I've been curious about Choir Boy & meant to get a ticket before Jeremy Pope (the lead) departs, mainly b/c I like to see opening night casts whenever possible, but I dragged my feet & missed him-- his last performance was earlier today. According to a press release, ensemble member & understudy Jonathan Burke will take over the role for the final 2 weeks of the show's run.
For those who have seen it, how pivotal was Jeremy's performance to the success of the show? If I may be blunt, is it worth seeing without him? (Or has anyone ever seen Jonathan step into the role?)
I hate asking questions like this b/c I know understudies are incredibly talented & perfectly capable, but you know... sometimes a lead performance MAKES a show, or sometimes you're witnessing a star-making turn. Don't know if that was the case with Jeremy in Choir Boy (I know he's going right on to Ain't Too Proud To Beg). And I won't lie, I read on other boards that Jeremy's performance was a highlight... but I tend to trust people on this site more!
I guess I'm only asking b/c I recently saw The Band's Visit while Katrina Lenk was out sick & I was very underwhelmed. No disrespect to her understudy but a lot of my friends said Katrina was a big factor in their enjoyment of the show. |
