THEATER GOSSIP #572: Missing Gavin and Ken and (in Lindsay's case) Performances

Replying to R588, who wrote "Ken Page originated roled. [sic] Gavin Creel mostly appeared in revivals."

Broadway-wise, Ken Page originated one role: AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'. He wasn't the first Old Deuteronomy in CATS, though of course he was the first to play it on Broadway. His other Broadway credits were 2 replacement turns (THE WIZ and AIN'T NOTHIN' BUT THE BLUES) and 2 revivals (GUYS AND DOLLS and the return of AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'). He did originate roles Off-Broadway (I am the only person alive who loved HAPPINESS at Lincoln Center) and in London (CHILDREN OF EDEN).

Broadway-wise, Gavin Creel originated one role: THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE. He was also in the original cast of Sondheim's BOUNCE out of town.

pedant | ˈped(ə)nt |

noun

a person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning: the royal palace (some pedants would say the ex-royal palace).

There is nothing pedantic about R1's post.

R3 needs to upgrade her pedantry-tolerance settings if she's going to stay on the DL.

Thanks, OP. And I like the title.

[quote]Missing Gavin and Ken and (in Lindsay's case) Performances

And, in terms of performances, also in the case of Maleah Joi Moon in HELL'S KITCHEN :-)

I spent 15 minutes trying to find THEATRE Gossip.

Is this the real true thread?

Ken Page was also a wonderful Jupiter opposite Andrea Martin, La Chanze, Gregg Edelman and Marin Mazzie (RIP) in Cole Porter's OUT OF THIS WORLD in the early years of Encores! Fabulous cast recording available.

John Lithgow and the play GIANT about anti-Semitic writer Roald Dahl are getting stellar reviews at London's Royal Court right now. Can't wait for this one to get to Broadway though I imagine it will do a West End run first.

Are we supposed to read the other children in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as Jews?

[quote]Are we supposed to read the other children in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as Jews?

I always assumed Oompa-Loompa was a Jewish name.

Here's the link to the previous thread ...

Thanks for starting the new one, OP! And thank you to the late-in-the-thread poster from the prior thread who shared the Hell's Kitchen gossip!

[quote]Thank you to the late-in-the-thread poster from the prior thread who shared the Hell's Kitchen gossip!

You're welcome ;-)

Interesting, in the internet/social media era, that shows are sometimes able to keep it relatively quiet when stuff like this is going on. Another example: It seemed to me that the MERRILY producers and press people did everything possible not to discuss Lindsay Mendez's huge number of absences from that show.

R14 - it is interesting the way they've been able to keep it quiet. I think there are probably a few factors -- one, please correct me if I'm wrong -- but my impression is that Hell's Kitchen, unlike Merrily, is not really regarded as a theatre-lover's show. I know it's not even been open a full year yet, but whenever I've walked by its theatre, the crowds for it already seem 90% tourist. Nothing wrong with that. Tourists keep NY's economy humming -- but I imagine this kind of backstage inside-baseball intrigue is of little interest to the majority of people seeing the show. Vs. Merrily which obviously WAS a theatre-person's show with many avid theatre-goers returning to it multiple times and it remaining a big part of the theatre world's conversation throughout its run.

Productions have no need to address frequent absences or other performance issues anymore. Social media is packed full of automatons who do the job for them, saying such things as:

"I'd like to see YOU perform 8 times a week!"

"Understudies are the life and soul of Broadway!"

"They have every right to skip performances, you don't know them!"

I sure wish I could take a day or two off from my job every single week in perpetuity, too bad I don't have twitter stans.

This may be old news here, but I only just learned that Sarah Pidgeon, Juliana Canfield and Tom Pacinka (Tony nominees all) have left the cast of “Stereophonic,” which will close on January 12.

I haven’t been looking at the Broadway grosses lately, had business fallen off? Why are they closing the show?

How much money does a performer lose for a missed performance. Do they have time off, sick days, etc?

THEATRE.

Goodness.

The details matter, r19.

R20 I agree.

I saw Hell's Kitchen the day after the Tony Awards nominations. Gianna Harris played Ali that day. Also, most of the audience were high schoolers.

[quote] I haven’t been looking at the Broadway grosses lately, had business fallen off? Why are they closing the show?

It's definitely selling. But for some reason, the show has always been a limited run. It extended three times. My question is- if it's doing so well, why not just have it be an open ended run?

That’s why I asked the question above, R23. Will “Stereophonic” just keep extending every couple of months?

Or will the original cast get together again to take it to London next year?

I really think even with Idina, Audra, Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard and everyone else, the Tony will go to Nicole for Sunset.

Jamie Lloyd is the retarded love child of Ivo Van hove and Julie Taymor