Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that an unlisted understudy is more common than no understudy, particularly if there is someone in the cast who could appropriately understudy that role. If the star gets injured in the middle of the show and there's no understudy, the curtain has to come down. The additional pay for understudying if the actor is already in the show is pretty small, I think less than $50 a week if the actor is getting Equity minimum.
That being said, if it's a one-man show, the curtain's coming down anyway in most cases. No one wants to see someone take Bruce Springsteen's place to finish Springsteen on Broadway.
I'm a bit surprised Billy Crystal didn't have an understudy for Mr Saturday Night, because Stephen DeRosa was already understudying David Paymer and is age-appropriate.
With the box office holding decently for Max Clayton and Julie Benko, I wonder if this equation will shift for producers. It seems an awful lot of audience members are fine with paying premium prices even if the star is sick. |
