boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens? — Page 2

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#26

re: boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens?

Posted: 9/8/08 at 3:45pm

I don't remember whether or not Vanessa Redgrave technically had an understudy for Long Day's Journey Into Night, but Pamela Peyton-Wright played the role for a week when Redgrave was out due to her mother's death.

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

#27

re: boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens?

Posted: 9/8/08 at 3:56pm

I'm pretty sure that Actor's Equity requires an understudy to be hired for every Broadway production that runs a certain period of time. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.
If the actor doesn't want to be listed or if the producers choose to cancel a performance instead of letting the understudy go on, that's another story, but I think they are obligated to have an understudy assigned for the role.

"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"

#28

re: boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens?

Posted: 9/8/08 at 6:10pm

I still don't get why an actor would not want to be in the Playbill. Being a Broadway standby or understudy is an honor. Actors are so weird (me included).

Because the special insert draws attention to them. Most people don't read the little tiny ones with just names on them. But the big ones with a photo and bio, people look at and think is important. Also, some shows play with the language to make it sound like even more of an event. I have tons of inserts from Aida that said, "At this performance, we are pleased to announce that the role of Aida will be played by Maya Days." See how special that makes it sound?

#29

re: boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens?

Posted: 9/16/08 at 10:10am

I saw the show this past Sunday, September 14th, and Liam Craig played Robert. He did a fantastic job, imho. When I noted that Mark Rylance was going to be out for this performance, I admit to being a tad disappointed (as I had traveled all the way from northern Ontario to see it), but was pleasantly surprised.

#30

re: boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens?

Posted: 9/16/08 at 11:30am

Because there is a very real thing that happens when casting directors and other in the industry think of you as an understudy...they will only see you for understudy roles.

When you're a New York actor, there are real strata to deal with and people have to strategize.

When do I join the union?
When do I stop accepting work as a swing?
When do I say no to understudy roles?
When do I say no to replacing and only do new shows? (very few get to this point)

Some people manage to have it both ways by understudying/ standing by but keeping it off people's radar screen by not being listed in the program, on the website, etc. Just a few years ago, before everyone shared everything on the internet, this was actually a pretty decent strategy...i'm not so sure it's as effective now.

#31

re: boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens?

Posted: 9/16/08 at 6:38pm

I would imagine they would put it on their resume though. To be the standby to the guy who won the Best Actor Tony for that role makes you look good. Unless you're a star or something and it actually is a "step down," I think most casting directors with half a brain in their head would see that on someone's resume and be like, "Oh, that's cool. He must be pretty good. Let's give him a call." Even for someone like Peter Benson, who had several Broadway shows to his credit, it was a good gig for him. I just don't get his "strategy" of keeping his name out of the program. It was just silly.

Obviously, Liam Craig is the new standby, and he is evidently listed in the Playbill as he's on the Playbill.com cast list as the standby. There's a new standby for the three stewardesses too I think (Jessica Bogart, who, like Benson, had played principal roles on Broadway before taking a standby gig).

Work is work!

#32

re: boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens?

Posted: 10/21/08 at 9:13am

Did anyone see the show when Rylance was out recently?

"The gods who nurse this universe think little of mortals' cares. They sit in crowds on exclusive clouds and laugh at our love affairs. I might have had a real romance if they'd given me a chance. I loved him, but he didn't love me. I wanted him, but he didn't want me. Then the gods had a spree and indulged in another whim. Now he loves me, but I don't love him." - Cole Porter

#33

re: boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens?

Posted: 10/21/08 at 9:31am

Mark Rylance missed only 2 performances in London and that wasn't thru sickness it was due to prior commitments made before 'Boeing-Boeing' went into production. The booking audience knew he was out for those 2 days and his understudy played to full houses.

#34

re: boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens?

Posted: 10/21/08 at 9:52am

>> i heard a rumor that Cheyenne Jackson is his understudy..you know the guy with the shorts <<

Are you confusing Legally Brown with Legally Boeing???

And I wonder what the producers had to fight to let him do the part... the AEA seems to have something against Brits performing here!

I once heard someone describe her (Ruthie Henshall) singing as sounding as though she's trying to swallow a whole meatball slightly larger than her windpipe. (The same person compared Michael Ball's singing to sounding as though he's sitting on a washing machine on spin cycle and Colm Wilkinson's to a man with a paralyzed lip trying to eat cottage cheese.) --- Schmerg_The_Impaler

#35

re: boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens?

Posted: 10/21/08 at 1:24pm

I was under the impression that Pamela Payton-Wright was contracted as Redgrave's standby but, again, not listed in the playbill. Or did she play the role in a previous production with Dennehy? I don't think any performances were cancelled and she went on with little notice so she was definitely familiar with the production.

#36

re: boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens?

Posted: 10/21/08 at 7:27pm

Payton-Wright had played Mary in the production that Robert Falls directed with Dennehy in Chicago not too long before the Broadway production. I was under the impression that Payton-Wright was not Redgrave's standby, that Redgrave didn't have one, but that when Redgrave had to miss several performances because of her mother's death, they put in an emergency call to Payton-Wright, who was fortunately available.

This article does describe Payton-Wright as having been Redgrave's standby:

http://discounts.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/3556

So perhaps it was a case where Payton-Wright just wasn't listed as standby. I don't know.

An example from way back is when Gretchen Wyler was Lauren Bacall's standby in Applause, but she didn't want to be listed in the playbill.

As already mentioned, apparently under those circumstances they must put an insert in the playbill if the standby is going on.

#37

re: boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens?

Posted: 10/21/08 at 7:42pm

...the AEA seems to have something against Brits performing here!...

I would have agreed a few years ago, but now it seems as if the reciprocal has become a little better.

#38

re: boeing boeing. There is no understudy for rylance. What happens?

Posted: 10/21/08 at 7:50pm

I did see the show when Rylance was out. It was also one of the early performances of the replacement cast.....although his understudy did do a decent job, after having seen Rylance the first time, it was almost like letting the air out of the show when he wasn't there.

It was good......but I think Rylance's performance is so wonderful that he makes everyone else in the cast achieve more stellar performances as well.

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