Posted: 6/22/17 at 12:43am
Hi all! Bit of a random question. There's a great thread going on about Jennie Harney as one of the Hamilton universal swings, meaning she could be called to go on in either of the three current productions of Hamilton, which is amazing.
Here's my question: how does hiring a universal swing make financial/practical sense from a production standpoint? If the San Fran production needs an Eliza for a certain performance, for example, wouldn't it make sense to schedule one of its in-house standbys or understudies to go on (aren't there several in each production?)? What makes it feasible to hire somebody who might be asked to fly cross-country at a moment's notice?
Sorry if I'm being obtuse in asking this, but I'd love to learn more about the necessity of this fascinating role.
