Andrew Samonsky to Replace Andy Karl in DROOD 2/12

[Kelly2]

Sad to see this turned out to be true. He'll be missed. Wonder why Karl is leaving early.

http://broadwayworld.com/article/Andrew-Samonsky-to-Replace-Andy-Karl-as-Neville-Landless-in-THE-MYSTERY-OF-EDWIN-DROOD-212-20130124

[little_sally]

I'm not thrilled with this casting at all. Samonsky is so dull and wooden in everything he does.

[little_sally]

double post

[Phillytheatreguy10]

Hmm, wonder what Andy's got up his sleeve? Not familar with Samonsky at all, regardless I shall see both new cast memebers when I return in March.

[Kelly2]

I imagine Andy Karl must have a great new project coming up, why else would he leave a show he's been so well-reviewed in a month early? Can't wait to hear about it.

[bjh2114]

Ugh. Can Samonsky do comedy? He's so boring.

[elphaba.scares.me]

I didn't see him in South Pacific or Scandalous, but Samonsky was stone-cold brilliant in Queen of the Mist. Didn't love the show...but his performance was worth the ticket price.

[BeadleDeedle]

^
Word. He was excellent in Queen of the Mist.

[PalJoey]

Samonsky is so dull and wooden in everything he does.

Exactly how many things have you seen him in?

[bdn223]

Maybe Rocky is coming a lot earlier than we all expected?!? There are a few open mid to large scale theaters open in the spring with the St. James, Richard Rogers, Longacre, Barrymore, and Belasco all being empty.

[Kelly2]

I'd be very excited if this was for Rocky, I heard he was wonderful in the lab production. I'm not familiar with Samonsky as an actor at all, it's hard for me to imagine someone besides Andy in the role just because of how much he's put into the show. I mean, they rewrote his line before the murderer voting purely because of what he brought to the character. It used to be something about Edwin being an odious little twit, and now it's a pretty great joke about his extensive use of his eyebrows.

It'll definitely be odd to see two leads in the show replaced so close to closing.

[Owen22]

He was the WEIRDEST Lt Cable EVER in that TV broadcast of South Pacific. But he was okay playing the bisexual evil dude (whose character name eludes me) in "Tales of the City" in SF.

[Wildcard]

Caught him in South Pacific and in Little Miss Sunshine. He was dull and lifeless in both.

[Emmaloucbway]

I'm not sure how I feel about this casting choice, but do you all think that this might be a sign of a further extension?

[RippedMan]

I've seen him in all his major NYC shows, and I thought it was pretty dull in most. He was good in Queen of the Mist, but that was also a much smaller venue, and a more intimate show. This is broad comedy. So.... I don't know.

[everythingtaboo]

Karl to Samonsky? DOWNGRADE.

[ghostlight2]

I'll be interested to see his take. He definitely has a sense of humor. From South Pacific's backstage web series "Five Minutes Til Curtain":

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING LINK HAS AUDIO, IS ABSOLUTELY NOT SAFE FOR WORK AND INAPPROPRIATE FOR UNDER 18 OR THE EASILY OFFENDED - AND FUNNY AS HELL.
NSFW

[Roscoe]

I saw Samonsky's appalling performance as Lt. Cable in SOUTH PACIFIC when it was shown on Great Performances. Damn. I had been planning on seeing DROOD, but now I don't know.

[PalJoey]

Tough crowd.

[Matteo]

Well, Broadway.com just announced he is returning to Jersey Boys... hmm.

[Kelly2]

Well, I understand why he would considering he'll have a job for much longer and the pay is probably way better, but I do wish he were leaving for something a bit more exciting.

[shrekster224]

Serious downgrade, and I can't even see him in the role. Wish Andy would just stay until it closes and then go back to Jersey Boys, but they should have just given it to Sciotto. Who else from outside of the show would have been good? Trying to think....

[Kelly2]

I wish they would've gone with Eric Sciotto too, but I imagine it'd be tougher to find a replacement for an ensemble track that understudies two major parts than just replacing Karl.

[Chicago Star]

Keep in mind that Andy's original contract was only until Feb 10th. So I'm sure he booked Jersey Boys thinking Drood wouldn't extend

[ghostlight2]

Hey, no fair, Chicago Star! You updated and my (now deleted) response to you made no sense. Yes, I agree that the scenario you posit now is the most likely one - but I do wonder why we didn't hear of it earlier, as we did Betsy's.

[AC126748]

And JB is a steady paycheck where he'll almost certainly be making more than he was, and guaranteed employment for a while. Artists need to make money, people seem to forget that sometimes.