Interview: Holly Ann Butler of UNCOVERED: TALES OF AN UNDERSTUDY at Feinstein's/54 Below

Superheroes have masks, capes and superpowers, and secret identities that allow them to do amazing things that save people and the world from sheer destruction and peril.

So do swings and understudies.

Swings and understudies, quite literally, keep a show open and running like a well-oiled machine.

These actors may not have secret identities. In fact, in your playbill, there's usually a little slip of paper telling you that this unheralded person is stepping into another actor's role due to illness or some other unforeseen calamity. You may not know it, but the person named on that little slip of paper is indeed a superhero. They might have been thrown into that role with little or no rehearsal, with little or no notice.

Holly Ann Butler is one of those very special people and she, with a little help from some very special friends, is going to tell you all about it. On May 8, at 9:30 PM, Holly Ann Butler will take the 54 Below stage in her new show Uncovered: Tales of An Understudy. I had the chance to chat with Holly and find out about her spectacular career, and her amazing history as an understudy and swing.

This interview has been edited for space and content.

Holly, thanks for chatting with Broadway World! Now tell me: why "Uncovered"?

It's about the fact that I've been an understudy in almost every show I've done since moving to New York. Every Broadway, every National Tour, every Off-Broadway, I've been an understudy for all of it. Now, I'm a standby as well. Especially during this time, due to Covid, everybody started to realize "Wow! There's some crazy things that are happening" with Broadway understudies. I've wanted to do this concert for a long time, and it worked out perfectly with everything that's been going on. I think a lot more people are aware of what we do and it's very funny because I feel like that there's definitely a feeling of "Oh wow" people are having to do some really crazy things because of Covid - and they're not wrong. We've been doing things like this all along. We get asked to go on with barely any rehearsal. It always happens before you think it's going to happen. I have a lot of crazy stories from my years of doing this.

What can audiences expect from your show?

It's REALLY diverse because I'm only using material from shows that I've understudied. So, it's a really diverse and eclectic show. There's some classic musical theatre, some more contemporary, and there are some fun special guests showing up - all of whom have been understudies in their lifetimes. These guests are all now doing some very fancy things. There's going to be some crazy stories about the chaos of being a cover.

That leads me into my next question: You have some heavy-hitting guest stars. Tell me about them and why you selected them?

Well yeah! There's L. Steven Taylor who is my partner (we live together). He's currently playing Mufasa on Broadway in The Lion King (he was an understudy first). He also used to understudy Scar. He was the first Black person to understudy Scar, which is really awesome. So, he's going to be there and he'll be doing stuff with me. There's Alysha Umphress (from On the Town and Smokey Joes Cafe) - we'll be doing stuff from On the Town. Alysha was a cover for On a Clear Day, standing by for Jesse Mueller. Brian Gonzales, who is currently in Mr. Saturday Night and was also in Aladdin; he was also the standby for James Corden in One Man, Two Guv'nors. I had the great pleasure of seeing him do that.

It seems like 2022 is the "Year of the Swing and Understudy" - what do you want audiences to know about swings and understudies?

I think that one of my favorite things is that you'll get a completely different performance from these people that's totally different from what you would have seen otherwise. What I love about theatre, in general, is that everyone gets to bring parts of themselves to the role. So you're going to see a different thing from Patti LuPone than you would from Carmen Cusack. They could be playing the same part but have totally different takes on the same role. What I love to see is a performance from someone whose name you maybe wouldn't recognize offhand, but them bringing this magical special energy to the same role and knowing that we're the ones showing up every day and wait for those moments. Then, when you do see those little slips of paper in your program, I want people to be excited because they'll know that they're going to see just as good of a show.

What was the first time you were "thrown to the lions" so to speak? That time with little or no rehearsal?

Oh my gosh! The very first performance I ever had on Broadway. (Laughs) I was doing Grease. (The 2007 revival) I was hired as a replacement and I was with the show for 9 days and I was at my house. It was Halloween and I got a call from stage management around 11 pm. They said, "You're going to be on tomorrow, so don't party too hard!" I had not taken a bow on Broadway, It was my very first Broadway show and I was so excited. I was on as Rizzo, and I'd had 3 total rehearsals. One was act one with the female ensemble - the understudies. The second rehearsal was act one with the ladies and men and the other rehearsal was a dance rehearsal with the dance captain. I'd never done any of act two!

What were your favorite experiences as a cover?

It's really difficult to decide. I've been really, really lucky. I've had some amazing experiences. I've gotten to share the stage with some of my idols. I've had a lifetime of wonderful stories. One of the most special things I think happened recently. It was so wild. I got asked to come back to Come From Away after not having been in the show in two years. It was because of Covid. They were having an outbreak in the building. Out of a 12-person cast, they had 8 understudies on. Two of us were alumni - I hadn't done the show in two years. One person hadn't been in two months, and another cast member - Marissa Aubrey - was from the tour and came in to make her Broadway debut. The show is built that way. It's a really magical thing. It's built to take care of each other and look out for one another. You have that moment when you look over at someone and realize you're all in this together. We're doing this. Right after doing it in New York, I went out to the tour because they were having the same Covid issues. So, I was going to fly out to Minneapolis. The stage manager said, "We're going to have you watch the show tonight because there are some subtle differences between the tour and New York, so come and watch the show." By the time my plane landed in Minneapolis, they called to say, "Just kidding, you're on tonight!" So, I did the show with people I'd never met before! We did soundcheck and we did the show that night.

Have you ever played 54 Below before?

I have not! This is my solo show debut. I've been a guest in other people's shows before, but this is my very first solo show at 54 Below. I'm very excited!

So, do you agree that swinging and understudying is a superpower?

100%! It takes a kind of crazy brain. There's a handful of things going on, right? You have to be able to compartmentalize things very well. You have to keep things separate. It's this when I'm this person, but not when I'm this person. On top of that, you really have to be ok with letting go of things when they don't go exactly perfectly. Because it never will. No matter how much you prepare, no matter how much you look over your notes, no matter how much you do everything, there's always going to be surprises. It's just going to look different when you're out there with the lights, the sounds, and the people. It is a superpower!

Thank you Holly for chatting with me! Here's to your debut at Feinstein's/54 Below!

You can check out Holly Ann Butler Uncovered: Tales of An Understudy at Feinstein's/54 Below on Sunday, May 8 at 9:30 pm. Information and reservations are HERE. The program will be Live Streamed - that information and ticket reservations are HERE.

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