 Total Previews: 2
Opening: May 18, 1967
Closing: May 20, 1967 Total Performances: 4
Category: Play, Comedy, Original, Broadway
Opening Night Cast
Susan Brown Barbara Leonard
Bruce Hyde Peter Wellman
Marjorie Lord Paula Maugham
Heather North Leslie Maugham
Russell Nype Dr. Alec Rice
Alan Young Dr. Dewey Maugham
Standbys: Bernadette Peters (Leslie Maugham), Peter Turgeon (Dr. Alec Rice, Dr. Dewey Maugham), Julie Wilson (Barbara Leonard, Paula Maugham).
And I Am Always So Vitriolic
#15Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 8:44pmDonna Marie Asbury should have been given the role of Velma full time.
And I Am Always So Vitriolic
#16Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 8:50pm
And Bernadette Peters never understudied the role, so that's not a good answer either. Bernadette has probably never understudied anything in her life. Haha
Actually, she was the understudy for June in the Gypsy national tour when she was 13. Her mother changed her bio to say that she played June full-time.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
#17Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 8:50pmJay A. Johnson and Paris Remillard as Claude in Hair .. they were both MUCH better then Kyle Riabko!!!
#18Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 8:56pm
Matt Doyle as Melchior.
Megan Sikora as Glinda.
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
broadwayjim42
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/19/03
#19Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 9:16pmMy daughter would agree with you about Jay Armstrong Johnson...she thought he was far better than Gavin Creel.
Okayfine
Stand-by Joined: 6/2/08
#20Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 10:40pmPlease don't jump on me because I can't remember the actor's full name & I don't want to take a stab at it for fear I'll really butcher it. About a year or 2 before "Miss Saigon" closed, there was an understudy named Paul Something. He was infinitely better than the regular Engineer. The regular actor was not at all without talent, but he was from China & his accent was so strong it was very difficult for an American audience to follow. I saw both of them do the role dozens of times & Paul was much more engaging, revolting, scary, etc.
#21Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 10:44pm
I will strongly disagree with adamgreer who said that Michael Berry ought to be playing Dan. I've seen him once, Bobby twice, Brian three times, and now, Jason once. I loved every single one of them except Michael. He was so emotionally out-of-touch with the show that it took me out of it too. His voice was nice, but I needed something more from his Dan, acting-wise. I thought Jason was wonderful and am glad that he and Marin have taken over.
I do, however, love Jessica Phillips and was always half-hoping she'd be on instead of Alice just for a different experience.
sbflyfan
Broadway Star Joined: 4/12/07
#22Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 10:52pmCurtis Holbrook as Sonny in "Xanadu." I thought his approach was way better than Cheyenne's.
"I'm seeing the LuPone in Key West later this week. I'm hoping for great vocals and some sort of insane breakdown..." - BenjaminNicholas2
yankee_fan907
Leading Actor Joined: 10/14/06
#23Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 10:54pmGuys, I was kidding with the Bernadette joke. Hence it being a joke. I understand that everyone, no matter where they are now, must start somewhere.
#24Understudies that should have played the role full time
Posted: 7/27/10 at 11:05pmThis was when Wicked was back on their 3rd round of replacement leads and I saw Katie Adams go on as Glinda who was easily good enough to have played the role full time after Kate Reinders left.
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