NiceWork2 said: "If a show like Wicked can sell on its own, and by most accounts it can - I've been there on nights when the standby/understudy for Glinda or Elphaba was on, and there's never any chatter in the audience, primarily because the audience doesn't know any better - a bunch of tourists. It's not like if Lane or Mays was out of Front Page, where everyone in the audience would be talking about this. If the show is still in good hands with some of the standbys and those who do not have a long broadway resume, why don't they do more casting of these people as the fulltime Elphaba/Glinda. Surely the pay scale they would have to pay out would be much lower. The show would not suffer performance; these performers are still as talented as can be. Of course they've kind of already done this with the new Glinda an d elphaba on the tour. Why not put on Alyssa Fox as the next Elphaba on broadway, she's fantastic. perhaps the producers of Wicked feel they still need to cast people with some name recognition in the Broadway production. Book of Mormon has not really done this with its Elder Cunninghams, though the role of Elder Price is usually still a big name."
In the past two years, can you give me any full-time Elphabas or Glindas who have more than three Broadway shows in their credits? No one has name recognition outside of their own little fan bases. Pretty sure more names have been hired as Fiyero, Morrible, or the Wizard.
And for BOM, I'm pretty sure the most well-known person was Ben Platt who was a Cunningham. I don't think Gavin Creel or Matt Doyle brought in more people. And BOM is another show, which doesn't necessarily rely on their cast members for ticket sales.