The swings and understudies of Broadway’s musicals are finally getting some well-deserved praise, receiving attention in news outlets on both sides of the Atlantic, from The New York Post to London’s The Stage and The Independent. The catalyst for this overdue acknowledgement is the viral clip of Hugh Jackman’s recent curtain call during The Music Man. He offered thanks to Kathy Voytko, who stepped in for ailing leading lady Sutton Foster at the last minute. “Kathy, when she turned up for work at 12 o’clock, could have played any of eight roles,” Jackman said, “and at one o’clock, she had her very first rehearsal as Marian Paroo.”
He then called up all of the swings and understudies in that performance and added, “The swings, the understudies, they are the bedrock of Broadway.” Below is a segment from ABC-TV’s Good Morning America, which profiled Voytko, as well as fellow swings Sir Brock Warren (who covers David Ruffin in Ain’t Too Proud), Angelo Soriano (who covers Iago in Aladdin), and Corey J. Skelton (who plays Young Simba in The Lion King but stepped in at the last minute for Young Nala).