Besides making the principals seem
better, all the "cut dancers" understudied the other
performers. In addition, they sing the entire show offstage which
is very important in this show. Since they have distinct
personalities, I wanted to include them as well:
Vicki Vickers--Originally played by Crissy Wilzak. She is a sexy
blonde from California. She had worked with Zach before, although
she doesn't have any Broadway shows. He asks her if she has had
any ballet, and makes her stop dancing. She gets through the jazz
alright, but only with
Larry to help lead the group. Vicki wears a sexy leotard and
jewelry. Crissy understudied Val and Judy.
Tricia--Originally played by Donna Drake. She is a recent college
grad from Ohio. She was at another audition, and walked into the
ACL auditions to check it out. Tricia sings the first "I
Need This Job" solo, and has performed with a touring
company, but no Broadway shows. She also
dances the Ballet combination too big, and crosses in front of
Sheila, which Sheila does not like. She wears a leotard and a
blouse tied in a not just below her breasts. Donna was a great
singer, and understudied Maggie (whom she eventually played on
Broadway)as well as Connie (because
she was petite) and Kristine.
Lois Dilettente--Originally played by Carolyn Kirsch. Lois is a
ballerina. She doesn't have any lines. She is one of the best in
the ballet combination, but dances the jazz combination as if it
were a ballet combo--a very funny physical joke. Lois/Carolyn was
a very experienced dancer, so she probably didn't really do this,
but they wanted to show that some people have trouble adapting to
different styles at auditions. She wears ballet flavored
clothes--a leotard, pink tights, a skirt, and a little scarf at
her neck. Carolyn was a little more mature and understudied
Cassie and Sheila.
Barbara--originally played by Carole Schweid. Cassie was not
originally in the opening, so Barbara was in the third group of
girls. However, when Cassie was added, she got knocked out to be
a swing. Carole was a vivacious, dark-haired, ethnic-girl who
commuted to New York from the
New Jersey suburbs. Carole groaned "I was out before it even
started!" Regardless, she understudied Bebe and Diana, and
eventually played Diana for several months on Broadway.
Roy--Originally played by Scott Allen. "Wrong Arms
Roy," as he's nicknamed, didn't have much ballet training.
He was really more of an actor/singer. Therefore, when Zach asks
him how much ballet, he's had, he answers "One" (year).
Scott was originally Al, but he was not a strong enough dancer,
so Don Percassi took the role, and Scott moved to Roy. Scott
eventually played either Zach or Donon tours. He wears a baseball
jersey and jeans. The original program doesn't list him as an
understudy, but I'm sure he did.
Frank--Originated by Michael Serrecchia. Frank is "Headband
boy" from Long Island. He is one of the best dancers, but
has a bad habit of looking at his feet as he dances. Michael
didn't start dancing until he was a teen to strenghthen his
legs--he had been born with a disease that kept him home bound
for years. Anyway, he was very good, but still had that habit. He
wears a low cut tank
top, dance pants, and ...a headband. He understudied Larry, Greg,
and Bobby.
Butch Burton--Originated by Chuck Cissel. Butch is an
afro-american dancer from Oklahoma who has a lot of attitude, and
is a rhythm and blues singer. Zach tries to correct him (after he
tells Al to spit out his gum), and Butch is supposed to be like
"I know this step. Don't tell me what to do"
Unfortunately, Butch doesn't correct his mistake and gets cut.
Chuck was trying to show the plight of ethnic performers in a
very "white"world. He tells a story of how he got cut
from a Michael Bennett show because he was black, even though he
was better then all the others, but it wouldn't be right to have
a black performer because it was a period piece. So when Micheal
asked him to audition he was like "Well, well, we meet
again. I'll think about it." When he did audition, not only
did he sing for them, Chuck brought his band--they played a set!
Michael offered the job, he said "I'll think about it."
He took ACL, but Chuck said "When we go to
auditions and we are better, a lot of times we are not chosen
because of our color. I was giving black people something to
relate to. every dancer who came to the show said 'Right
on!'" Chuck understudied Richie and Paul.
Tom--Originated by Brandt Edwards. A Mississippi native from near
Memphis, Tom doesn't speak, but he can be seen mouthing
"1-2-3-4-5-6" throughout both combinations, another bad
habit dancers develop. Tom wears dance pants, a shirt, and a
v-neck sweater. Brandt understudied Don and Mark, and played Don
on tour.
John Mineo was the other original swing. He understudied Mike and
Al, and was a very experienced dancer who did a lot of work with
Bob Fosse. He played Al for over a year on Broadway.
Finally, Clive Clerk(Original Larry) understudied Zach.
