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Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along

Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along

A Canadian in NYC Profile Photo
A Canadian in NYC
#1Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 2/22/16 at 5:56pm

Has there been any word on who replaces Audra when she's overseas in the summer?  Doe she have an alternate or do you think they'll bring in someone with a bigger draw?  I can't make it to NY in time to see her before she exits in June, but I'll be back in November.  Wondering if I should wait. 

Call_me_jorge Profile Photo
Call_me_jorge
#2Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 2/22/16 at 6:15pm

I thought I read somewhere that Lachanze was going to be temp replacement


In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound. Signed, Theater Workers for a Ceasefire https://theaterworkersforaceasefire.com/statement

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Jshan05
#3Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 2/22/16 at 6:47pm

Call_me_jorge said: "I thought I read somewhere that Lachanze was going to be temp replacement"

 

I know people have listed on the board their picks for her replacement (LaChanze being one of them...) but I haven't read anywhere about her fill-in being cast.

asmith0307
#4Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 2/22/16 at 7:28pm

Just curious, who would be considered a "bigger draw" than Audra? Oprah? Queen Latifah? 

 

EDIT: My apologies, I misread the question.

Updated On: 4/8/16 at 07:28 PM

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dramamama611
#5Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 2/22/16 at 7:53pm

I think they meant a bigger draw than "just" her understudy.

 


If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

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Sondheimite
#6Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 2/22/16 at 7:59pm

Uno Abuba would be optimal. 


Broadway World's Fireman.

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macnyc
#7Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 2/22/16 at 8:03pm

Do we even know enough about the role to suggest people who might replace Audra? I guess some video has been released, but very limited. I'm having trouble getting a handle on this show. I did buy tickets, though!

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icecreambenjamin
#8Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 2/22/16 at 8:09pm

Patina Miller?

Anika Noni Rose? 

Vanessa Williams?

Tonya Pinkins?

Kerry Washington sings.

We can guess but since we haven't seen the show, the role's requirements are unknown.

A Canadian in NYC Profile Photo
A Canadian in NYC
#9Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 2/22/16 at 9:23pm

dramamama611 said: "I think they meant a bigger draw than "just" her understudy.

 

Yes that is what I meant.  I would think it would be a crucial decision seeing as the summer brings in the crowds. I can't wait to see it for the music alone! I wonder if Rebecca Naomi Jones is a consideration?  

 

"

 

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gypsy101
#10Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 2/22/16 at 9:57pm

Sondheimite said: "Uno Abuba would be optimal. "

 

Her name is Uzo Aduba.


I've been wondering this the last few days. I unfortunately planned my trip to NYC for June and totally forgot that Audra will be leaving the show starting June 21st, and I of course arrive in the city that day. Why did I do that.


"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."

Patash Profile Photo
Patash
#11Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 2/23/16 at 8:48am

Separate question, but this might be a good place to ask it.

Yesterday I bought a discount ticket -- front row mezzanine -- for the matinee on Wednesday, April 13.  Afterwards I realized there were a ton of available tickets for that performance, not for other Wednesday matinees.  It's made me wonder -- what's going on on that day?  Is Audra out that day perhaps?  

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Valentina3
#12Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/8/16 at 12:16pm

Bump.

Heather Headley is out. And God please don't let it be Kerry Washington. I'd pay boatloads to see Aduba do it, but I think she might stick with original material (The Maids, la West End) written for her at the moment.

 

CYNTHIA ERIVO (I know I know, whatever). 


Caption: Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him.

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AC126748
#13Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/8/16 at 12:18pm

The Maids is a 70-year-old play...


"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

neonlightsxo
#14Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/8/16 at 12:19pm

Patash said: "Separate question, but this might be a good place to ask it.

 

Yesterday I bought a discount ticket -- front row mezzanine -- for the matinee on Wednesday, April 13.  Afterwards I realized there were a ton of available tickets for that performance, not for other Wednesday matinees.  It's made me wonder -- what's going on on that day?  Is Audra out that day perhaps?  "

 

Not according to Telecharge. Maybe that matinee was a recent addition.

 

Valentina3 Profile Photo
Valentina3
#15Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/8/16 at 1:09pm

AC126748 said: "The Maids is a 70-year-old play..."

 

I thought they had heavily revised it to be contemporary? Regardless - the show is on until 21st May.

Looks like Uzo has enough time to rehearse and join the cast since Audra's outage starts 21st June, if she wants to take it on and producers have approached her. I'm personally still rooting for Patina.


Caption: Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him.

AC126748 Profile Photo
AC126748
#16Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/8/16 at 1:16pm

Valentina3 said: "AC126748 said: "The Maids is a 70-year-old play..."

 

I thought they had heavily revised it to be contemporary? Regardless - the show is on until 21st May.

 

I haven't seen the London production, but I believe it uses the same translation as the Cate Blanchett/Isabelle Huppert production that played in Sydney and New York. If so, the language is a bit more contemporary than a translation prepared 30 years ago would have been, but it doesn't change the structure or the tenor of the play. 

Having not seen Shuffle Along yet, I can't really say how well Aduba would fit into McDonald's role, but it's doubtful that she would want to jump immediately from performing in one play to rehearsing the next. Miller, too, seems unlikely since Madam Secretary starts shooting again in July.


"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

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JBroadway
#17Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/8/16 at 1:18pm

I love Uzo, but I definitely don't see her in this role. I like the idea of Patina a bit better, but even stillI don't think she quite fits. The unfortunate fact is that there is simply nobody else like Audra, and given that this role was written with her in mind (I'm assuming, since she signed on pretty early), it's tough to think of someone who could replace her. There is also the question of voice type; it seemed to be that Audra was really flexing her soprano muscles in this show, so the replacement would most likely have to be a soprano as well, unless they want to change the keys. 

I know she's not a name actress, but I could see Alicia Moran Hall doing it. She was great as Bess in Porgy and Bess, and she could definitely step into Audra's shoes again. 

Updated On: 4/8/16 at 01:18 PM

PalJoey Profile Photo
PalJoey
#18Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/8/16 at 3:31pm

I love the idea of Vanessa.


somethingwicked Profile Photo
somethingwicked
#19Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/8/16 at 3:39pm

Uzo Aduba is ten years too young for the role and the counter opposite of what it requires vocally. She'll also be back shooting ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK by this time.

Similarly, Vanessa Williams is unavailable as she'll be shooting a new television series for VH1 in Atlanta all summer.

To me, Anika Noni Rose remains the optimal candidate.


Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Updated On: 4/8/16 at 03:39 PM

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Brave Sir Robin2
#20Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/8/16 at 7:05pm

I'd love to see Anika Noni Rose back on Broadway! Uzo and Vanessa Williams would be great as well! I'd love to see Kerry Washington in a musical, but I'm not familiar enough with the material to know if she's a good fit.

 

What about Janelle Monae? She's got the talent, credibility, and a decent-sized fan base. Critics love her. Plus, it would be her Broadway debut.


"I saw Pavarotti play Rodolfo on stage and with his girth I thought he was about to eat the whole table at the Cafe Momus." - Dollypop

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wonderfulwizard11
#21Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/8/16 at 7:07pm

Janelle Monae is way to young for anything that Audra would play right now. 


I am a firm believer in serendipity- all the random pieces coming together in one wonderful moment, when suddenly you see what their purpose was all along.

cuz-i-can
#22Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/12/16 at 2:11pm

I have a good feeling that they might be getting r&b/jazz singer Ledisi to replace Audra this summer

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Jshan05
#23Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/12/16 at 2:14pm

cuz-i-can said: "I have a good feeling that they might be getting r&b/jazz singer Ledisi to replace Audra this summer"

 

That could definitely be it, though I'm just speculating at this point. I saw Ledisi and Audra snapped a picture together (on Audra's twitter) so it's definitely a possibility!

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Jordan Catalano
#24Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/12/16 at 2:17pm

I hope Anika comes back in a musical soon, whether it's this or something else. 

cuz-i-can
#25Audra's replacement in Shuffle Along
Posted: 4/12/16 at 2:31pm

Jshan05 said: "cuz-i-can said: "I have a good feeling that they might be getting r&b/jazz singer Ledisi to replace Audra this summer"

 

That could definitely be it, though I'm just speculating at this point. I saw Ledisi and Audra snapped a picture together (on Audra's twitter) so it's definitely a possibility!


 

"

Also on Ledisi's instagram she posted a pic of her reading a script and she just posted a pic of her in heels with the caption "audition time". I know she has broadway roots, she was a swing in Caroline or Change and I believe she was in the original workshop of the color purple