Did they pause the show and announce that MLB was continuing, or did he just slip in and continue the show? I'm always curious about how these things are handled.
Most instances I’ve seen where an understudy or standby has taken over midshow they slip into the show as its going and an announcement is made prior to the end of intermission. I’m sure it varies show to show and also depends on how long it may take the person in question to be ready to go on and/or how bad the situation is.
From what I recall, union rules are it has to be announced or a slip of paper (I could be wrong) but during intermission. I don't know what happens if it's in act 2
I was there tonight - Taylor started and was doing really well. They sing Requiem and then Evan makes another entrance and suddenly it's Michael. I haven't seen the show before but he was wearing a blue button down instead of the polo, and it was hanging open and he looked like, cooler, I guess? Unfortunately it totally disconnected me from the character and the story, but like 5 minutes later Michael is sitting on his bed and buttoned it up. He had on the cast and the rest of the costume - so I wonder how fast he was notified. It came as a shock to the audience though because it was totally unexpected, and Michael does look different than Taylor. At intermission they made an announcement saying that Michael was taking over the rest of the show. At the stage door Michael Park said that Taylor had just felt sick and couldn't head back on.
Despite the fact that I lost connection to the story, I thought it was super cool to see the two different Evans. They both did phenomenal but they were pretty different.
Taylor was definitely sick when I saw the show this week. He sounded good but was coughing on stage and definitely had some sinus thing going on. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just that. Feel better, Taylor!
I was with my 10 year old daughter and this was her 1st time seeikg it and my 2nd. It was odd for a minute or 2 when the switch happened I also thought it was cool to see both of them. I had been curious how is redpond to the show since I order finally saw it with Ben Platt, Each actor definitely plays Evan slightly different but they all work. It confirmed for me this is an amazing show-.
I've seen this kind of thing happen more times than you'd imagine in my 25+ years working in theater. Usually, if an actor is sick and feels there's a chance he won't be able to finish the performance, he'll alert stage management and his cover will be at the ready, in costume, to go on at a moment's notice. Sounds like that's what happened tonight.
BroadwayNoob said: "I was there tonight - Taylor started and was doing really well. They sing Requiem and then Evan makes another entrance and suddenly it's Michael. I haven't seen the show before but he was wearing a blue button down instead of the polo, and it was hanging open and he looked like, cooler, I guess? Unfortunately it totally disconnected me from the character and the story,but like 5 minutes later Michael is sitting on his bed and buttoned it up. He had on the cast and the rest of the costume - so I wonder how fast he was notified. It came as a shock to the audience though because it was totally unexpected, and Michael does look different than Taylor. At intermission they made an announcement saying that Michael was taking over the rest of the show. At the stage door Michael Park said that Taylor had just felt sick and couldn't head back on.
Despite the fact that I lost connection to the story, I thought it was super cool to see the two different Evans. They both did phenomenal but they were pretty different."
That's actually the standard costume for Evan in that scene. Requiem is the first time he leaves stage. He comes back in an open button down and does If I Could Tell Her, and then he buttons it during his Skype conversation with Jared about kissing Zoe, etc. It stays buttoned during Disappear, and he adds the tie to the outfit before You Will Be Found.
LarryD2 said: "I've seen this kind of thing happen more times than you'd imagine in my 25+ years working in theater. Usually, if an actor is sick and feels there's a chance he won't be able to finish the performance, he'll alert stage management and his cover will be at the ready, in costume, to go on at a moment's notice. Sounds like that's what happened tonight."
I've always liked this crazy Victor/Victoria story (starts around 4 minutes, but basically: Julie Andrews loses her voice in the middle of a performance but her understudy has to get to the theatre in a blizzard, so the audience is warned at intermission that sometime in Act 2, the understudy's going to replace Julie... crazy!)
I saw it happen before too. The revival of A Chorus Line. Charlotte D’Amboise suddenly left the line and another actress walked on. Happened right before Music and the Mirror. They announced at the end of the show.
Also at A Chorus Line, Mari Davi lost her voice during the opening. Michelle Arverna, who understudied the role, did the rest of the show as Maggie in her "cut dancer" costume.
When I saw Frozen in April. Alyssa Fox went on as Elsa mid show for “Let It Go” and all of Act 2. After the show she tweeted that she was asleep and they woke her up to tell her she was on!
I’ve only seen a few mid-show replacements, but my favorite was during the revival of Hair. Caissie Levy left the show about halfway through the second act due to illness. She had left at a natural moment, but instead of stopping and announcing an understudy would be finishing the show, they just had the understudy, Nicole Lewis, who was on stage finish the show. But because of the nature of the show, they couldn’t just pretend this new person was Sheila. So they used her “Tribe Name” (I think it was Sunny) and randomly inserted her into the story. I understand why they did it, but it was confusing to a lot of the audience until they made the announcement and gave her a special bow.
Taylor was back in today and seemed well. He shared some beautiful final moments with Rachel.
When I saw Matilda, they actually stopped the show in the first act and announced that there would be a break. About 15 minutes later, they announced that the show would resume with a different girl playing Matilda, since the first one had gotten sick.
oncemorewithfeeling2 said: "I’ve only seen a few mid-show replacements, but my favorite was during the revival of Hair. Caissie Levy left the show about halfway through the second act due to illness. She had left at a natural moment, but instead of stopping and announcing an understudy would be finishing the show, they just had the understudy, Nicole Lewis, who was on stage finish the show. But because of the nature of the show, they couldn’t just pretend this new person was Sheila. So they used her “Tribe Name” (I think it was Sunny) and randomly inserted her into the story. I understand why they did it, but it was confusing to a lot of the audience until they made the announcement and gave her a special bow."
I believe Caissie was kicked in the face during Black Boys/White Boys and Jackie Burns was on vacation at the time.
When I saw "Sunset" with Betty Buckley, she left at the intermission, and they simply said "Please welcome Karen Mason to the role of Norma Desmond." Mason came in and nailed "As if..." and stopped the show, cold. Buckley's act one was beautifully sung, thrillingly so, but so muted with Joe, she seemed to be playing the end. I later saw the show again, and she gave the same performance. (She never captured Norma's outre presence, only her pathos and pain, which made the ending weak. Another topic.)
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
joined:9/18/16
joined:
9/18/16
Posted: 8/3/18 at 11:24pm