Renee Fleming: A Real Pro

[dalton]

I bought tickets to the Saturday evening performance of Carousel with the hopes of seeing Renee Fleming before she left the show. I then discovered that she would be singing Danny Boy at John McCain's funeral that morning and figured that there was no way she would fly back to NYC on this day to play the evening performance. I just knew her understudy would go on. I was so wrong.  This magnificent pro not only sang a moving tribute to John McCain in DC in the morning but she returned to Broadway to lend her glorious voice to a stirring rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone. She was magnificent. It makes me wonder what other Broadway stars would have operated in the same way under these circumstances.

[WaffleOnWheels]

I heard she also got very extended entrance applause. She deserves it!

[dramamama611]

Honestly?  Lots likely would have done so.

[Fosse76]

DC isn't that far by plane or train. Unless she planned on some sightseeing in DC, why wouldn't she have returned in time to perform?

[mtcond]

It was also her final performance in the show. She had a leave of absence scheduled that started this week, but now she won’t be returning before the September 16 closing. Which also might explain her extended entrance applause, though with her appearance at the McCain funeral earlier in the day her applause was earned several times over. We are lucky to have her forever on the magnificent cast recording.

[UncleCharlie]

It's a 50 minute flight and I'm sure she had cars and drivers at each end. It's great that she did it but let's not act like almost every other performer wouldn't have done the same thing.

[devonian.t]

Nothing compared to Stritch's story of her dash to Boston from Broadway!

[quizking101]

devonian.t said: "Nothing compared to Stritch's story of her dash to Boston from Broadway!"

I think it was New Haven. And of course the cameo by classic Merman saying, “Jesus Christ, Elaine! Go to New Haven and sing the f***ing song!”

[jsg03jd]

mtcond said: "It was also her final performance in the show. She had a leave of absence scheduled that started this week, but now she won’t be returning before the September 16 closing. Which also might explain her extended entrance applause, though with her appearance at the McCain funeral earlier in the day her applause was earned several times over. We are lucky to have her forever on the magnificent cast recording."

Her final performance was actually on Sunday night, and she received thunderous applause at her entrance, after #YNWA and especially at curtain call.  Sadly, she slipped and fell after taking her bow but she stood up, brushed it off smiling the whole time.  A pro indeed.

[dalton]

Loved the Stritch story. But she was from another era, the Golden Age of Broadway, when legends like Merman, Martin and Channing never, or rarely, missed performances or relied on understudies. Check the previous posts about Carousel to see comments that it has been difficult to come to a performance when all of the leads were performing.