New York Neo-Classical Ensemble

This past Tuesday was the first rehearsal for The Rep’s production of David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Glengarry Glen Ross. Without going into any personal details, one of the actors in the company got a call as he walked into the building. There was a medical emergency with his family. The actor did the read-through (he was terrific), but later that day he had to make the very difficult choice to leave the production altogether – his family needed him.

And so, there we were – first day of rehearsal and missing one of the leads in the play. Whaddya do? Get another actor. That’s not as easy as it sounds. Actors book gigs weeks, months, sometimes a year or so in advance. The chances of finding the right actor who might be available immediately were slim to none.

In my years as a producer and casting director, I’d been here before.

When something like this happens, I’m always reminded of the movie Wag The Dog. Dustin Hoffman plays an old school producer called into the White House to make an ersatz, Cecil B. DeMille-like movie that will serve the political ambition of the sitting president. As the film within the film is being put together, one crisis after another befalls the production. All hell breaks loose on the set, and Dustin Hoffman takes to saying, “Oh, this is nothing. I remember…” Hoffman then shares one hilarious/tragic story after another of what can actually go wrong on a film shoot.

Theater unfolds in much the same way, and as the producer of Glengarry Glen Ross, I took to saying to the director and production team, “Oh, this is nothing. I remember…”

One production here at The Rep, for instance, required replacing three actors going into tech (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom). Or there was the time an actor called me the night before the New York Times was scheduled to review a play at New York Theatre Workshop to say he was going to LA in the morning to audition for a pilot. Or there was the time when an actor broke her leg on stage (careful how you wish an actor luck) at final dress. Or the time two dancers fell into the pit at Arena Stage at the second preview of On The Town. Or, during RENT when the playwright died after the dress rehearsal (rest in peace Jonathan).

Shit happens in theater. And as one of my mentors always said to me, the answer is always right under your nose. And so it was for Glengarry. Here were six of Seattle’s most amazing actors – what if we shifted around a little bit. Redeploy the cast. Redeploy we did.