Weird Replacments

[The3DImaxOfMyMind]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 5:53pm

Have you seen any? Like a boy going on for Young Cosette. Or a Caucasian on for Mimi?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 5:53pm

Melanie Griffith.

[Harmondo21]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 5:56pm

David Hasselhoff in Jekyll & Hyde....YUCK!

Joey Fatone in Rent

Joey Fatone in Little Shop

Scary Spice in Rent...HaHa She played a great hispanic.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 5:59pm

Boys don't go on for Young Cosette. However, they have gone on as Young Eponine.

Scott Logsdon had to go on as the hair buyer (in Lovely Ladies) on the Les Miz tour once.

[TheHumanTorch]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 6:10pm

in RENT, i may be mistaken, didn't Karmine go on as the Man one night?

[AlmostFamous]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 6:19pm

If I am not mistaken I believe Diana Kaarina was a Mimi understudy...

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 6:22pm

Yes, she was. She understudied Maureen and Mimi, but she never went on as Mimi. (She is not all Caucasian, though, if that's what you were referring to.)

[jimnysf]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 6:33pm

"Hairspray". On one of the nights I saw it on tour in San Francisco, Joe Abraham, who is white, was subbing for one of the black kids.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 6:37pm

In Toronto I saw a white kid play one of the black kids a few times.

Akiva

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 6:40pm

in thoroughly modern millie muzzie and meers switched ethnicities on occasion, the miss flanneries were muzzie covers, and terry burrell covered both (and is african american)

i have always wanted to be a mark/ roger/benny/collins cover for rent

yazmin alers (karmine's sister) played steve in rent one night, and almost played joanne but hid from the stage manager

[misto625]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 8:47pm

Does this mean Muzzy was Asian and Meers was black? I know Terry Burrell had gone on as Meers sometimes. How many times as a Miss Flannery gone on as Meers?

I think Dominique Roy has played Paul and other male roles. Angel and Mark sometimes have same understudies. Why wouldn't Yasmin want to be Joanne?

[Fabrizio2]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 8:49pm

wow. I just thought that..what if a chinese person played Glinda.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 8:57pm

During the original production of the musical HAIR, one of the African American cast members was killed in an accident. The other black members of the cast were horrified by Management's blase attitude towards the funeral and towards the treatment of the African American actors in general (this was the politically charged 60s) and so they staged a walk out. During that performance, songs like COLORED SPADE, and WHITEBOYS were sung by white male performers and it was apparently a complete and utter disaster.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 9:27pm

wow. I just thought that..what if a chinese person played Glinda.

OMG never! But Japanese, Korean, Cambodian, that'd be just fine. Chinese, I could just not tolerate.

(This is some salt; please take it.)

[Fabrizio2]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 9:41pm

.djflauw9058q90w


Oriental*


???

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 9:54pm

.djflauw9058q90w


Oriental*


???

I never knew a flavoring, vase, or rug could act, but I guess if you have a good enough imagination...

[Fabrizio2]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 9:55pm

This is where I stop. I shoudln't have said it in the first place.

I am sorry

[mrkringas]

Posted: 4/2/06 at 10:02pm

In the London production of Millie, Miss Flannery also covered Mrs Meers. I was in the audience when Rachel Izen went on even though there was an alternate for the role she did quite a lot of shows I gather. The part was normally played by our national treasure, Maureen Lipman- however there were extreme personal reasons relating to her husband that caused her to miss a couple of shows. Still I always wondered why the alternate didnt fill in? Perhaps it would have cost more money?

There were some odd covers in the London production of Taboo. The first covers were usually fine but a couple of the second covers were really the wrong type or age to pull it off!

[??]

Posted: 4/3/06 at 10:15am

"Calling me Oriental...offensive to me"

[keatonbynumbers]

Posted: 4/3/06 at 10:19am

Michael Bennett, is that true? That's amazing. And ridiculous. Wow. I can't even imagine it.

[Patronus]

Posted: 4/3/06 at 10:43am

yazmin alers (karmine's sister) played steve in rent one night, and almost played joanne but hid from the stage manager

That's actually not true. Over the years, Yassmin sang Will I?, was the squeegiewoman, played the waitress, played Paul(a) several times and played Gordon once and went on as the male soloist in "Seasons of Love" many times. This is of course in addition to covering every female role in the show except Joanne.

The story that I recall Yassmin telling me at a stage door many moons ago was that she wanted to go on as Joanne but she wasn't allowed. She asked multiple times over the years.

There was also a night in 1997 where nearly the entire cast was ill that she was begging to go on as Mark. She said she'd cut her hair if they needed her to. Of course they didn't let her, they called in Gilles Chiasson who had already left the show to do it.



Updated On: 4/3/06 at 10:43 AM

[Katt]

Posted: 4/3/06 at 11:18am

Patronus, that's weird, because at her website, she said this:

From: Yassmin (Wed Nov 16 18:08:32 2005)
There were nights at RENT that felt like HELL. (Ex: I hid from the Stage Manager twice at the possibility of my going on for Joanne) But for the most part it was a thrill working along side some of the most talented people on Broadway.

I thought it was kind of weird that she said that, because I would think that she would want to try a new role. But in total, she went on for two principal female roles (Mimi and Maureen), three female ensemble roles (Mark's Mom, Alexi, Soloist 1), and three male roles (Soloist Two, Steve, Gordon)

Anyway, speaking of Rent, there have been men who played the bag lady (while a woman sang the Seasons of Love solo, Gordon and Steve track switched (Steve/Mr. Grey, Gordon/Waiter). They have also split up the roles of Mr. Jefferson and Soloist 2 between two men. They also split up that track when women go on as Soloist 2.

And personally, I think they should have let her play Mark. That would have been a night to remember. :)
Updated On: 4/3/06 at 11:18 AM

[Brennan88]

Posted: 4/3/06 at 1:09pm

The late great Laurie Beechman use to talk about playing a boy she called "Bud" on the barricades in the second act of Les Miz. "I did not create Bud...No, he was handed down to me!"
She did this on tour, as I suspect many other Fantines did while they had little to do but cool their heels during act two. I think during her last go at the role in Philadelphia with Andrea McCardle in '97, she finally got them to let her off the barricade.

[Patronus]

Posted: 4/3/06 at 1:18pm

Weird. She definitely said she wanted to go on as Joanne back in the day. I guess she was just "talking at the stage door" back then. Oh well, I stand corrected.

and three male roles (Soloist Two, Steve, Gordon)

She also went on as Paul, that I am 100% sure of. So four males roles.

[Jon]

Posted: 4/3/06 at 1:27pm

As far as I know, Fantine has ALWAYS doubled as a "bullet boy"
on the barricade. Except, maybe, Patti LuPone.

Of course, Cosette and Eponine double as whores in the early part of Act 1.