I've had to let cast members go before (including a lead in one and a member of an ensemble cast of four in another).  Their problem wasn't absence of body, but absence of mind: they couldn't remember a line to save their lives, much less save the show.  The casts of both were happy to see them go and the shows went very well without them, but the decision-maker always has it rough (however I was the director in both of those instances and I feel that is where the responsibility and duty of dismissal should lie).

 

Wishing you the best,

I do remember that an actor (who played various parts in a musical) over slept during a performance.  When he failed to show up for 7 o'clock call, we called him many times.  We finally had to do the first act without him trying to cover his parts as best as possible.  He finally arrived just before act II started. 

 

So don't sweat that you had to replace him.  I am sure that his excuse doesn't hold much weight. 

 

 

Good luck with the show!

Second, I'm betting this wasn't the first time this guy was late, missing or generally not present in mind... True?

 

That it waited to this close to opening is problematic at the least for you, your cast and crew.. But it CAN happen that late in the game and I have a couple of examples.

 

I had a lead, and I mean lead as in the show is almost all about him... He disapeared from the radar screen for three days! and this was about two weeks out on a major musical opening. (granted not as close as yours, but still) Come to find out, he had had a little run in with the local constabulary and was currently thier guest...  This wasn't his first "miss" for me and come to find out later (as is always the case) far from his first miss for others who had cast him.. I did what any good director would do.... PANIC... Not really, but we did turn the town over looking for him and put a couple of "senarios" in motion if we had to replace him (including using a guy a knew who had done the part the year before)  End of this story was, we did not have to replace him and it all came together (as it most often does) but the stress was a bit more than we needed.

 

The other case, I was the actor asked to step in.  We had just finished a run of "Arsenic and Old Lace" and a week later I got a call from a theater about 25 miles away that was a week and a half away from going up.  It seems thier Mortimer didn't know half of his lines and knew none of his blocking..  And as its a major role for show continuity and story progression, no other cast member had been able to fully develope thier character or pacing..  They asked if I would step in.  As I had just finished two months of rehearsal and eight performances I had Mortimer pretty well down.. So I said, what the heck yes..  Dangers: When I got there I discovered that thier set was completely opposite of ours. Thier Elaine took me by the arm and started leading me through the first scene.. After a while I stopped and asked the director had they really blocked the entire scene with the two characters arm in arm throughout.. It seems that the pervious mortimer was actually being led to his marks... in between his calls for "Line Damn it" pacing was extreemly slow..

The director for my first version is a stickler for pacing.  She likes things to move at almost a frantic pace. I lost 20 lbs just rehearsing for the part... Needless to say, when I started moving on my own and delivering the lines at speed and without the need of the prompter, things started really moving... three actors had to appologize for missing entrances, because they were use to having ten or twelve minutes more till thier next entrance with the old mortimer..  I asked the director if I could just observe the blocking of the other characters and attempt to engage or counter as I saw appropriate and that if I was off of what they wanted they could just tell me that rather than try and block me into every scene. They agreed and it worked out great... When it came to the moment when Mortimer walks across the stage to kiss Elaine, I found this not to be a chore because I thought she was quite attractive.  I took her in my arms as it had been blocked in the previous production and I kissed her... All of a sudden she pulled away yelling "wait a minute, Wait a minute..."  I stopped and looked at the director and asked, "What, he dosn't kiss her here?" Elaine said, "no it was fine, its just going to fast.." The directors smiled and said, "We have a show.."   I got a lot of enjoyment out of that production, not the least of which at the end of the show, Mortimer goes off to marry Elaine... Well my Elaine and I have just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary and our 7th annaversary of that first kiss....

Not that ALL of that is germain, but I love a chance to tell that story..

 

Bottom line is, you did what was right for your production, never a reason to appoligize for that...

 

 

 

 

 

Linda

 

 

Then when I was directing OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS for a local CT, I CAST a guy who was set to play one of the roles, gave EVERYONE involved the heads up as to the schedule EVEN BEFORE THEY WERE CAST and told them to be SURE to make conflicts known on audition forms.  HE had one or two that I was easily able to accommodate. THEN when we had read through, after he was cast, he handed me this business of numerous other conflicts that he simply couldn't show up to rehearsal as a result of.  I told him he was given every opportunity to let me know well ahead of time. He was adamant that he'd NOT be there for those numerous CRUCIAL rehearsals.  I finally told him that if he couldn't be there for those then he wouldn't be there for any of it and that he was fired.

 

There have been other horror stories in the CT I'd worked at for like 18 years.  Once we had an actor doing a show, and one night the POLICE showed up to arrest him for MURDER!!  SOMEHOW, they talked the police into letting him finish the show that night and then had to replace him later.  Then during the OPENING night of another musical, one of the actresses stopped before coming to the theater to get some pantyhose, got tired of waiting in line so she shoplifted the pantyhose, GOT CAUGHT, and the show was delayed 30 minutes while the director went and pleaded that they allow her to go and he'd be responsible for her showing up to answer the charge of shoplifting - which she did, paid the fine and the show ran smoothly thereafter.  CRAZY things that go on in CT or in general that make directors want or NEED to pull out their hair.

 

TonyDi

 

 

We had another actor end up in the hospital the day before the show opened and missed final dress and the first two performances.  We were doing Dancing at Lugnaghsah (I know I mispelled it)  and the narrator/adult son fell ill.  I had been the set designer/builder and the board rep to the show.  The director asked me to step in and fill the role until our actor could get healthy.  I took over that night for dress rehearsal and the first two performances.  It was interesting, the first time I actually saw the second act was when we performed it in front of an audience for dress rehearsal.  Luckily the character had a scrap book he carried and I could keep my script in there.  I had to rely on the lighting ladies to tell me when to leave the stage.  Good thing they liked me.  I hope I never have to do that again.