Acting | The Guardian: ‘My initial reaction,” says Greg Arundell, with a laugh, “was no.” The actor had been playing Jacob Marley, the deceased partner of Ebenezer Scrooge, in a production of A Christmas Carol at Beaulieu Abbey. Then several of the cast, including Scrooge himself, came down with Covid. Director Abbey Wright pulled Arundell aside and asked him to step up and play the great festive miser.
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I absolutely adore when understudies get the credit they deserve, that is a hard job. And the role has become more important than ever with actors being taken out of shows due to testing Covid positive. Though, currently and especially based on this article it seems like understudies are under a lot of pressure to take on roles even if they aren’t prepared simply because the show must go on. And obviously, no one wants to cancel a show but I do feel that if the health and safety of your cast, crew, and audience are at risk if you continue, it might be time to call it. Being an understudy is such an intense skill to have because you have to have the mental ability to remember multiple characters' lines and blocking and be able to run through the show whenever you’re needed. I have seen plenty of shows where even the lead was being done by an understudy that day and you can barely even tell just because they are that good at the job. I know that lots of people on the internet actually prefer one of the understudies for Regina George in Mean Girls on Broadway, her name is Ashley de la Rosa and shes incredible. Yay understudies!
It saddens me so much to see Broadway still struggling to get its feet on the ground after the Covid-19 pandemic. I truly thought that things where looking better with the pandemic a couple months ago, but here I am on zoom classes after having completely ruined my families Christmas by infecting them with omicron. I wish there was an easy answer as to what the theater industry should do, but it seems as if nobody really knows what is best for the industry. I am so happy that understudies are getting the time they deserve on stage, but at what cost. On the one hand I think shows should come back, because theater is absolutely vital to the cities economy, and by putting shows on hold it is also putting the livelihoods and paychecks of so many people at risk. Yet, clearly cancelations are incredibly prevalent as it is almost impossible to make sure nobody in the crowd or cast may be carrying Covid-19. I also never thought about this deeply, but how this affects not only actors, understudies, and stagehands, but also union workers are incredibly at risk, because there entire job is to make sure people get fair pay and work, while also working within a safe workplace environment. By forcing people to go to work you are endangering their lives possibly, but by not allowing businesses to open you are also putting people at risk that may desperately need the money. This is incredibly fine line that unions need to walk on, and this has only made their job much harder.
I definitely have mixed feelings here. On a happier note, this article and situation shows how strong the core of understudies and swings in theatre is. These jobs are extremely intense, high-pressure, and mentally demanding, and I applaud all of the understudies who were put into very precarious positions because of Omicron and excelled under pressure. However, it also exposed how unrelenting the theatre industry is that they would rather bring in performers from other casts, old cast members, and even directors and other creatives in order to fill the massive swath of missing performers. When does the line of ‘the show must go on’ end and ‘we’re in crisis and we should cancel shows’ begin? I partially agree with bringing in people to cover limited-runs like Christmas shows, because those cannot be rescheduled. But even then, in a pandemic with millions of people getting a highly contagious virus, having large gatherings with unmasked performers was a bad idea. Canceling shows is bad for the profit margin, but continuing what happened is bad for the health of both performers and the audience, and that’s what should have been prioritized in retrospect.
I never knew the difference between understudies, swings and standbys before. I really hope that these actors are being generously compensated for these roles they weren’t originally supposed to cover. It seemed crazy to have so many people learn a role in pre-pandemic times, but now it seems that there aren't enough understudies. It is great they are getting the recognition they deserve, but this highlights the pressure actors are under to ensure the show goes on. At what point is it too damaging to the actors overall wellbeing? Stagehands get to keep their masks on, but actors are taking a risk every time they step onstage. Over break I was fortunate enough to see To Kill a Mockingbird. We had intended to see the afternoon show, but less than a half an hour before curtain, the show was canceled. We were able to see it that evening, but I can’t imagine the stress felt by everyone involved. Trying to determine what if they could go on that evening, how to deal with angry patrons outside, whether it was safe to pack the house.
It truly amazes me how much talent all of these swings and understudies possess. Greg Arundell’s story is not the first time I had heard of a Broadway understudy going on for a track they have never done before - and killing by the way - and it most likely will not be the last. Understudies are such a necessary part of any show so it is nice to see them appreciated in an article like this. What surprised me, however, was that the show stayed open through Omicron. Kate Wyver, the author, mentions that “dozens of shows” were canceled. If much of the main cast came down with Covid, I personally feel like it should not have gone on at all. I understand that it was a seasonal production but that just feels unsafe to me. Props to all of the covers who had to go out and perform, but it should not have been needed at all in my opinion.
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