I believe last night was the first time an understudy has gone on in a principal role in Kinky Boots. Did anyone catch Ellyn Marsh's Lauren debut? She's also on today.
John Jeffrey Martin also tweeted the other day "Hey @KinkyBootsFans I'll be playing #charlieprice weds aug 28th at 2 pm, and sat.August 31st at 2 pm!!.."
On another note, Kyle Taylor Parker now covers Lola. Does anyone know if either of the other two Lola covers (Timothy/Kevin) have left?
Understudies have gone on for Lauren at Kinky Boots since Saturday..as Annaleigh was taking a week off for her wedding. This had been planned all along.
I believe there are two actresses filling in for her in her absence. I don't know the name of the other one but if I am not mistaken, the other one was on this past weekend.
John Jeffrey Martin also tweeted the other day "Hey @KinkyBootsFans I'll be playing #charlieprice weds aug 28th at 2 pm, and sat.August 31st at 2 pm!!.."
The first understudy for Charlie, Andy Kelso, will play the role at all the other performances that week.
I think that the understudies would be fine for s rolls besides Lola. I feel like it is an enormous task to even come up to the sparklers ankles of billy porter. This is a very tough casting gig and I'm curious to see how the understudies will do and to see (in the future) how other actors will interpret the fabulous Simon.
^ I agree with you. Billy Porter has created a fabulous role with big Kinky Boots to fill. I am sure we will see some fierce Lola's/Simon for the road companies. I think Nathan Lee Graham or Kwame Michael Remy would be stellar in that role.. I am sure the understudies on Bway would do just fine. I would much prefer to see Kyle Parker and Kevin Kirkwood than Timothy Ware on for Billy. However, I am sure Billy won't be calling out anytime soon. He is Just AMAZING!
There is nothing in the world better than Live Theater.
"Grease," the fourth revival of the season, is the worst show in the history of theater and represents an unparalleled assault on Western civilization and its values. - Michael Reidel
I have not seen the understudies, but I really feel like the videos don't do them justice. Their voices are great, but I don't think these songs, especially Step One, are not suitable for the piano to be the only instrument accompanying the singers.
I am very curious to see how others will interpret Lola/Simon! Billy Porter is so wonderful in this role, definitely big shoes to fill as many people noted. I also think Stark Sands is awesome!
"Grease," the fourth revival of the season, is the worst show in the history of theater and represents an unparalleled assault on Western civilization and its values. - Michael Reidel
Did anyone on here see Ellyn or Sandra as Lauren or does anyone know if Billy has any upcoming days off? It will be interesting to see how his understudy compares
I saw Ellyn's debut as Lauren (and I may or may not be the one who posted that audio oops) and I must say, for her debut, she did fairly well. There were a couple points where she seemed a little unsure of herself. I got a "Am I supposed to be here?" feel on her face sometimes. But if you didn't know it was her first time going on, you couldn't tell.
I also felt she wasn't quite sure what direction she wanted to take the character in but her vocals were great and I didn't feel she was copying Annaleigh's Lauren (although, in some spots where she didn't make a big character choice, I felt she might've been doing something Annaleigh normally does because she didn't know what else to do). Does that make sense? Basically, she definitely wasn't settled into the role which is no surprise but she still gave a very adequate and enjoyable performance. Maybe it's just because I have a soft spot for understudies, standbys, and swings.