Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
fiddler
Swing Joined: 2/8/06
#0Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 5:15am
Hello.
I noticed that some musicals keep changing their cast. Is it because they want to generate greater ticket sales? Thanks.
#1re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 5:56amNo, it's because formaldehyde has been discovered to be a carcinogen.
songbird21
Chorus Member Joined: 12/28/05
#2re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 7:38amHuh? You're kidding, right?
jasobres
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/9/05
#3re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 7:40amNo, it's because actors often tire of doing the same role every day and want to give someone else a chance to play it. That's the logical reason. The "greater ticket sales" may be the financial reason.
#4re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 10:28amWell, that and, often the actors read what people say about them on this board and throw themselves into the Hudson.
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#5re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 12:31pm
I'd rather throw myself off the GWB than into the Hudson.
(If the GWB is over the Hudson, excuse my error and move on.)
#6re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 1:15pmSome people like to relax, you know. Or try new things? Ever hear of that?
#7re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 1:47pmI agree with Jasobres- I think its to get the other awesome talents heard or seen... I think its kinda cool- unless you really want to see the person who was playing it at that time... (You never know you could be the next person to take their place...)
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#8re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 2:49pmIt's tough to do 8 shows per week for a long time. Even the most brilliant actors who can find something fresh all the time get worn out. I don't think many actors voluntarily leave a show unless they have another offer.
twogaab2
Broadway Star Joined: 5/19/03
#9re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 2:55pm
My heart BLEEDS for them. It must be AWFUL to same repeatative job day after day, year after year for a minimum wage. (Like most of the rest of us). Or as someone once told me "That's why the call it 'work'"
kyguy78
Broadway Star Joined: 1/12/06
#10re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 3:12pm
I think another reason the may move on is because they afraid to be typecast or pigeon-holed. Plus a lot of people have success on Broadway and they move on to TV or movies and it's hard to do those things when you have a commitment to a Broadway show that runs eight shows a week.
Didn't someone once day "Leave them wanting more" or something to that effect a long time ago?
whoisquilty
Swing Joined: 4/26/05
#11re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 5:01pm
1) Their contracts are up.
2) They get another offer.
3) They're sick of putting on green makeup and signing autographs at the stage door.
4) They get fired because they're a terror offstage or on or both.
ruprecht
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/16/05
#12re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 5:05pmWhoisquilty, that pretty much says it all. Hope you stick around.
#13re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 5:10pmisn't it the same reason that those sandwiches from the 7-11 never taste real good, they go stale past their expiration date?
misto625
Broadway Star Joined: 11/10/05
#14re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 5:35pm
Personally I like it when Broadway musicals change their cast, gives me new bios to read in Playbill, although of course I am sad when special people that I like leave a show. Still it will sometimes tick me off when the ensemble of Beauty doesn't change. New blood is yummy. 
Jon
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/20/04
#15re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 6:47pm
Sometimes people just get too damn old for their roles. One of the reasons for the legendary "Les Miz Massacre" (when the producers fired the entire cast and made everyone re-audition) was that there were guys who had been in the show over 10 years and were in their 40's playing "students".
Dollypop
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#16re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/8/06 at 7:27pmGeeze! Carol Channing has played over 5,000 performaces in HELLO, DOLLY! and never tired of it. The newer crop of Broadway actors are wimps.
runnicles
Swing Joined: 1/5/06
#17re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/10/06 at 1:41amAs an actor you sign a contract. The length of the conract is negotiable. Usually it's for one year. Stars can get less. After the contract is up you either renegotiate and stay on or leave the show. Unless the show doesn't want you to stay. Usually it's cheaper to keep an actor because you don't have to remake his or her wardrobe for someone else. As a union made silk frock on Broadway can cost $8,000.00, a pair of shoes $1,200.00, a wig $2,500, a man's shirt $250, it can add up to a lot of money to recast.
Kringas
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/27/05
#18re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/10/06 at 2:13amAnd yeah, the GWB crosses the Hudson.
shatteredheart
Chorus Member Joined: 2/8/06
#19re: Why do some Broadway musicals keep changing their actors?
Posted: 2/10/06 at 2:39amThey never say fired. It's called not renewing their contract. And, yes, it happens more often than the actor leaving on their own.
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