The lead replacements usually only rehearse with dance capitains (or in Melanie's case, Ann Reinking)... a put in rehearsal is just that -- where they put them into the rest of the cast, and they do a final day-of run through together.
"You're every gay man's wet dream!" ~ MA
If in Heaven you don't excel, you can always party down in hell...
Basically what CJR siad. But to be more specific on stuff, when a replacement comes in, they learn the show from the Dance Captain and Stage Manager and watch performances. After they have learned the show completely, the hold several rehearsals that are just runthroughs where the replacement is in full costume but the rest of the cast is only in rehearsal clothes. It is not uncommon for an incomming lead to only have had one or two run throughs with the full company (which means they have only worked with their co-stars those few times).In some cases, they might never have a full run through/put in before they take over -- that was the case with the current Belle and Beast on the Beauty and the Beats tour.
It depends. I know some people who had one week, some who had four. Usually it is two or three.
Mind you, they are not 'full' weeks -- eight hours a day every day. They have to reherse around the performances and the peole already in the show can only rehearse a certain number of hours per week -- and it isn't a lot.
It's interesting that Brad Oscar had minimal rehearsal time, just a few run-throughs, before going on for Nathan Lane as Max -- no full orchestra nor any rehearsal time with Mathew Broderick -- and did so well in the role.
