But in real life, it is often a "name" actress who steps in with the departure of the performer who originated a role. When Bernadette Peters left the title role in the Broadway revival of "Annie Get Your Gun," for instance, she was followed by the likes of Susan Lucci and Reba McEntire. Marilu Henner, an alumnus of the television series "Taxi," played Annie Oakley later for its tour.
But once in a while, it is the chorus girl who gets the big break. "Thoroughly Modern Millie," which tours to Salt Lake City's Capitol Theatre this week, offers a couple of examples.
A little-known understudy named Sutton Foster took over the starring role of Millie during the show's tryouts at La Jolla Theatre in San Diego and did so well that producers chose her to carry the $10 million musical when it transferred to Broadway. The gamble paid off. "Millie" won six Tony Awards in 2002 - and Foster became a hot
property on Broadway after winning one of those Tonys as Best Actress in a New Musical.
Last week, an understudy was tapped to take over the starring role in the show's touring cast. The departure of Darcy Roberts, star of the tour, was no surprise since her ripening pregnancy was stretching the seams of Millie's flapper dresses. And, as Roberts' understudy, Laura Schutter knew there was a chance the role would go to her. She didn't allow herself to hope too hard.
Last Monday, Schutter learned she had been plucked from the chorus and given the show's starring role.
Even though she has covered the role of Millie for Roberts many times, Schutter told The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday that she was feeling nervous about the show's opening that night in Austin, Texas.
"Being on as an understudy is very different from knowing I'm taking over the role," Schutter said. "It's a big responsibility, but it's a dream come true."
She's right about the responsibility part. The role of Millie would challenge the most seasoned Broadway veteran. It requires a big singing voice, top-notch dance skills and a natural gift for physical comedy. Stamina helps, too, since Millie is onstage during nearly every moment of the show - except during her many quick costume changes. As the performance of Millie goes, so goes the show.
"Thoroughly Modern Millie" is based on a 1967 film musical about a girl from Kansas who chases her dreams to New York City in 1922, the dawn of the Jazz Age. Schutter's dream of fame began similarly - on an onion farm in Iowa, in a farmhouse with a dance studio in the basement.
"My mother can still tap better than I can," Schutter said, laughing. "I could always just go downstairs and take any dance class I wanted to."
Though Schutter loved dance from the age of 3, she didn't discover her big, bold singing voice until she auditioned for the musical "Annie" at age 11 and won a role.
"Ever since, I knew I wanted to be singing, dancing and acting," Schutter said. "They're all my favorite things to do."
Schutter left Iowa for Chicago after high school and got her actor's union card there. Roles in show tours and on London's West End followed. Six years ago, she took the big step of moving to New York City. Though she wasn't coming straight off the onion farm, it was still a big adjustment.
"Nothing prepares you for New York," Schutter said - words the unflappable flapper Millie Dilmount might say.
Nothing prepares someone to step out of the chorus and carry a show, either, but there is a procedure to give performers a fighting chance.
Lynda Lavin, production stage manager for the "Millie" tour, explained that each actor in the show's ensemble learns the role of a lead performer in addition to his or her own "track." The process includes individual coaching from the show's musical director and choreographer, and from Lavin, who uses the show's "bible" to transmit Broadway director Michael Mayer's stage directions. Once a week, the show is rehearsed with understudies in all of the leading roles.
Sometimes, ensemble members have a few days' warning before they cover a starring role, Lavin said. Sometimes, they don't.
"That first time they have to go on [in a leading role], the adrenaline pushes them through," Lavin said. "Whatever nerves they are feeling, they have to trust what they have been taught."
Schutter knows about that. The first time she covered the role of Millie's best friend, Miss Dorothy, Schutter didn't know she was going on until just as the show was starting. She wasn't sure she knew the blocking - Miss Dorothy's stage positions during scenes. But somehow, it all worked out.
"I had a blast," Schutter said. "The show must go on."
Again, Schutter sounds rather like Millie Dilmount, whose endearing corniness is part of her charm.
In "Thoroughly Modern Millie," Millie comes to New York as an innocent determined to wise up. Her agenda is to bob her hair, shorten her skirt, find work as stenographer and marry her boss - for money, not love.
"It's fun to see how Millie changes throughout the show," Schutter said. "I have to say she finds a balance between being old-fashioned and being a 'modern.' It goes to show you life is never what you expect it to be. That has been true for me."
Schutter's luck seems to be holding. On Thursday, Lavin told The Tribune the story about "Millie's" opening night in Austin, with all of the cast pulling for the show's new star.
"When somebody within the cast is promoted to a principal lead like this, the vibes backstage and the energy from the cast is amazing," Lavin said. "It was a great performance. There is a genuine, honest talent that comes from this girl [Schutter]. We feel happy that someone we know so well, and who worked so hard, got her just rewards."
The show must go on
Broadway in Utah brings the national touring company of "Thoroughly Modern Millie" to Salt Lake City this week for eight performances at Capitol Theatre, 50 W. 200 South. Evening shows are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30, Friday and Saturday at 8 and April 24 at 7. Matinees are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $30 to $57.50. Call 801-355-ARTS.
Laura Schutter was plucked from the chorus and given the leading role in "Thoroughly Modern Millie."
