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| re: Shows that had an alternate do a few performances a week (such as Evita and Dolly) | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 03:23 am EDT 08/19/17 | |
| In reply to: Shows that had an alternate do a few performances a week (such as Evita and Dolly) - bobby2 02:03 am EDT 08/19/17 | |
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| I saved a post on this from 2014. Here is most of that post, adjusted as a response to your post. There were alternates for Cervantes-Quixote and Aldonza for most of the original Broadway run of Man of La Mancha. Neither leading role was double-cast originally, but at a certain point in the run, they started having matinee alternates for both roles. There were also alternates for both roles in the 1972 revival. In the 1977 revival, there was a Wednesay matinee Cervantes-Quixote. And during the run of the 1992 revival, Laurence Guittard (who'd been a Cervantes-Quixote alternate for a time during the run of the original Broadway production) and Joan Diener became alternates for Raul Julia and Sheena Easton, and then they both took over full time and closed the run, each playing eight performances a week (Diener was 103 at the time). Or maybe Diener played only six performances a week when she took over as the main Aldonza. I'm not sure. The Merry Widow, 1931 revival: Alternates for the title character, or so it appears on ibdb. Rosalinda, 1942. Seems to have had three performers alternating as Rosalinda. Carmen Jones, 1943. Alternates for Carmen, Joe, Cindy Lou, and Corporal Morrell (but not for Husky Miller). The original production of Oklahoma! had Curly alternates for much of the run. Carousel, 1949 return. Billy and Julie. The Consul, 1950. Alternate for Magda Sorel. My Darlin' Aida, 1952. Alternates for the three leads. The Most Happy Fella. In 1956, there was a Wednesday matinee alternate for Tony. In 1979, there were alternates for both Tony and Rosabella. I think they played both Wednesday and Saturday matinees. The Unsinkable Molly Brown, 1960. For at least part of the run, there was a matinee alternate for Johnny "Leadville" Brown. The Apple Tree, 1966. Alternate for Eve/Princess Barbára/Ella-Passionella. There was no alternate when the production opened, but five weeks into the run, Phyllis Newman became the alternate. Later, Carmen Alvarez, who had been the understudy, became the alternate. I Do! I Do! This switched to six performances a week at a certain point in the run (after having originally played seven). Near the end of Martin and Preston's run in the show, Carol Lawrence and Gordon MacRae started doing matinees as preparation for taking over full time. Long Day's Journey Into Night, 1971 Off-Broadway revival. Matinee alternates for the Tyrones. (The original Broadway production seems to have played only five performances a week.) The Secret Garden had alternates for Mary Lennox. There have been others. |
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| re: Shows that had an alternate do a few performances a week (such as Evita and Dolly) | |
| Posted by: RLand 11:11 am EDT 08/19/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Shows that had an alternate do a few performances a week (such as Evita and Dolly) - AlanScott 03:23 am EDT 08/19/17 | |
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| Robert Weede's alternate in the original cast of Most Happy Fella was Richard Torigi. He performed on both Wednesday and Saturday matinees. I don't recall ever hearing that Robert Ryan or Geraldine Fitzgerald ever had alternates as the Tyrones in the 1971 revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night. I'm not sure if a Saturday matinee was scheduled and on Sunday there was only one performance. The original production played six performances a week (Monday-Saturday evenings, no matinees) and began at 7:30---at a time when just about every play started at 8:30 or 8:40. |
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| re: Shows that had an alternate do a few performances a week (such as Evita and Dolly) | |
| Posted by: StageDoorJohnny 01:38 am EDT 08/20/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Shows that had an alternate do a few performances a week (such as Evita and Dolly) - RLand 11:11 am EDT 08/19/17 | |
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| I seem to recall that Inia Te Wiata, who played Tony in the London production of 'Fella,' played either during Weede's vacation or as an alternate on Broadway to prepare for London | |
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| re: Shows that had an alternate do a few performances a week (such as Evita and Dolly) | |
| Posted by: bobby2 04:13 am EDT 08/19/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Shows that had an alternate do a few performances a week (such as Evita and Dolly) - AlanScott 03:23 am EDT 08/19/17 | |
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| "(Diener was 103 at the time)." Hee hee. She really was a trooper!! (I know this was a typo.) I actually liked Sheena Easton in the revival. She sang it quite well even if she was kind of miscast. Too bad she never really found other Broadway roles. (just remembered she is doing 42nd Street in London.) |
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| More examples in recent history | |
| Posted by: GabbyGerard 04:11 am EDT 08/19/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Shows that had an alternate do a few performances a week (such as Evita and Dolly) - AlanScott 03:23 am EDT 08/19/17 | |
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| "Kim" in Miss Saigon is regularly cast with an alternate on Broadway and on tour. Sherry D. Boone was an alternate for Audra McDonald in the title role of Marie Christine. In Movin' Out, there were alternates for ALL five of the principals: the lead vocalist and the Brenda, Eddie, Judy and Tony dance tracks. (Sidenote: Original Brenda alternate Holly Cruikshank gave two of the best dance performances I've ever seen--as Brenda and then in the tour of Contact as the Girl in the Yellow Dress, a role where she far bested original Deborah Yates.) After the opening of Jersey Boys, an alternate was added and regularly maintained for "Frankie Valli." Kevin Mambo was the alternate for Sahr Ngaujah in the title role of Fela! The title role in Hamilton famously gets an alternate (though cast inserts suggest that nearly every principal in the show is on a borderline alternate schedule). A couple of "classics" added alternates in revival. In 2008, A Chorus Line added an alternate for Cassie. In 2009, West Side Story added an alternate for Tony--one of whom was Jeremy Jordan. After the opening of An American in Paris, alternates were added for "Jerry Mulligan" and "Lise Dassin." In the tour of the recent Hedwig and the Angry Inch revival, Lena Hall would take a weekly break from her Tony winning performance as Yitzhak to play Hedwig--likely the first time we've seen an alternate who is both a Tony winner stepping out of her award winning performance and of a different gender. (Though not an alternate, Bebe Neuwirth did frequently spell Debbie Allen in the first revival of Sweet Charity, stepping out of her Tony winning performance as Nickie.) I can't find any documentation of it in a quick internet search, but I could swear that Effie got an alternate at some point in Dreamgirls, though it might have just been on tour or for the tour-turned-revival. Ditto the role of "Jo/Mae" in Dirty Blonde. I have excluded roles played/shared by minors. |
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| re: More examples in recent history | |
| Posted by: larry13 11:14 pm EDT 08/19/17 | |
| In reply to: More examples in recent history - GabbyGerard 04:11 am EDT 08/19/17 | |
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| I found your post--as indeed most of the others on this thread--packed with very interesting info. But I have one question: All the roles with alternates are difficult/tiring ones, some exceptionally so. EXCEPT Cassie in CHORUS LINE. Does she(alone in the cast?)really need an alternate? And not until the 2008 revival? |
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| I have the same question(s) as you! And a role that SHOULD have had an alternate! | |
| Posted by: GabbyGerard 01:40 am EDT 08/20/17 | |
| In reply to: re: More examples in recent history - larry13 11:14 pm EDT 08/19/17 | |
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| I seriously question the necessity of a Cassie alternate. In my mind, it says more about the way the 2006 (sorry--typo in my original post) revival was cast and music directed. This might get me flayed, but I also wonder about the need for a Kim alternate, especially when she has so little to sing in the second act. In my estimation, a recent musical that SHOULD have had an alternate was Next to Normal. Alice Ripley gets plenty of flack on this board. I'm the first to admit that she's far from perfect. But, with the vocal and emotional demands of the role of Diana, I believe it should have been a "six show week" for its star. |
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| re: More examples in recent history | |
| Posted by: mikem 07:27 am EDT 08/19/17 | |
| In reply to: More examples in recent history - GabbyGerard 04:11 am EDT 08/19/17 | |
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| Are people out that much in Hamilton? That was not true for the original cast, at least in the first six months of the run. Victoria Clark had an alternate when she extended in Light in the Piazza. Fantasia also eventually had an alternate in The Color Purple. Did Norbert have a reduced schedule at the end of his run in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels? I thought I had heard that but I may be wrong. |
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