Alice's understudy was on jordangirl, Jessica Phillips. I saw her, and she was spectacular.
"Oh look at the time, three more intelligent plays just closed and THE ADDAMS FAMILY made another million dollars" -Jackie Hoffman, Broadway.com Audience Awards
I know Maya Days suffers from some intense indigestion problem- acid reflux type thing, shes had to have surgery etc. I know she suffered from it while she was Mimi on Broadway and also when she was in AIDA... and no way you could ever tell when I saw her.
i hear Patti Lupone was sick one time (gasp at the thought!) and they made an announcement saying she was under the weather but would still be performing, and was fantastic.
it was a board a few weeks ago.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I?
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
We went to see Curtains on Friday.. and they said that David Hyde Pierce was sick for the last four days and had just come back to the show (the day we saw it) -- he coughed a couple times but he was really good.
"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around."
Jonathan Groff was sick once, and you could tell, but not because of his performance. He was pale and sweaty, and he coughed a couple of times. After the I Believe scene, he ran off stage. Apparently he began throwing up because an understudy came back on for Act 2.
A few days before Hugh Panaro left "The Phantom of the Opera," I went to see a Wednesday matinee and it was one of the best performances I'd seen from him. When my friend and I stopped by to see him backstage later that night, the first thing he told us was, "Hi guys...I'm sick!" He had a pretty bad cold that stuck with him right through his final performance.
As dance captain, I do not allow any of my dancers to go on when they are ill. I am not talking headache, tummy ache, achy knees..I mean infectious illness, contagious, etc. I feel that it is irresponsible to come into any workplace ill as you infect everyone around you and then the cast is REALLY screwed when everyone gets sick. Plus it is an insurance liability should anyone fall, pass out, etc. on set.
We have fabulous u/s and swings and that is their job. Unlike many of my colleagues, I do not believe in the "be a trooper - the show must go on" mentality. We hire swings for a reason. (Principals are a different story as I only handle my dancers.)
As the DC, I ask all my dancers to stay home if they are ill. It just isn't worth it. If you are sick, it is better to rest (for a night or 2) and get well rather than coming in, overworking yourself and then get REALLY sick and you are out for a week rather than a night.
I remember seeing Marcy Harriell in KISMET. She was feeling sick (Lonny Price said before the show), but she went on. AND SHE NAILED EVERY NUMBER SHE HAD!!!! It didn't affect her singing at all!
"How could she just suddenly, completely disappear into thin water?" - The Little Mermaid
Ben Davis, in his brief stint in the Les Mis revival, missed about half his performances from some nasty flu--but when he did make it on, he was one of the best Javerts I've ever seen.