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| Author | Topic: Performers missing performances |
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 PA Fan
Registered User
Registered:
11/6/2003 | posted: 11/15/2003 at 10:34:04 AM ET
I just read an article by a David Barbour, that is on www.theatremania.com, about broadway performers missing performances --- he talks about the 2nd run that Lane & Broderick are doing with "The Producers" and their absentism" during the first run.
He also references the early performances missed by Bernadette due to her respiratory infection.
Maybe I'm reading more into it than I should, but one almost gets the impression that he (and/or other folks) thought she was faking it or not tough enough to sing through it. I guess it's easy for media folks to criticize since they don't do 8 shows a week or rely on their voice for a living.
I'm new to all this so can someone give me the real story?
http://www.theatermania.com
|  UCFGuardgirl
Registered User
Registered:
6/15/2003
From:
New York City | posted: 11/15/2003 at 4:15:55 PM ET
This isn't really anything new, and a conversation just like this was actually heating up on ALL THAT CHAT yesterday, when Kristin was out of WICKED.
When there's a "star" in a principal role on Broadway, a lot of people often have preconceptions about how the "star" is going to behave. There's this false assumption, I think, that is often made about "celebrities" -- that once a person has become a celebrity, her sense of humility disappears, and she can do what she wants, and behave how she wants, and often this behavior will resemble Attention Defecit Disorder. what I mean is, a lot of people tend to assume that when a performer goes back to Broadway after having "made it big," and then misses performances, well, certainly the reason is simply that the performer has grown tired of the role, and/or simply doesn't feel like going on.
Which is untrue. Performers don't miss performances because they don't feel like going on. First of all, they CAN'T behave like that. The producers would never stand for it -- if the star is the reason the show is bringing in the money, and the star is not there, the show will lose money. Second of all, performers are professionals. This is what they do for a living. They sign contracts to do it. And while I can't say all performers hate being absent -- because I don't know them all, personally -- I can bet you that probably 99% of them do. When they sign on to do 8 shows a week they know EXACTLY what they are in for, and they know they have to do it to the best of their ability.
Further, most of them do it because they love live theatre, and having an audience very night, and that immediate reaction and adoration, even if it means performing the same material every night.
I think, also, that Nathan Lane's extended absences during the late part of his PRODUCERS run has since fueled the "Diva" argument. I didn't personally go see the PRODUCERS with Lane and Broderick in it, and so I don't how sick he was, but I heard Nathan Lane missed quite a few performances towards the end. So many, that people began to get suspicious.
Also, Broadway is expensive. And most of us don't go a lot. So I think we sometimes forget that it's 8 shows a week -- not just the one show that day we happen to be seeing -- and that it's like any other job, and can be grueling. Beyond that, especially at the beginning of a high-profile run, there are publicity shoots and events, press junkets, and talk show circuits on top of the 8 shows a week. But even then, we oftentimes think, this is what performers do for a living. Shouldn't they be able to do it without missing any shows?
A lot of us forget, I think, that performers in the end are just people anyone else, and they DO get sick, like we get sick, and they DO have emergencies, like we have emergencies, and they DO often have reason to use their sick days. Plus, their schedules are INSANE. The human body is simply not meant to function on some of these schedules. So after a while, something is going to give.
I have to wonder how often unknown performers miss shows, because that's something you never hear about. I mean, I went to go see RENT a few weeks back, and ALL the understudies were going on for listed players. So it's a funny double standard, because famous people aren't the only ones who miss shows.
***************
Q: Any funny incidents or accidents with Kristin (Chenoweth)?
Norbert Leo Butz: I have this Errol Flynn moment where I swing in on this rope. One night in San Francisco, I let go of the rope and the rest of the actors started cracking up. I turned around and the rope had literally tied around Kristin's head and got caught on her crown and was pulling her off stage. It was like watching Barbie get hung.
--------->Playbill.com interviews Norbert Leo Butz, of WICKED
| Karen
Registered User
Registered:
5/3/2002 | posted: 11/16/2003 at 2:22:10 PM ET
Very, very good points, UCFGuardgirl. I wonder if the recent spate of Broadway performers being out sick with flu or related illnesses will cause people to look back at when Bernadette was sick with more sympathy and understanding. It's not just her! At some point we all get sick to the point where we can't work. I don't read ATC anymore, but I'm assuming from what you say, that some people there are accusing Kristin, et al. of malingering? If so, that seems literally laughable. With Nathan Lane, I seem to recall he needed to have a polyp removed from a vocal chord. Not positive about that though. The main point, in my opinion, is that probably the overwhelming majority of Broadway performers call in sick only when absolutely necessary. The "STARS" thing mentioned in the article seems really silly and unfounded.
|  Jean
Registered User
Registered:
6/7/2003 | posted: 11/16/2003 at 3:05:49 PM ET
Great post, UCFGuardGirl (PLEASE get a shorter nickname!  ). Karen, I know what you mean about ATC--I read it only when I'm in a really strong mood, and never read about Bernadette if I can help it!
Imagine my surprise, then, when I read this lovely post today (have no fear--it's really wonderful):
ATC lovely post
J
(Oh, and a side note to Bernadette's stamina--she missed maybe 4 performances of AGYG through illness, plus she had a scheduled winter vacation--during which she did a New Year's eve concert in Colorado!)
|  Broadwaybaby17
Registered User
Registered:
3/18/2003
From:
Alabama | posted: 11/16/2003 at 3:10:17 PM ET
I totally agree with all the points! I mean I think they go on much more than I think I could handle. I was scared to death to go to NYC just to see Bernadette because I figured that most stars missed a lot. When I found out that since the previews she has hardley missed a show it made me very happy. They take very good care of themselves obviously. If I had to do the things they did everyday I would physically collapse. Being a performer is so physically tough. I've had to learn how to start taking care of myself so that I can keep going! I cannot imagine keeping up with their schedules!
Bump it with a trumpet!
|  SingOutAnnie
Registered User
Registered:
8/23/2003
From:
Bradenton/Sarasota, FLA | posted: 11/16/2003 at 3:28:36 PM ET
The Theatermania article says something about Merman never missing a performance, but we also have Arthur Laurents' comments that Merman was an something of opening night performer and that, as the run of the show wore on, she'd walk through her performances and goof around on stage.
Bernadette was clearly ill when Gypsy first opened, and, eight months later, she gives her all every night.
Take your pick...
| jmslsu01
Registered User
Registered:
6/9/2003
From:
northern VA | posted: 11/16/2003 at 6:39:24 PM ET
Well,that's just not true that Ethel Merman never missed a performance during Gypsy,because she burst some blood vessels in her neck and missed quite a few shows. It's not exactly a secret.
Jenn
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