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The
Understudy Steps In
May 31, 2008
Those of us old enough to remember the mid-seventies television show,
"Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" might also know that its star, Louise Lasser,
was Barbra Streisand's understudy in "I Can Get It For You Wholesale" some
years earlier. Shortly after she and future husband Woody Allen saw Barbra
perform at the Bon Soir in Greenwich Village, Lasser contacted director
Arthur Laurents about an opening in the show. Following a successful
audition, Lasser was hired as Barbra's understudy in the middle of
"Wholesale's" Broadway run. In 1962, she took Barbra's place for an entire
week of performances.
Audiences who were expecting to see Barbra's show stopping performance
were less than enthusiastic when Lasser appeared on stage to sing "Miss
Marmelstein." Lasser said,
"I
got on stage to sing the song that always stops the show, and when I
finished, I swear to you, nobody knew it was over. Arthur [Laurents]
came back stage and said, 'What happened? I don't understand?!' He
worked with me, but it never got better."
During an
interview in 2006, Louise Lasser recalls her admiration for Barbra
Streisand, and tells how truly daunting the challenge was to be her
stand-in.
Read the complete Louise Lasser interview at
Theatermania.com.
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