Ugh. Actors today make me sick. Whatever happened to the work ethic of Merman? I'd bet you dollars to doughnuts there were nights when she wasn't feeling well but she went on anyway. Everyone is so namby pamby these days.
The Merm could teach these kids a thing or three about being a STAR.
Unlike Williams, Merman was never a hot commodity in the film industry. And Merman, while legendary, was a stage performer in a very different time. You go where the work and money is. Alan would do the same if his television show did not film in New York as well. It's a business.
Roundabout can easily find another name actress to replace Michelle. They had a field day stunt casting this production the first time around.
If Williams does leave in August (I've heard contradictory reports), then she'll have stayed through her original contract, as the show was originally set to close on 8/31. She would be leaving early, and despite the four or so performances she missed missed for illness, she's had stellar attendance.
Everyone gets sick, and sometimes you miss a show. Even the oft-referenced Merman wasn't immune.
"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
If an actor gets sick and can't perform they miss a show. It's better for them and better for all the other actors in the company. I was an actor in the business (now send out road tours) and can tell you that is the way it works. You can slam Williams all you want, but she seems to be having an excellent performance record save a few performances when she was ill. People get sick. It happens. This whole thread is a non-issue. Even the Merm got sick. And you'll have to believe me on that. Why are we holding Williams to a different standard?
In 1150 performances of Annie do you know how many Merman missed for being ill? 2.
I just think today's actors are soft, by and large. The Merm always stayed for the run of the show because she was what we call a professional. I have such enormous respect for her. I really do.
She also took vacations while in ANNIE. Do you begrudge her those? Do you begrudge her the weeks she missed from GYPSY and SOMETHING FOR THE BOYS due to illness?
No one is immune, and being too sick to work doesn't make one "soft." I'm sure you've called out from your job.
"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
If an actor is feeling sick enough that they can't perform, I'd rather see an understudy go on than see said actor try and stumble through the show, giving less than 100% because they're too ill.
While I admire actors like Merman and all those today who have such a staunch work ethic, if an actor is sick enough to the point where they can't do their job, they shouldn't be performing. Like others have said, people get sick. I think illness (not something like just a head cold) is an acceptable excuse for missing performances.
"You drank a charm to kill John Proctor's wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!" - Betty Parris to Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible
It's crazy you keep mentioning a person that's been dead for 30 years and her work ethic. People get sick, people need rest, people take time off. It's a thing, get over it.
No Michelle Williams tonight, but since I've heard mixed reviews, I was fine with it. The one I was going to see was Alan Cumming, and he did not disappoint. Andrea Goss has a good voice, but I wasn't blown away by her performance. Very good, but it didn't stand out. I hate Sally Bowles, but maybe that's the point. It was my first time seeing Cabaret (had never even seen the movie), so I was nervous that hearing about it for years would lead to me being let down. I felt this way until the very end. Powerful.
I was at the show last night. According to a Roundabout employee, it was Goss's 11th time on as Sally.
Really dissapointed William's was out, but Goss was top notch. There was nothing noting that she would be out in advance online, so I wonder if she got sick.
When I bought my ticket Friday afternoon I was informed ahead of time that she'd be out, so perhaps she's on a scheduled vacation this week and not ill?
Merman also performed before the internet, so every time she was out or sucked balls during a show someone didn't broadcast it.
"The sexual energy between the mother and son really concerns me!"-random woman behind me at Next to Normal
"I want to meet him after and bang him!"-random woman who exposed her breasts at Rock of Ages, referring to James Carpinello
I have to disagree with those who consider Goss excellent. I thought Goss was absolutely terrible, with the most annoying faux-English accent that I ever heard. She went in and out of it, singing half as an American and then remembering, all of a sudden, that she had to overemphasize an "o" or an "a" in a most artificial manner. A completely mediocre dancer too, and with no charisma. I was very disappointed. Add to that the fact that Cumming has grown more mannered and too self-aware during the years. He is no longer the Emcee; he is himself. Still, he had plenty to offer. Not her. Amateur time, as a far as I was concerned.
I saw it last Sunday and thank God Michelle Williams was in. She is magnificent in the role; broke my heart and I'm still thinking about her and this production a week later.
I've seen "Cabaret" several times (Broadway and regional) and Williams is the best Sally I've ever seen. So, if you can go again, try to catch her in it. It's worth it. That's my two cents on the matter. :)
They seem to not be announcing Michelle's planned absences, which is strange. I saw Andrea Goss a few weeks ago and Michelle's absence that whole weekend was apparently planned.
I thought Andrea Goss was okay, by the way...not great, not terrible.