{"id":113310,"date":"2016-02-19T02:50:34","date_gmt":"2016-02-19T02:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2016\/02\/19\/it-was-amber-whites-second-day-as-a-stage-manager\/"},"modified":"2016-02-19T02:50:34","modified_gmt":"2016-02-19T02:50:34","slug":"it-was-amber-whites-second-day-as-a-stage-manager","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindab.com\/private\/2016\/02\/19\/it-was-amber-whites-second-day-as-a-stage-manager\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It was Amber White\u2019s second day as a stage manager on \u201cHamilton,\u201d and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show\u2019s creator and star, was sick.<\/p>\n

\nViewers who buy their tickets months in advance are never happy to hear about a substitution. This was Broadway\u2019s hottest show, based on a brick of a book by historian Ron Chernow, a fresh depiction of the New Yorker who fathered the American banking system, endured a sex scandal, and died in a duel. This was the first time that Miranda or Javier Mu\u00f1oz, who plays the role on Sundays, didn\u2019t appear as the title character. The role went to Jon Rua, the understudy, making his debut as America\u2019s ten-dollar founding father.<\/p>\n

\nWhite and the production team called an emergency rehearsal \u2014 30 minutes long \u2014 for which the cast came to the theater. And then the show went on: \u201cflawlessly,\u201d White said, thanks to Rua but also the professionalism of the rest of the cast and crew.<\/p>\n

\nWhite, 36, is one of the crew members in the room where it happens for eight shows a week, critical to the musical\u2019s success but largely unseen.<\/p>\n

\nStage managers, three of whom work at a time on \u201cHamilton,\u201d are the guardians and protectors of the show and the cast \u2014 \u201ca cross between a flight attendant and a mom,\u201d White says \u2014 who tend to the mental and psychological well-being of the actors.<\/p>\n

\nThey are also often with the show long-term, from pre-production meetings on design and concept through to rehearsals, previews and performances, taking care of the practicalities of scheduling and organization. And, always, troubleshooting.<\/p>\n

\nDuring a recent production of \u201cHamilton,\u201d an ensemble member hurt his neck with about 35 minutes left in the show.<\/p>\n

\nComing off stage, squeezing past barrels of prop rifles and shelves of neatly stored mugs, he went to the stage managers\u2019 office to find White. The actor said he couldn\u2019t go back on.<\/p>\n

\nQuickly, White paged one of the swings \u2014 an understudy ready to fill in for multiple roles at a moment\u2019s notice \u2014 upstairs in his dressing room. She and the other stage managers coordinated the switch, getting the swing into costume and microphone and on stage in time for his new character\u2019s next appearance. The hurt actor went home.<\/p>\n

\nThe show went on. The audience never noticed. Crisis averted.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n

Backstage at Hamilton, the show that blew us all away<\/a> (am New York)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was Amber White\u2019s second day as a stage manager on \u201cHamilton,\u201d and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show\u2019s creator and star, was sick. Viewers who buy their tickets months in advance are never happy to hear about a substitution. This was Broadway\u2019s hottest show, based on a brick of a book by historian Ron Chernow, a … <\/p>\n

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