Why don’t actors share roles on Broadway?- Page 2

[Fosse76]

Posted: 3/1/24 at 2:58pm

dramamama611 said: "It's also a problem if putting " part time " work out there. Most actors can't afford a part time salary, and one that has no benefits."

Considering they only work part time, they already get a full-time salary. Name other, more deserving professions, for which this is true.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/1/24 at 3:31pm

Fosse76 said: "dramamama611 said: "It's also a problem if putting " part time " work out there. Most actors can't afford a part time salary, and one that has no benefits."

Considering they only work part time, they already get a full-time salary. Name other, more deserving professions, for which this is true."

You are well aware of the fact that the demands of these contracts is not limited to merely doing however many shows a week and you are also well aware that majority of these contracts end up being very short lived.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Posted: 3/4/24 at 8:01am

I thank everyone for your replies in this thread.  I enjoy learning about the realities of Broadway behind the curtain and appreciate the wealth of experience and insight on this board.

As I hope I made clear in my original post, my focus is on the negative reaction of some when they believe that an actor, while otherwise an extraordinary talent, would be unable to handle an 8X/week performance schedule. I found BeingAlive4Ever's reply to be particularly compelling simply because they referred to this as a "right of passage" which (my interpretation) may or may not still be relevant today.  At the same time, I do respect the points several posters made about the economics of the issue, both from the perspective of the actors' ability to support their career choices and the producers obligation to maintain a level of profitability that justifies a path forward.  I don't want to appear to be trivializing the realities of those issues.

I suppose that what I find most fascinating about your replies is how difficult it would be to affect change to how things are typically done.  In an industry made up of the most creative people on the planet, the creativity seems limited to the "show" of show business while the "business" is rigid and mired in history and potentially unrealistic expectations.

I have more questions on related topics.  I'll organize my thoughts and save those for another thread.  Thanks again for your replies.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/4/24 at 1:01pm

In light of this question, I did notice yesterday that in the current Sweeney Todd Playbill both Nicholas Christopher and Daniel Torres are listed as playing Pirelli, with Christopher listed as playing the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday performances, and Torres for Saturday and Sunday performances.

[BeingAlive44Ever]

Posted: 3/4/24 at 8:13pm

AEA AGMA SM said: "In light of this question, I did notice yesterday that in the current Sweeney Todd Playbill both Nicholas Christopher and Daniel Torres are listed as playing Pirelli, with Christopher listed as playing the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday performances, and Torres for Saturday and Sunday performances."

Makes sense. Pirelli has a song that is, by all accounts, a high tenor aria. Performing a song like that eight times a week is a tad bit absurd. 

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 3/5/24 at 9:06am

Nicholas Christopher's split schedule for Pirelli likely has something to do with his taking time off to appear in Jelly's Last Jam at Encores.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/5/24 at 9:31am

I double checked and I realized I made a mistake. Nicholas Christopher is not listed at all in the current Playbill (though he’s still on the website, which is what I was looking at when making my earlier post because I didn’t want to get up and disturb the dog to grab my Playbill from the other room). Michael Kuhn is credited as the Wednesday through Friday Pirelli and Daniel Torres as Saturday and Sunday. They are also both listed as the Pirelli understudy. 

I'm guessing it was just a way to split up the understudy duties while he’s out and avoid having to do stuffers if there are no additional understudies on for that day. Because everyone, both stage management and front of house, hate having to do stuffers.