Broadway is widely known for being a center of productions, featuring some of the most talented performers in the world who showcase their abilities eight times a week. In contradiction of Broadway’s well-known status, swings and understudies, the backbone of the theater world, tend to go unnoticed. 

An understudy is a cast member who is ready at all times to fill in a specific role if the regular actor/actress in the role is unable to perform. A swing is a similar part of the cast, but understudies for multiple roles at the same time. 

Due to the uncertainty of how or when an understudy/swing will be put into a role, they constantly need to review the material and be prepared to go out on stage at the last minute. Patricia Phillips, who understudies the role of Carlotta in “Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway, says in an interview with The Hiller newspaper that she is scheduled for understudy rehearsals and works individually with the musical director at separate rehearsals. 

Recently with the ongoing pandemic, swings and understudies have become an even more prominent necessity and sometimes find out they are needed the same day as the performance. 

Musical director at Trinity High School, Mrs. Meghan Child, recounts, “I read an article about Kathy Voytko, who is currently serving as Sutton Foster’s understudy in ‘The Music Man’… she only had one rehearsal before the evening’s performance.”

Voytko’s case is common for many actors on Broadway and all theaters around the world. After quarantine, theaters were hesitant to open in fear of immediate shutdown and as a precaution to limit the spread of COVID-19.  The existence of swings/understudies provided a solution for both scenarios. 

Trinity alumna and current freshman at Point Park University Madison Thong says, “They [the arts] will continue to adapt and create even more than they did before.”

In overcoming the recent struggles, actors and actresses have adapted to the ever-changing pandemic guidelines and constant new cast members. 

Phillips says, “At ‘Phantom [of the Opera]’, we flew in two ballet dancers from Europe just this weekend.”

Despite the constant adaptation on and off stage, the capability of the swings and understudies on Broadway have led the way for a theater renaissance to thrive after an extended pause of creative buildup.