This is a completely unplanned post but, having read Gina Beck‘s tweet about a series of letters written to The Stage, I felt something had to be said. In the letters (just look through this link for anything with understudy in the title), many audience members were complaining that, having visited some of the West End’s most prestigious and spectacular musicals, they were disappointed to see multiple understudies/standbys in the lead roles. These patrons had bought tickets to the shows with the purpose of seeing the principal performers, for example Lee Mead and Rachel Tucker in Wicked.
I have to say, I am a member of the opposite team. I buy tickets to shows when I know that an understudy/standby will be on. Having seen both Ashleigh Gray and Nikki Davis-Jones and their respective principals as Elphaba, I only saw their principals once and have seen the standbys in the roles multiple times. In my opinion (and this is just that, my opinion), they give the show a fresh edge and make watching it for 8 or 9th time make it feel like the first. I am not saying Rachel is not up to doing that, no, I am saying I prefer to watch standbys in the roles.
Recently, I was given tickets to see We Will Rock You as a christmas present. I had never seen it and the tickets were for a Wednesday matinee. I assume that, were these tickets bought for the writers of the letters to The Stage, this would fill them with dread. However, as an understudy/standby junkie, this excited me enormously. I was going to get to see people play these roles who had only played it a handful of times. They weren’t the regulars that everybody loved and worshipped, there would only be a handful of people who had seen these people perform these roles. To my extreme enjoyment and happiness, it was almost a complete standby/understudy performance – all apart from the roles of Meat and Scaramouche – and Sarah French (Scaramouche) completely knocked me off my chair…she was amazing. But it was the thrill of seeing this unique bunch of people who rarely perform together do so that made me enjoy the performance that much more.
I have never been much of a ‘name hunter’. I go to see a musical to see just that, the musical…the story, the songs, the set, the stage, the company (as a whole – yes…they are a team), the theatre, the audience, the costumes, the lights and the action. Saying that, I would have been disappointed had Kerry Ellis not been Nancy when I went to see Oliver! BUT after the disappointed had worn off, I would have found positives in the fact that I’d get to see an ex-standby Elphie perform instead.
In one of the letters it is asked ‘If this had been a Saturday night performance, would the show would have gone ahead with so many understudies?’. Well the answer to that question is yes. Of course it would. The only reason I’ve ever heard of a show being cancelled is with snow (Hairspray, West End, 2009) and floods (Wicked the Musical, Brisbane, 2011). The Wicked producers have planned to fly in ex-performers from international productions if they were to be without a standby or principal performer.
All in all, I think that you will get out of a show what you expect to get out of a show. As an ambassador of optimism, I go to every performance with the view that I am about to see another spectacular show and that I am very fortunate to be able to do so. Unfortunately, I believe if you go to show feeling deflated because your favourite West End star isn’t in it, you will come out feeling exactly the same way.
As a final thought, Kerry Ellis was understudy to Martine McCutcheon in My Fair Lady – this was her first West End job (as far as I’m aware, correct me if I’m wrong) and look how far she has come. She is, arguably, one of the most well-loved performers in the West End and has thrived throughout her career. Let’s hope the same can be said for the likes of Ashleigh Gray, Nikki Davis-Jones, Carley Stenson, Sarah Earnshaw, Chloe Taylor, Ross Hunter and all the other fab standbys & understudies that work their socks off to ensure the show you see is just as good as, if not better than, if the principal cast were on.
I’d be really interested to hear your comments about standbys/understudies. What has been your experience? Do you love or loathe them?
Jx
