Theatre "star" advertising

I'm loving your phone's autocorrection to "Benediction Cumberland" which to me sounds like some sort of religious ceremony where the participants are blessed with sausages! Or maybe it's the sausages that are blessed.

The tickets are sold with clear warnings that the producers cannot guarantee the appearance of a particular artist. If people want to take that risk and book tickets in advance, that's their call.

If they also want to hype themselves up about the show just because of the big name in it, that's also their call. But people get ill, there's nothing that can be done about it. The show goes on, the audience gets the show they paid for, so why on earth should they be entitled to a refund/rebooking? If they've focused so much on seeing the star that's no-one's fault but their own, no-one forced them to do so.

I somewhat agree... Sheridan is another example with Funny Girl. Though she had legitimate reasons to miss the few she did at the Meiner, the backlash was huge, and almost nasty. Thankfully Natasha was apparently great but Sheridan didn't deserve that treatment, especially whilst her Dad was ill.

The Playhouse kept it pretty secret that they were missing three leads for Woman on the Verge - no announcement, just a small notice by the box office which you'd only have seen if you were collecting tickets before the show. I think that's what *really* annoyed people

I think it would be quite annoying if you went to a show for both the show and star, and the star you love isn't on. I would be.

I don't think Funny Girl would've sold out in 90 mins and nearly sold out the Savoy if there wasn't a celebrity involved

I think that celebrity casting is a good thing

Yes! I think most celebrities are very good in their roles, but if they are just hired for fun and can't sing or act then it isn't very good.

There's also a difference between celebrity stunt casting and actual star casting

Also, the menier arnt the first to offer alternatives if the star isn't on. There have been other cases over th years, or the shows just cancelled out right. It rare but has happened.

I think the difference is giving people an option. I'm sure many, if faced with a choice of either seeing it without the star or getting a refund would probably say 'well we are here we may as well', but it creates good will by giving the choice.

In the Sunset Blvd case, this whole show has been built around its star. It wouldn't be happening without her, her name and photo are as big as (if not bigger,depending on the poster) than the show logo. Quite clearly 'the show is the star' does not apply here. The music concert argument does hold some weight here. When you make the star bigger than the show itself, especially in a semi staged concert, you need to have a back up plan if your star can't perform. This isn't Sunset Boulevard starring glenn close and michael xavier. This is 'the theatrical event of the year Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard'. No one is saying people don't get ill, but you can't advertise a star event, charge people a lot of money, then say 'oh but you paid for the show' when things don't go to plan.

Some producers are sneaky, and I think it's time they were called out on it. Very few products would you pay all that money and not get the full product. Theatre needs to move with the times. A simple rule like broadway would mean producers can't get away with making their star bigger than the show,and if they do there are consequences if they don't perform. On th broadway boards majority of people are shocked that refunds arnt offered

Can anybody think of any bad celebrity casting?

I thought the question was celebrity?

Speak for yourself, I was there for Charles Edwards.

@george22 didn't specify the letter of the list the celebrity is on, so I went for Z. You, of course, were expecting an A-list celeb