Whoa! Broadway.com says Stephanie Block got injured in rehearsal — Page 2

Wow, so do you think she'll fly in at the beginning of No Good Deed?! Wow that would be excellent.....

Wow, weird. Hope she feels better!

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Schwartz said everything was going to be the same, so I dunno. C'mon, they only have one trap door! Phantom has like, what, 15?

I don't know for sure, I'm just going by what I was told, which was they couldn't cut into the stages of a lot of these theaters.

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Plus, aren't there 2 traps? The one she melts into and the one that the "guy with the green bottle" goes down into after "have another drink my dark eye'd beauty..."

Just a thought...

Today's also the 8th. Like, the same day Idina got hurt.

Kinda creepy. (Or maybe I'm just really weird and remember dates haha)

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so lemme get this straight they are flying up kristy cates to do the role?

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That didn't take long.

I find it creepy with the strange turn of events that happen to Elphaba before big show days. Idina before her last, and now Stephanie before the tours first performance in front of an audience. I hope she does feel better. However, I think it is a little unprofessional of the producers to not have an understudy or standby. In New York when Idina was hurt, Shoshana came to the rescue and performed the role of Elphaba. It is just my belief that a professional production would be prepared in the event of something like this, and am surprised that the Wicked tour wasn't.

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O.K. Quick question. So I read two things:

"[Block] is experiencing muscle spasms which are preventing her from performing," a production spokesperson said. "Ms. Block is expected to return in a few days."

and then the statement from Scott Alan's site. I was just wondering if Broadway.com was just down playing what happened or if something was exaggerated?

McShoSlut: It would be expected that they would have understudies ready to go on, but you have to remember that this is the tour's first show. The cast has barely had time to learn there own roles, let alone, learn the roles that they are understudies for.

Also, does anyone know how long SJB will be out?

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Gosh... feel better Stephanie!!!

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I just have a couple of comments:
First, in regards to this whole "wire thing" vs. the "clamp thing"--What did you think the clamp was attached to? They don't just put on some magical anti-gravity clamp that makes her fly. It would be attached to wires.
Second, they always have understudies in tours, she probably just isn't ready yet, since the show hasn't even officially opened.
Third, just my opinion, but I don't really think the show is cursed or anything. It is a show with a lot of risk involved. Actor's are human, they do get sick, and they do get hurt. Sutton Foster missed some of the Little Women previews because she was sick, Gavin Creel blew out his knee during Thoroughy Modern Millie previews. It happens.

I sincerely (and desperately!) hope Stephanie the speediest recovery! I have tickets to see her next Thursday, March 17th!

Just my luck -- the only reason I decided to pay top ticket to see WICKED again was to catch Stephanie. I hope she gets better very, very soon.

Here's the press release I received from Mirvish (no new info, but it's the official word):

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For Immediate Release
Contact: John Karastamatis, Sue Toth or J. Randy Alldread – 416-593-0351

BY STEPHEN SCHWARTZ AND WINNIE HOLZMAN
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY GREGORY MAGUIRE

* * *

Stephanie J. Block, who plays the role of Elphaba in Wicked, has suffered a minor injury during rehearsal. She is experiencing muscle spasms which are preventing her from performing. As a result, tonight's preview performance has been canceled and has been rescheduled for Sunday March 13 at 7:30 pm. Producers of Wicked expect Ms. Block to return in a few days. One of the stand bys from The Broadway production, Kristy Cates, will be covering the role in Stephanie's absence. All tickets for tonight's performance will be honored for this new Sunday evening performance.

Performances begin Wednesday March 9, 2005 at the CANON Theatre. WICKED opens in Toronto March 20, 2005. The WICKED continues on to Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Other tour cities can be found at www.wickedthemusical.com.

WICKED stars Stephanie J. Block and Kendra Kassebaum as Elphaba and Glinda respectively. Carol Kane stars as Madame Morrible and David Garrison stars as The Wizard.

WICKED is a new musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, Academy Award winner for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and book by Winnie Holzman (“My So Called Life,” “Once And Again” and “thirtysomething”) based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire and is set to make its Toronto premiere starting March 8, 2005. Tickets are now on sale for a limited 7 week run. The musical is directed by 2003 Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Assassins, Love! Valor! Compassion!, Vagina Monologues, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune) and features musical staging by Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento (Aida, The Who’s Tommy, How To Succeed…). WICKED, winner of 15 major awards including the grammy and 3 Tony® Awards, is the untold story of the witches of Oz, and is being produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.

WICKED features set design by Tony® Award winning Eugene Lee (Ragtime, Show Boat, Candide, Sweeney Todd), costume design by Tony® winner Susan Hilferty (Into the Woods, Assassins), lighting design by Tony nominee® Kenneth Posner (Hairspray) and sound design by Tony Meola (The Lion King and the recent Man of La Mancha). Stephen Oremus is the show’s musical director. Orchestrations are by William David Brohn, with dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.

WICKED began performances on Broadway on Wednesday, October 8, 2003, at The Gershwin Theatre and continues to be the top-grossing show on Broadway. Grammy Award Winning Cast recording available on Decca Broadway.

TICKETS NOW ON SALE
Performances begin March 9, 2005
Tuesday – Saturday 8PM
Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 2PM
Tickets $26 - $110 at the Canon Theatre – 244 Victoria Street
416-872-1212 or 1-800-461-3333
www.mirvish.com <http://www.mirvish.com/>
Group Orders: 416-593-4142 or 1-800-724-6420
Photos available online at www.mirvish.com
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Updated On: 3/9/05 at 01:17 AM