Which instance of stunt casting would YOU applaud, and which would have you itching to leave at intermission? Let us know below, and be sure to also check out our video of the Top 10 Broadway Re-Casts That Were Just as Good as or Better Than the Original - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sxikFubCTjo.html
Definitely Daniel Radcliffe in How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying. Like it was his first broadway show I get that but he couldn’t keep a tune. I’m still bumped that I saw him instead of Darren Kris
I also saw the late Tom Bosley of Happy Days and Father Dowling Mysteries fame in the NY production of Cabaret. It was a small role but he was amazing.
I'll never forgive the way NY Times treated Daniel Radcliffe in How to Succeed - the whole review was one long rant about how disgraceful it was to have movie stars on Broadway. And then at the end they grudgingly admitted "He's actually not that bad."
@@kristinamoser6558 Lucky you! ❤ I think he's a fantastic actor. I've never seen him live but I've seen more than a few of his movies and I think he's top notch. A+++
@@stevenreid4634 - The show was dead the moment Josh Groban left. They lost the Tony, and it was already a divisive show. Groban was the only thing keeping it open, and most of his fanbase hated it.
@@stevenreid4634 To me, replacement casting that kills a show is someone who is so wrong for the material when performing that it ruins the show. Mandy was brought in as an effort to salvage a show that, by many accounts, Oak was not up to the challenge for. So for this listicle to include Mandy when he was merely cast and never had any hand in the show beyond that
I got to speak with some of the cast members as part of a meet and greet kind of thing before Patinkin stepped away from the show but after his casting has been announced. Someone who was with me off-handedly mentioned being interested in seeing the show again with Patinkin, not realizing that there was any controversy (we didn’t realize Onaodowan was being REPLACED in his favor). Mentioning Patinkin definitely struck a nerve and we were quickly educated about what was going on. I got the sense that folks I spoke with didn’t have any beef with Patinkin, but they were FURIOUS with the producers.
You seem to be confused about the difference between stunt casting and star casting. Stunt casting is taking a celebrity who doesn't have the resume to qualify them for Broadway and putting them in the role. Star casting is taking someone who is qualified and also a big name. Mandy Patinkin, NPH and Wayne Brady are star casting, not stunt casting.
Ms.Mojo is a dumpsite where very young people who have easy access to information don’t bother to do research. They are often too stupid to know how much they are denigrating very talented people who have worked for the status they achieved.
@@allih8021Well then, besides not understanding stunt casting, they claim some casting killed the show. Then they immediately start with Mandy Patinkin saying "okay, his casting had nothing to do with the show ending". I always tell myself I'm never watching Ms Mojo again, yet they are obviously masters of clickbait for a reason.
to imply that Radcliffe didn't work to get his gig when he spent a year working 40 hours a week to learn to dance (which is easy information to find) is beyond rude.
Yeah i was gonna say… that stunt casting worked bc daniel radcliffe is such a goddamn professional. He worked his ass off to nail the singing and the dancing, and my god did he! I heard his most recent broadway performance in Merrily we Roll Along with Lindsay Mendez and Jonathan Groff is also outstanding.
I feel like the critics were bitter about seeing him jump to Broadway after Harry Potter and landing such a large role. Honestly any bad review he ever got should be retracted. He was amazing as Finch.
@@gastronautadf Sooooo, this thing should be included because it's a drag queen. Glad you at lease can be honest about the fact it has nothing to do with talent.
Greatest stunt casting: Michael Crawford in Phantom of the Opera. He was known for goofy comedy and lighthearted roles, and prior to the opening people thought it was going to be a comedy -- until Crawford's darkly romantic, heartbreakingly tragic and literally stunning performance won him a Tony and launched Phantom's 3 decade long reign on Broadway.
I’m not sure I would call that instance “Stunt casting”. Michael Crawford was an experienced stage actor long before that point. Breaking away from type casting, perhaps but not (imho) stunt casting. * I wanted to add that I in no way intend for this to come off as argumentative.
@@jessicadls1856 Oh he definitely was, and a huge hit in "Barnum". But he was known as a comic actor and has such a sweet personality and I remember well when "Phantom" premiered over in London how amazed people were at his performance. True versatility.
For Crawford to be stunt casting he would have to have been known for something other than Broadway like as a nonmusical movie actor or Pop singer or talk show host .
I honestly feel like critics were bitter about seeing Daniel jump from playing Harry Potter to such a prominent role on Broadway, and were looking for reasons to criticize him but had trouble finding them. He was excellent and proved them wrong. ❤
Absolutely outrageous to call a Broadway legend like Mandy Patinkin "stunt casting" or to blame him for that show closing. It was going to close from poor ticket sales - he tried to use his clout and incredible talent to keep it open and keep the company employed - and the idiotic internet decided to burn it all down and make the whole team unemployed.
And Gaston in Beauty and the Beast. He was great, as expected, but the role was so opposite who Mr. Osmond is, I found it really hard to believe him as Gaston. Though, I don’t think Joseph was a stunt cast. He did the role 3 times. In 3 different versions. 1992 Toronto revival. North American Tour. And the filmed performance that available on DVD. With Joseph, I think it was just great casting.
I LOVED Donny Osmond as Gaston!! It was so against type and I said “really?!” When I heard it would be him, but he was really good and I could see him as Gaston.
@@karenn.396 I think a lot of my inability to suspend my disbelief and accept Donny as Gaston was due to his age. I never saw his original run. I only saw a couple clips. Donny was either 49 or 50 while the actress playing Belle was I believe 22. And while he was his usual amazing performer self, I just couldn’t accept him and Belle’s actress as only a few years apart. When he manhandled her during “Me” it just felt wrong.
@@kailyns8159 hmmm I never thought about that. I suppose it would make him even more of a creep if he were older (which at the time wouldn’t be seen as that outrageous a grown man going after a young woman)
I don't know if you can call that a stunt casting at that point though? By that point he'd done Chess, Great Comet and Beauty and the Beast, he's a fairly known stage actor
@@willgaines8575I mean, if they’re going to count Wayne then Josh should probably count as well? Personally I don’t think either count as stunt casting.
@@willgaines8575a bunch of people on this list weren't stunt casting. Anyone with a previous Broadway resume is not a stunt cast, they are a star cast.
@@carr0760 oh 1000% agree, I wouldn't call Wayne Brady or NPH a stunt casting, I have a lot of issues with this list as a whole But on the specific point of Groban, I would say he is past "stunt casting" territory
If you can possibly swing the ticket - GO!!! He is amazing, and his delivery of "Franklin Shepherd, Inc.," which is essentially a difficult "patter song," is unbelievably good.
8 shows a week is no joke. Performers need to be able to project to the back row while keeping it genuine, but also know how to take care of themselves and not burn out.
Mandy Patinkin, Daniel Radcliff, Wayne Brady, etc. are experienced theatre actors, so why are we referring to them being in performances as "stunt casting"?
Daniel Radcliff, an experienced theatre actor??? Before HTSIBWRT, he was in Equus. That's it. And that required no singing or dancing. Having said that, he has since developed into a good theatre actor, including musical theatre.
Haha - I saw Tony Danza in Spamalot. He was the ultimate triple threat... he could not sing, he could not act, and the could not dance. I felt so sorry for the rest of the brilliant cast who had to deal with Danza shitting all over the stage.
Reba McEntire in "Annie Get Yuir Gun" was sublime casting; few singing actresses have ever brought such talent and joy to a Broadway performance--and I saw Mary Martin play the part in 1948. The sad thing about Reba's was that Bernardette was able to block a recording of the whole of Reba's stint as Annie. Nevertheless, Reba stands at the very top of great Broadway moments I have been blessed to enjoy!
I saw Wayne as Billy Flynn in Chicago and he was fantastic. I was also lucky enough to see Skid Row singer, Sebastián Bach in Jeckyll and Hyde..he nailed it. 👌
@@jkrfan7 oh Heck yeah!!! That’s an amazing role for them! I’m sure they were incredible! I’d love to she them as Ursula in the Little Mermaid, Madame Morrible in Wicked, and Tracy’s mom in Hairspray!
I was lucky enough to see Water for Elephants on Broadway with Grant Gustin this past Sunday, and can I just say BEST CASTING CHOICE. He truly has one of the best male Broadway voices I’ve ever heard and his insane acting skills made me feel like I was watching a movie, not just a show on stage.
I have seen three shows on Broadway and 2/3 of them had Daniel Radcliffe in them: How to Succeed and Merrily We Roll Along. It wasn’t just Radcliffe that pulled me in to see Merrily, but the combo of Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez and him that made me go. A perfect combo for those roles and it worked out so well!
Stage is definitely different. Not many understand how strenuous it is until they are in it. Straight through, 8 shows a week, and no retakes. It's why so many actors from tv and film can have a hard time transferring to stage if they don't have any stage experience. But the stage really has a rush about it that you don't get to experience anywhere else. Daniel Radcliffe worked really hard and it shows. Personally, Jekyll and Hyde with David Hasselhoff will always hold a special place in my heart just because he is the one that really pushed for a filming of it. That was 2001 when not a lot of shows were being filmed and it was one of my earlier experiences of getting to see a Broadway show. David was struggling but he also was good in some places and took on a very hard role. Jekyll and Hyde is one of my favorite shows and we don't get to see it that often so I'll always hold the film in my heart.
Absolutely. If you look back at footage of the cast of _Chicago_ taking their bows the first week Jinkx took over that role, you can tell some of them seemed largely unfamiliar with her and likely couldn't understand why there was so much press about it. If I remember correctly, there's a video of one of the leads accepting a bouquet from an audience member only to look slightly embarrassed when the person's gestures made it clear they weren't intended for _them,_ but for Jinkx. Her run in _Chicago_ destroyed all financial projections as far as ticket sales and they ended up extending Jinkx's contract to accommodate the immense interest. It just goes to show: Dreams _do_ come true. What a tragedy it would have been for her to have never auditioned for _Drag Race._ Like so many others, she'd likely still be confined to the dark corner of a Seattle gay bar.
I got to see her Mama Morton on January 29th last year, and it was MAGICAL...and so completely worth the frosty tuchus from standing outside afterwards waiting for her to come out and greet her fans! I was so happy to see her live her dream, and so honored to be there to see it.
@@theshadowfax239 Well, you've got some catching up to do then, don't you? You see, there's a little reality show called _RuPaul's Drag Race_ that's currently in its sixteenth season here in the US, though there are now more than twenty iterations of it in countries throughout the world. The program's competition is to find the "next drag superstar" and has won 27 Emmy Awards. Jinkx Monsoon was a young, rough-around the edges drag queen from Seattle that became an instant fan favorite in the show's fifth season. She would go on to win her season over more polished competitors. Since then, she has been performing all over the world with music/comedy partner Major Scales and BenDeLaCreme (aka "Dela"), another Seattle artist that followed in Jinkx's footsteps. With several other winners from throughout the seasons of _Drag Race,_ Jinkx ultimately won a Drag Race All-Star season (best-of-the-best, so to speak) and was named "Queen of all Queens" in 2023. She then played Mama Morton in _Chicago_ on Broadway. Her popularity was underestimated, with the producers extending her run to accommodate record ticket sales. Her next high-profile project is in the next season of the long-running BBC series _Doctor Who,_ in which the character, described as "the Doctor's most dangerous nemesis to date", was created specifically with her in mind. In all, she's a name you'll likely see everywhere now that you're aware of it. She's remarkably talented and has transcended the limitations most other drag performers have struggled with for years. She's a bonafide superstar in the drag world, but her celebrity is definitely rising in the mainstream as well.
The West End equivalent of this is Billie Piper (Rose Tyler in Dr Who, previously a chart-topping pop star) taking the lead role in Yerma and becoming the only actress in history to win all six Best Actress awards available in UK theatre.
I don't think this applies since Billie began her career in the spotlight as a singer in her teens, and moved into acting in her late teens/early twenties. By the time she did Yerma, she was in her 30's and had been acting in several shows, films, and had done some stagework with several kudos, great reviews, awards, and nominations under her belt already.
The tragedy is at the time Jekyll & Hyde was filmed with Hasselhoff, the title role was double cast with an actor who had history with the role and could really perform it. In fact they made a trial run filming with him in the title role, and it was SO much better. Also if you want to talk stunt casting, even though it was in Toronto and not New York, I would definitely add Paul Stanley from KISS as the title role in Phantom of the Opera as one that didn't work, even if the length of the run was extended slightly with him in it.
I saw Fantasia in The Colour Purple and she was amazing. And then the next night I saw Lance Bass as Corny Collins in Hairspray and was soooo let down.
well, I saw Ricky Martin in Evita( I saw the original several times when I loved Mandy....haven't been able to deal with his shtick the last 10 years). Ricky's voice was amazing and I loved his performance! The only problem I had with him was that you couldn't take your eyes off of him - he was that mesmerizing! The woman who played Eva was so bad - all you wanted to do was watch Ricky!!!!
I was going to say this! I’m not a huge fan of Ricky, but being Puerto Rican I was contractually obligated to go see him in this. And all I can say is I don’t remember him one way or an other because my clearest memory of that show and truly the only one that survives is how gratingly awful the woman who played Evita was. If anything killed the show it was that.
Darren Criss took over for Daniel Radcliffe in How to Succeed. I saw both and loved both performances. Darren was also great in his run as Hedwig. Why isn't he on stage more?
I believe Criss is currently finishing a run as Seymour in the successful revival of Little Shop of Horrors off-Broadway. He was also in the Broadway revival of David Mamet's play American Buffalo in 2022. His commitment to stage work is clearly ongoing.
Back in 2002 I had the opportunity to see George Hamilton portray Billy Flynn in the show Chicago. He was really great and it was a huge thrill to watch.
I get there was a lot of controversy behind the casting of Mandy Patinkin but i still wouldn't call it stunt casting. Patinkin has years of Broadway experience. When the words stunt casting are used they aren't usually used to described a theatre veteran of the stage.
When I was in college, I got a chance to meet Frank Wildhorn. I asked him what he thought of David Hasselhoff’s performance. He said, and I quote, “ My mother taught me that if I didn’t have anything nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all.” The entire room was dying!!!!
I personally would have Nick Jonas’ turn in Les Mis on this list at least as an honorable mention on the didn’t work side. It hurts me to say this because I’m a huuuuge boy band fan but his take was just too “boy band”. And much like the Mean Girls one mentioned here, being surrounded by the talent he was just made his lower skill level more obvious sadly.
That’s interesting because everything I read about Nick Jonas stated he began his career in musical theatre as a young child. (I was watching the most recent Les Misérables in Concert, so I look up his background.) He seemed fine; maybe singing pop music in between hurt his voice?
@@Beth_Alice_Kaplan maybe 🤷♀️ I don’t know much about him or his career outside of the Les Mis appearance. And there could be ppl out there that enjoyed his performance and that’s fine too but it just felt so out of place and grating to me.
@@juicebuko that’s very possible. That’s why I made sure to say it’s more a personal choice than anything. And like I said in the other comment, I know pretty much nothing about him outside of the fact that he was in Les Mis so my choice was literally JUST based on that.
@@Beth_Alice_Kaplan He was 7 and did several shows. He was doing Les Misérables when he was 13 and getting very thin and weak. If they hadn't discovered the Type 1 Diabetes when they did, he would have died. However, even with the pump, he couldn't carry a play at the time. That is when he started the Jonas Brothers and got a deal with Disney. I think he is appearing in Les Misérables right now and can be seen here on RU-vid doing Empty Tables, Empty Chairs.
I would also give honourable mentions to the following: Worked - Gaten Matarazzo as Tobias (Sweeney Todd) Worked - Joe Locke as Tobias (Sweeney Todd) Worked - Jinkx Monsoon as Mama Morton (Chicago) Worked - Divina de Campo as Plankton (the Spongebob Musical UK tour) Worked - Michael Ball as Javert (Les Mis: the Staged Concert) Passable - Nick Jonas as Marius (Les Mis: 25th Anniversary Concert)
I actually enjoyed watching Ricky Martin in the revival of Evita! He was really good. Ok this is going to age me but here goes , the one replacement that was a bit disappointed with when I saw it years ago was when Liza Minnelli took over in Victor/Victoria for the vacationing Julie Andrews. Don't get wrong, I love Liza but that performance was not her greatest.
I saw Ana Gasteyer as Elphaba in Wicked and she was surprisingly good. I knew she did a bunch of musical skits on SNL, but I didn't really put together that that meant she could actually sing very well. I don't know if that is "stunt casting" as I'm pretty sure when she was doing Wicked in Chicago she had been done with SNL for a while so her name wasn't as big as it maybe had been a few years prior, but I definitely went in a little skeptical that she could pull it off.
I also saw Ana Gasteyer in Wicked and thought she was phenomenal. She brought so much to the character in her movement alone and had an amazing voice. I still think about her performance from time to time, and think she was the best Elphaba.
A lot of these just aren't in any way stunt casting. Casting a qualified actor in a role isn't stunt casting just because they're famous. Nobody could seriously consider Neil Patrick Harris, Mandy Patinkin, Wayne Brady or Emma Stone stunt casting, or even Billie Joe Armstrong in the Green Day musical.
No it's still stunt casting. That phrase merely means using someone famous, but the phrase has turned into a negative connotation of using someone famous but them not having the skills for the role. NPH? Absolutely stunt cast, but a GOOD stunt cast. A good stunt is still a stunt, and people forget that. But over time the phrase came to have a negative connotation because the majority of stunt casting going on was indeed bad. All of who you mentioned are good examples of stunt casting.
"Stunt casting" is a gimmick to draw in audiences. Billie Joe was definitely stunt casting, in my opinion, but Mandy Patinkin and NPH are as much Broadway stars as they are movie and TV stars. Not to mention, NPH was simply the best actor for the role. Nothing gimmicky about that.
@@jenniferhiemstra5228 So by that standard casting Kristen Chenoweth in anything is stunt casting just because she's famous. That's silly, it's just casting. Of course if you're putting on a show you want someone with name recognition. Doesn't make it stunt casting.
@@jhew6999 Except casting Kristin in anything isn’t true stunt casting because she’s not that famous outside of Broadway. Ask your average TV and movie watcher who doesn’t know broadway who she is and they won’t know her name. It might tickle their brain cells, but not much more than that. You have to consider fame level in certain casting contexts. NPH is famous in the TV/film/theatre trifecta, and while he was was genius in Hedwig, there’s absolutely other performers who could have done that role just as well, buuttttt NPH is famous in all realms (though his screen work is what he’s most famous for), Hedwig still wouldn’t have done nearly as well financially without him if he didn’t start it off, whereas casting Kristin in anything on Broadway isn’t a stunt because that’s where’s she famous already, not really outside of that. I guess that’s I was trying to get at but didn’t really say so. A stunt also considers fame level and where that person is most famous, regardless of skill. At least that’s my take.
I saw Reba in Annie Get Your Gun in 2001. Before 9/11. I was only 8. It was one of the most magical evenings. I wore that Orange Target Mark black t-shirt for months until I outgrew it.
my favorite part about cameron dallas in mean girls is when renee rapp just absolutely BELTED 'till someone gets hurt' while walking around him all dramatically
I went to go see the national tour of Rent back in the 90's. They had done some stunt casting and a washed up, former child actor was playing Mark. I thought it was going to be terrible. It was NPH. He was amazing!!!
There is "washed up child actor" because the actor cannot get older teen/young adult roles and then there are those who choose to leave the business for a while (usually to finish school and sometimes to go to college) and come back as a fully formed young adult. NPH's parents did the right thing by encouraging him to finish growing up before going back into show business. Fred Savage was another. He doesn't act as much as NPH but he does direct.
I had tickets for Jekyll & Hyde before Hasselhoff took it over and it closed before my trip. That still irks since I haven't been fortunate enough to see it since. But we were able to see Jane Eyre instead and I have loved that musical since
I had the privilege of seeing Jekyll & Hyde when Jack Wagner was the star. He went beyong my wildest expectations! I got chills when he sang "This is the Moment". And not for nothing, you gotta give Hasselhoff credit for even attempting such a role. To sing both parts of a duet is not for the weak!
Recently, I was lucky enough to see Wayne Brady in the touring production of The Wiz. I can confirm the man is talented. I didn’t already know he was talented. But this was my first time seeing him live.
Remember, Daniel Radcliffe performed in Equus right after the Harry Potter movies in which he had to perform a nude scene. He was certainly breaking out of type casting.
During a concert about 10 years ago, I sang "This is the Moment" and a friend sang "Confrontation". We were both given huge applause from the large audience with both of us being told we put Hasselhoff to shame. And we are only community theatre performers.
The entire 2nd cast of 'Kiss of the Spider-Woman' was fantastic! Vanessa Williams, Howard McGillan and Brian Stokes Mitchell brought the heat at every show. Very different from the Original cast of Chita Rivera, Brent Tarver and Anthony Crivello but just as potent (and the show kept running with strong houses).
I saw Joe as Toby in his first week and he was terrific. Not sure if he qualifies as “stunt casting” because not sure how well known is Joe Locke outside of his cult Heartstopper fans.
In all honesty, it was not Ricky Martin that did in the Evita revival. It was universally recognized that the much ballyhooed Elena Roger had blown her voice out by the time she got to Broadway and the reviews were pretty savage about it.
Taylor Dayne replacing Sheri Rene Scott as Amneris in Aida is probably the biggest disappointment I've personally seen. I was pleasantly surprised by Molly Ringwald as Sally Bowels in Cabaret.
I saw Molly Ringwald in the original Off-Broadway production of Tick, Tick, Boom!, right at the start of her run after she replaced Amy Spanger. She was wonderful, though her top belt slightly tilted into the schreechy area.
Daniel Radcliffe, they have to admit, is a talented musical performer. And, now, he's officially a Broadway veteran. It would only have been stunt casting if he wasn't up to the work.
Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl” was a bit of a flop until she was replaced on Broadway by Lea Michele in the role. She made the show a smash hit! I only wish she’d been eligible for a Tony.
Stunt casting is the use of a gimmick or publicity stunt to fill a role in a television series, film, or theatre production. The casting itself can range broadly, from a non-actor celebrity, a glorified cameo appearance, or real-life relatives portraying fictional family members. Stunt Casting examples: Benedict Cumberbatch's parents (who are retired actors) cast in Sherlock as Sherlock and Mycroft's parents. Stunt casting is bringing in a big named star or someone who is well known, and casting them to bring in more people. In the case of Mandy Patinkin, the previous actor wasn't given a chance and so the producers felt they were going to lose money, so they got a big name, Broadway actor to come in. Glad Mandy didn't do it. Christopher Reeve's Superman wouldn't have been made until Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman were signed up to do the picture. Marlon Brando got 6 million dollars for his bit as Jor-El.
Umm... I love Ariana Maddox, but how can you forget Jinkx Monsoon literally selling out shows to standing room only? Bringing in close to 1 million dollars multiple weekends for a revival show. As a drag race Stan account (I started following you because of your coverage) It seems like a bit of an oversight...
I saw Hasselhoff in 1999 during the Broadway Across Canada run of J&H. Maybe because it was later in the run, but he was a lot better than I was expecting. It was a long time ago, and maybe my expectations were low, but I remember liking him in the role. Another one I was impressed with was Jeff Hyslop from Today's Special as the Phantom in 1990. I know he did a lot of stage work, but at the time, I was amazed he was so good.
This vid is a perfect example of why I'll dip into MsMojo but never subscribe. Ill informed, badly researched and mis-labeled examples all the time. Most of the (wrongly labeled) stunt casting stuff has been addressed in the comments. But I'll also add in, putting Fran Drescher (who yes would've been stunt casting) in the 'Killed the Show' category and then immediately saying ticket sales went up while she was in it was pure LOL.
I happened to see the late TV star Sandy Duncan in a touring production of Chicago opposite Grease 2's Adrian Zmed. In the middle of the song Roxie, she actually forgot her lines and lost her place in the song.
