Arthur Darvill, of Doctor Who, is now playing Guy in Once?

[wish i were here2]

I found this pretty interesting, I was on Tumblr and according to a post it states that Arthur Darvill is playing Guy in Once, I guess Ben Hope was a temporary replacement? Supposedly Arthur is staying on till December. I just find it funny there was no press release released.

Tumblr posts:
http://hipster-rawry.tumblr.com/post/48384593093/arthur-will-be-the-guy-lead-for-the-musical-once
http://hipster-rawry.tumblr.com/post/48385802385/uptownisdeadnow-whos-seeing-rattyburvil-as

Twitter post:
https://twitter.com/MrRatwill/status/324170852352552961

[AntV]

If he is the new permanent Guy on until December why would he be on the understudy board? Seems like it's just a temporary thing.

[MusicalTheatreGeek2]

Very strange! All look legit though! Good luck to him and I for one am hoping he comes over to London when he supposedly finishes in December! (But with once it seems you can never be sure what is going on)

[MusicalTheatreGeek2]

I guess he is on the understudy board as there has been no announcement and he isn't in the playbill yet?

[MusicalBoy]

How bizarre! I don't recall hearing anything about this whatsoever...

[willep]

That's a new Girl as well...a British actress. She was in Equus with Dan Radcliffe during the West End run. Weird that they made no announcements about this.

Are Ben and Laura going to go to the tour, perhaps? Seems a bit early for them to leave for that, though.

[Jonwo]

Seems odd that they've not announced it, while he isn't a huge name, I can't see going to New York to be an understudy for 8 months, maybe he's going as an equity exchange,

[aasjb4ever]

^How exactly does an Equity exchange work, can you expand on that? Wasn't there a similar situation with Gavin Creel and Mark Evans in the Book of Mormon 1st Nat'l/OLC?

[LizzieCurry]

He's not the understudy; he's on the understudy board because (I'd assume), he's not in the playbill.

Aasjb, Jared Gertner would've needed an exchange too. I'm not sure if Gavin and Mark were each others' exchange. Maybe one was Bertie Carvill?

[ClydeBarrow]

If Rory is in the show now then I will definitely be there. Can anyone confirm?

[Jonwo]

Christopher Fitzgerald is also coming over to do Barnum. One of the children who plays Bruce in Matilda is British so perhaps he counts for the exchange along with Bertie Carvel. Would Emilia Clarke be consider an equity exchange or would she be exempt?

Arthur Darvill is interesting casting for Guy, he's not who I imagine for the role but he is a musician as well as an actor so it could work.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Darvill was indeed on tonight. I saw the sign with my own eyes. And had two friends with me.

[Rainbowhigh23]

I just bought my ticket for May 1 - but I am sooooooo hungry.

[peachesr82]

They were auditioning a lot of British actors a few months ago, I have a friend, not uber famous but well know enough, done Broadway before, who was seen for it. It seems like a very random move, not because of his ability just more about the fact that it hasn't be publicised but, oh well, hopefully I get over to see it again with him.

[MusicalTheatreGeek2]

I guess he might have auditioned for the London production and they liked him so asked him to audition on broadway instead?

[Princeton Returns]

odd but could it be a warm up to take over in London?

[peachesr82]

I think it was specifically for the New York production.It'll be interesting to see what Arthur is like though. There hasn't been much publicity about him.

[Patronus]

If Rory is in the show now then I will definitely be there. Can anyone confirm?

I can confirm that Rory Williams is not in the show as he is a fictional character from Doctor Who.

It does appear however that Arthur Darvill, an actor who played Rory Williams, is in fact in the show.

The preceding was brought to you by the "Don't Be Creepy & Make An Ass Out of Yourself at the Stage Door Prevention Center."

[ClydeBarrow]

Thanks Patronus but it's called a joke. Also I am not some Stagedoor Sally. I don't ever bother celebs actually but thanks for the message no one asked for.

[Patronus]

You're welcome!

[bwayrose7]

Best of luck to Arthur- I'm sure he'll be wonderful! Wish I could get to NY to see.

[ACL2006]

maybe he's simply the new Guy standby?? and Joanna Christie is the new Girl standby??

[darquegk]

I'm sure he's not a standby. While "Doctor Who" is not basic cable star material, it's still big enough on both sides of the Atlantic that after a long run as a lead on the critically acclaimed sci-fi show of the current decade, you don't suddenly become a standby for a lead in a small Broadway show.

[Rentfan931]

Found this article online about Joanna: http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2013/04/10/broadway-role-is-a-dream-come-true-for-almondbury-s-joanna-christie-86081-33145953/

[Masters2]

Saw Arthur Darvill yesterday in the Saturday matinee performance. Playbill say he is appearing "pursuant to an exchange program between American Equity and UK Equity." His performance was understated with his singing intense. He brought a bit of youthfulness to the role. I was impressed.