Exclusive! Meet Five Stellar Standbys & Understudies Who Wait in the Wings to Save the Day on Broadway

Relax—that little white slip in your program is nothing to be afraid of. You're in great hands with Wicked standby Lilli Cooper, Cabaret understudy Leeds Hill, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder standby Greg Jackson, Constellations understudy Mark Alhadeff and Beautiful understudy Rebecca LaChance, who are experts at stepping into the spotlight at the last minute. They’re on call, typically inside the theater, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice when a headliner gets sick—sometimes during a performance already in progress. Broadway.com spent the afternoon with the five stars-in-waiting to chat about performance anxiety, getting ignored at the stage door and what they do backstage every night while waiting days, weeks and sometimes months for a moment to shine.


LILLI COOPER
Standby for Elphaba (Caroline Bowman) in Wicked

Times I’ve been on: Around 25.

Biggest perk of being a standby: I get to hop around the theater and experience what the show is like from the outside. My favorite part of Wicked to watch is "One Short Day."

Worst thing about being a standby: It’s a lot of waiting, anxiety and anticipation. I'm on edge all the time. I went on in the middle of the show a few weeks ago. Caroline was feeling sick, so it was like a tag team. She walked offstage just as I walked on. It was the craziest experience ever.

Shortest notice I’ve had to get ready: Once I was out to dinner—and thank God I was close to the theater—I got a call from the stage manager at 7:15 for an 8:00 show. I ran over and did the fight call with my coat still on.

New hobby I picked up: I started knitting! I just made an infinity scarf.


MARK ALHADEFF
Understudy for Roland (Jake Gyllenhaal) in Constellations

Times I’ve been on: 0

Biggest perk of being an understudy: I love being associated with Constellations because I think it’s a really beautiful show.

Worst part of being an understudy: You know the old actors’ nightmare where you have to go onstage but you haven’t prepared enough? I have to live in that world and embrace it. It’s like a parachute operation.

New hobby I picked up: Guitar. This is a good time to really start practicing.

A secret I learned about Jake Gyllenhaal: He’s got a comprehensive musical library. He has excellent taste in music with all of the genres represented.


REBECCA LACHANCE
Understudy for Carole King (Jessie Mueller) in Beautiful

Times I’ve been on: Around 30

Biggest perk of being an understudy: It’s so cool getting to play Carole King, period, and lead a show. The ongoing maintenance is probably so much more taxing than just getting to play the role here and there, like I do. I don't have to worry about my voice, I can just sing and that makes it such a delight. 

Worst thing about being an understudy: I’m also in the ensemble, and when I’m not on as Carole King and I come out the stage door, people have no idea who I am. They’re like, “Oh, were you in the play?”

Shortest notice I’ve had to get ready: [At out-of-town tryouts] in San Francisco, I found out an hour and a half before the show I was going on, and I had never rehearsed. I had to hope I knew the lines or any semblance of the blocking. It was one of the most amazing days, but I remember very little of it—it was such a blur.

Favorite backstage snack: Cookies! I have a whole snack box above my station that always stays stocked.


GREG JACKSON
Standby for the D’Ysquiths (Jefferson Mays) in Gentleman’s Guide

Times I’ve been on: 19

Biggest perk of being a standby: The first time was like being shot out of a cannon, but the whole thing is just fun now. I have a ball. It's a little bit like being Cinderella. All of a sudden you're in this amazing role, signing autographs, and then you turn back into a pumpkin.

Worst thing about being a standby: When nobody gets sick for a long time, you get bored. You’re dying to get up there and do something.

Favorite thing to do backstage: I’m a bit of a writer—I have a writing partner and we’re working on a book for a musical right now. Backstage time is great to work on that.

New hobby I picked up: Years ago I tried to learn the ukulele and I picked it up again in hopes that in my downtime, I’ll get good at it.


LEEDS HILL
Understudy for Emcee (Alan Cumming) in Cabaret

Times I’ve been on: 7

Biggest perk of being an understudy: Getting Alan’s dressing room. In the ensemble, you’re in the basement. But to look out his windows and see New York City, it really feels like Broadway.

Worst thing about being an understudy: Because Alan’s name is above the title, people can exchange their tickets, so my audiences are more sparse. In the beginning they don’t trust me as much, so I have to win them over.

A secret I learned about Alan Cumming: After the show he turns his dressing room into a club—Club Cumming—and around 1 AM when he wants us to leave, he’ll always play Elaine Stritch singing “Ladies Who Lunch.”

Shortest notice I’ve had to get ready: The first time I went on was the second week of previews. I hadn’t been rehearsed yet! I was sitting in my pajamas, eating my cereal at 11:30 when I got a call that I was gonna be on at 2. Thankfully I knew all of Alan's adlibs, because I was obsessed with the 1998 cast album!