George Masswohl Saves Vancouver Opera Performance of Sweeney Todd

It's 4 PM on a Friday, and George Masswohl is sitting at home in Stratford, Ontario - working on his taxes while wearing pajamas. What he doesn't know is that the phone is about to ring with an extraordinary offer. It's 1 PM local time in Vancouver and the Vancouver Opera is in a bit of a bind - the star of their production of Sweeney Todd (Greer Grimsley) is feeling under the weather and may not be able to do all of the upcoming performances.

The Vancouver Opera needs someone familiar with the score to stand-by for Grimsley in case he isn't able to perform. They call Masswohl, who hasn't sung the score since he played the part 12 years ago... and he accepts.

The story picks up the following day in Vancouver: It's Saturday night and Masswohl is seated in the Sweeney Todd audience, taking in the show in case he needs to go on for any upcoming performances. A little while into the show, he notices Grimsley is having some vocal issues - and he darts backstage. By the time the tune "Pretty Women" comes on Grimsley is miming to singing being done off-stage by Masswohl.

Masswohl notes it would have been too dangerous for him to take over the acting, due to the number of cast members involved and the complexity of the production.

"I was quite calm. It was a high-stress situation for everyone involved. I'm lucky that, in those situations, my instinct is to be calm. I was confident that I knew the score well enough to pull it off, so I didn't panic. Or maybe it was jet-lag..." Masswohl told BroadwayWorld the day following his initial performance.

"Everyone rallied. Show folk just do that. And the audience, once it was explained to them at the interval, were right on board."

Masswohl also "dubbed" the Sunday performance as well, after having a short rehearsal and meeting the conductor, cast, and crew. When asked if he'll be doing any subsequent performances, he said "I don't know. We have three days off now, so my plan is to enjoy the gift of an unscheduled visit to the coast, see old friends, and walk on the seawall. It's my hope that Greer Grimsley will recover and be able to carry on. This is his gig. I'm happy I can be here to support him if he needs me. I'd hope for the same were I in his shoes." At the end of the first performance, Grimsley brought Masswohl on stage to take a bow.

Sweeney Todd resumes performances on Thursday. BroadwayWorld will be following this story and reporting what comes next for the Vancouver Opera's production of Sweeney Todd.

See Highlights from Vancouver Opera's SWEENEY TODD Below:

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