Author's Note: While working as an arts editor and radio reporter (often covering theatre), I was asked to write an article for a theatre playbill about understudies and stand-bys. the Broadway News Bureau picked up the article, and it appeared in several theatre playbills across the country. Last month, as Broadway news carried stories about an understudy replacing Christian Hoff in the title role of the Broadway revival of "Pal Joey", a friend emailed me the article.
Waiting in the Wings...When the Show Must Go On
by Mark G. Auerbach
The theatre lives by the motto "The show must go on." So, what happens when the star fractures his ankle or the soprano has a sore throat? Luckily for producers and audiences, there are understudies, stand-bys, and swings waiting in the wings (or nowadays, within cell phone or beeper distance of the stage door). These versatile performers have learned their lines; they've rehearsed their routines; and they're ready to go--just in case.
Understudies and standbys--the terms are almost synonymous these days--learn the roles of principal actors as insurance for the production just in case a regular cast member can't go on. Some understudies perform nightly in smaller parts, ready to take over another role if necessary. Standbys don't appear in the production unless the actor they are understudying for is out. Musicals also employ "swings," chorus performers who don't have on-stage assignments but who learn all the different chorus positions and are ready to jump into the show at a moment's notice when a chorus performer is out.
"Understudies have a full plate," says John Pike at Connecticut's Goodspeed Opera House, the theatre that has sent over a dozen shows to Broadway, among them Man of La Mancha and Annie. "They always have to be ready to perform--their own roles and others--on short notice; sometimes in mid-performance. The pressure is intense, with lots of uncertainty. You never know when the beeper will buzz."
Evan Ensign, production stage manager for the national touring company of Rent, supervises two to three understudies in rehearsal each week. He begins with blocking, and then moves on stage to work with costumes and scenery. There's a full understudy run-through every few weeks.
When Ensign joined Rent in Washington, D.C. last summer after spending four years touring with The Phantom of the Opera, he saw understudies become split-second heroes. "The actor playing Angel was indisposed in the middle of a scene. With three minutes notice, his understudy changed costumes and went on; a swing jumped into costume and took the understudy's role. The other actors were unaware of the changes until they actually happened."
"At Phantom," Ensign says, "the scenario is similar, but the production's complicated scene changes and costumes require an understudy to really understand how and when the sets move. Many of the understudies are also in ensemble roles, and some roles, such as Christine, are double-cast. Nonetheless, understudies can 'save the show' in a pinch."
Halfway through a performance in Louisville, Ensign's Phantom was unable to complete the show. "The actor playing Andre and understudying the Phantom went on as the Phantom in the second act. Two make-up people helped him make the complicated costume and make-up switch during the intermission."
Evan Pappas, the veteran actor who starred in My Favorite Year on Broadway, spent several years in the Broadway company of A Chorus Line, understudying (and also playing) four different roles. "I'm not sure I could do it again," says Pappas, "but I respect those who do. When you do a new production, the understudy learns the role side-by-side with the company. When you join a production during its run, you learn it from the stage manager and by watching performances. And, you generally get one run-through a week."
But, there are many people who work steadily (and make good money) as understudies and standbys. Karen Mason, a highly-acclaimed cabaret and recording artist, was the "Norma Desmond in the wings" for Sunset Boulevard, from its premiere in Los Angeles through its Broadway run. Mason went on for Glenn Close and Betty Buckley when necessary, and also played Norma Desmond when Close or Buckley were on scheduled vacations.
Sometimes art imitates life, and audiences love the backstage drama. Christine Daae waits in the wings until the diva Carlotta is indisposed in the Paris Opera gala portrayed in The Phantom of the Opera. Chorus girl Peggy Sawyer steps in for an injured star in 42nd Street and the show is saved from disaster on opening night. And, Eve Harrington manipulates Margo Channing's absence from the theatre and turns herself into a star in All About Eve and Applause.
Sometimes life imitates art, and a star is born. In 1954, a then unknown Shirley MacLaine understudied Carol Haney in The Pajama Game. When Haney broke her leg, MacLaine went on in her place. A movie producer was in the audience; MacLaine was "noticed," and a major film career began. Years later, Madeline Kahn missed some performances in the musical On the Twentieth Century. Her understudy, Judy Kaye, went on for Kahn, and eventually replaced her in the Broadway production (and subsequent national tour). She got rave reviews, landed the role of Carlotta when The Phantom of the Opera came to Broadway--and earned a Tony Award.
Many stars have logged time as understudies and stand-bys. Ten years ago, you could have seen Wesley Snipes, Bebe Neuwirth, Woody Harrelson, Rob Morrow, and John Turturro on Broadway--if the stars were sick. Stockard Channing, Phylicia Rashad and Larry Kert also moved from the wings to the stage, the screen, and television.
So, the next time you hear that announcement, "At this performance, the role of so-and-so will be played by so-and-so," expect a top-notch performance by a performer who's experiencing some inner drama, and going on stage against all odds. That's a star turn at its best.
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Mark G. Auerbach, a New England-based arts and radio reporter, has spent several years as an understudy to drive-time news anchors.
From the Broadway News Bureau/The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc. December 1997
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