Chita is out of Drood.

[Kelly2]

Theatrenut, I've heard the same. A friend was dying to see Chita and they were more than happy to get her tickets for a different performance, no questions asked.

For anyone who isn't aware, fyi, Stephanie J. Block will be out of the show Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

[Kelly2]

Am I wrong in assuming tomorrow night will be the last performance of the full OBC?

[AAO26]

Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley, Joel Grey and Chita Rivera sang the bitter, sweet — and bittersweet — songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb in Lincoln Center's American Songbook series in Lincoln Center's American Songbook series Feb. 6.

[Kelly2]

Yes, her being out of the night show was planned, her being out of the mat was not, as I understand it.

[Emmaloucbway]

Tonight is the last night of the full OBC and the performance is also being filmed for the Lincoln Center archive!

[ghostlight2]

And it's Dickens' birthday.

[WhatIWasBorn2Do]

The performance tonight was BRILLIANT! First time being exposed to the show, and it was wonderful! A good performance to be documented forever!

[Kelly2]

According to Twitter, Will Chase will not be in tonight. Presumably, Spencer Plachy will be on for Jasper.

[[e-mail]]

Just got back from the first performance with the new cast members and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'll admit, this was my fifth time seeing "Drood" and while the energy in the house was lower tonight than I've seen it before, by the end everyone was on their feet.

As far as the newcomers: Erin Davie does a very solid job as Rosa Bud, and I'm sure will find her footing nicely. She is playing Rosa as more of a ditz than the sex kitten angle that Betsy Wolfe took. But, Davie's voice is beautiful and she seemed to really be enjoying herself.

Andrew Samonsky was a fine Neville. A bit wooden at times, but his voice sounded great and he did get some great laughs using some new comedic bits (that differ from Andy Karl's).

For me the weakest part of the evening was Spencer Plachy as Jasper (filling in for Will Chase) who seemed to not grasp the need to portray the crazy that is his character. Still, a serviceable performance.

For those keeping track at home, tonight featured Helena as Datchery, Puffer as the Murderer, and Helena and Bazzard as the lovers. As you might guess, Jessie Mueller OWNED the show tonight.

[Kelly2]

Wouldn't surprise me if we start seeing Jessie Mueller dominating the endings from now on, even though she was already winning (overall) more than everyone else.

Also: does Andrew Samonsky do the eyebrows jokes? Is his murderer line the same as Andy Karl's?

[Kelly2]

For those curious, Chita will be out today as well, it was posted on Twitter that Alison Cimmet will be on for her today, and Nick Corley will be going on for Peter Benson as Bazzard.

Last night, Chita, Will, and Peter will all out, resulting in the show I imagine having to alter the male ensemble tracks as once you put Justin Greer on for Corley and Spencer Plachy on for Will, there aren't any swings left to cover Plachy's ensemble track. When I saw the show on January 30th, Cimmet was on for Puffer and Janine DiVita was on for Drood, and they actually had to remove the two other girls from the Moonfall Quartet, and it was sung as a duet with Jessie Mueller and Betsy Wolfe.

I hate to rag on the show or seem like I'm being unkind, but is this really something that should be happening repeatedly at the Broadway level? I mean, as far as I know, Mueller had a planned out today that has been announced for months, and it would appear they've pulled her from whatever it was to have her back for the matinee today as she and Chita share Cimmet as the sole understudy for their parts and Chita is out so thus, Alison is occupied going on in her track. Is it really possible that they didn't see this as a potential issue and don't have an emergency cover? It just seems so obvious to me that this could happen. Or is it just a risky gamble that they just so happened to be able to get out of this time?

I mean, Mueller is out most of next week for Carousel. Chita's been out for the past few days...I really hope they're teaching someone the Helena track in case this happens again.

On a brighter note: every understudy I have seen go on in this show is WONDERFUL and I fully encourage anyone curious to go check out their performances, I can't make it today but I'm sure Corley will make a great Bazzard and I already know Cimmet's Puffer is wonderful.

[ghostlight2]

It's the Roundabout. They are notoriously cheap, and they usually get away with it, but they're paying for it now.

"does Andrew Samonsky do the eyebrows jokes? Is his murderer line the same as Andy Karl's?"

No. He says: "Did I end Drood's life early because he was so girly?".

[Kelly2]

Thanks for the info on the new Neville line. I can't really hear it in my head but I'm sure it's probably hilarious onstage.

And really: props to the cast and the understudies for handling a tough situation with grace and talent. Brava!

[dramamama611]

It was pretty funny, but I missed the eyebrow line -- was one of my favorite moments.

[KeepCool]

Can't wait to see Samonsky in the part. Are there union guidelines regarding cutting entire tracks from the show/putting actors in in tracks that aren't theirs? The whole situation sounds like it wouldn't be copacetic with Equity.

[lenstersf]

I saw the show on Friday, and the understudies were all great. Plachy flubbed the first verse (he forgot the lyrics after "A man can go quite mad and not be all that bad"), but he recovered nicely. Must've been quite nerve racking since it happened so early but I thought he was wonderful. Lots of lyrics sung quickly for many of the roles so they should be commended!

[Kelly2]

I saw Spencer go on for John Jasper back in November and thought he was quite good! He's got a very charming presence onstage. The show has wonderful understudies...they could just use one or two more.

[nasty_khakis]

I personally thought Planchy was AWFUL. His singing voice is nice, but not that supported and I never bought him as creepy, menacing, crazy, or...funny. I was literally dreading his "Confession." I just never warmed to him at all. The male ensemble track seemed just fine, nothing as jarring as cutting two girls out of "Moonfall" (I was there that night too).

Corely's Bazzard was very good. He basically did line for line, gesture for gesture Peter's Bazzard. He did a couple of new things, and clearly won the audience over.

I'm amazed at how GREAT Alison has gotten as Puffer. I guess all an understudy needs is time and experience to feel comfortable and feel great in the role.

[Kelly2]

"I'm amazed at how GREAT Alison has gotten as Puffer. I guess all an understudy needs is time and experience to feel comfortable and feel great in the role."

I saw one of Alison's later performances as Puffer and I thought she was absolutely incredible. She found a lot of new laughs in the part and really gave a lot to the character, in my opinion. I would go see her again in a heartbeat, totally agree with your assessment.

[Blockhead24]

Is Alison still going to be on for Chita Feb 27-March 2?

[Kelly2]

I mean, I would hope not, as Jessie Mueller will be out of the show for Carousel and I can't imagine who they would put on for her, as Alison Cimmet is the only understudy for both of those parts.

I'd hope after the near-debacle at the matinee today they are coming up with a plan for if that should happen though.

[JBroadway]

do you guys think Mueller will be back in Drood right after Carousel? I'm hoping to see Drood the wednesday after Carousel ends.

[ChairinMain]

Why on earth, when you have a 4-person female ens, have only two of them understudy? Kira Schmidt and Shannon Lewis are sitting backstage cooling their heels while Janine DiVita and Alison Cimmet have to pull double duty. Shannon Lewis could totally handle Helena...why isn't she an understudy?

[lenstersf]

Oh c'mon Plachy wasn't awful. Focusing on trying to remember all the lyrics probably makes it hard to allocate more energy to the acting. It's a difficult role to sing. You can't expect someone who's performed the part fewer than 10 times to be as good as the main actor. I liked his performance.

[somethingwicked]

It's always been surprising to me that Kiira Schmidt doesn't understudy Drood and/or Helena. Like Janine DiVita, she covered (and went on as) Reno in the revival of ANYTHING GOES, so she certainly has a strong voice.

Does anyone know why Chita has been out so often? She has a reputation for not only not missing shows but being hard on other actors she works with who miss shows, so it's very odd to me that this has been happening so consistently.

[theatreguy]

Chita has been out the past week due to a knee injury. She was out for about a week in January and a few days earlier this month due to illness.