Carrie Hope Fletcher #2 The Carrie Hope Fletcher Show

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It’s quite sad that the higher ups put pressure on her to perform when she was ill. I get that they wanted ‘the name from the poster’ in the show but she could have wrecked her voice and future career. There’s still some debate about whether her vocals have been impacted by that. Clearly they cared more about money than looking after their actors.
 
I'm really glad she mentioned the pressure from the higher ups. I got the vibe it's something she's been wanting to offload for a while and it definitely takes some of the pressure off herself. That being said, I can't imagine that situation. As a leading star - you have to wonder what rights you have in that position. The fact the show would have potentially closed had her and Sophie been ill is very haphazard.
 
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Cloud_Atlas_23 said:
I'm really glad she mentioned the pressure from the higher ups. I got the vibe it's something she's been wanting to offload for a while and it definitely takes some of the pressure off herself. That being said, I can't imagine that situation. As a leading star - you have to wonder what rights you have in that position. The fact the show would have potentially closes had her and Sophie been ill is very haphazard.
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Wasn’t that also around the time that Dove Cameron was in The Light At The Piazza and was barely performing? If I remember correctly Doves understudy ended up having more performances than Dove herself. There were a lot of people on theatreboard saying how the director was obviously annoyed whenever he had to announce that Dove was still off sick. Maybe the higher ups in Heathers were looking at that situation and trying to stop it happening to their own show. I just had a look at the old Heathers West End website and it shows Olivia as the only understudy for both Veronica and H McNamara. I don’t think I ever realised just how small the cast was for Heathers in London. I guess, with the limited west end run, they never expected their lead to get so ill and therefore never thought it necessary to have backstage swings (there are no swings listed on the cast page of the website). It was really crappy of them to put Carrie in so much danger, they must’ve realised how ill she was. Or maybe, because she never put her foot down, they thought it wasn’t as bad as she continued to perform. Tonsillitis is contagious and she very easily could have taken out the whole cast, it’s incredible they made it to their last scheduled performance!
 


In case anyone is interested, Pete shared a link for a podcast he did very recently.

Super interesting when he talks about calling someone out, etc.

I wonder if he's referring to Carrie?

I find it odd she's privated videos featuring Pete but the ones with Alex Day are still there.

Maybe Pete asked her to remove them considering he's overhauled his look and taken down all his old content?

I'm speculating, of course!

(I've not listened all the way through yet so he may well say who he's referring to, I'm not sure!)
 
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Catsheldon said:
Wasn’t that also around the time that Dove Cameron was in The Light At The Piazza and was barely performing? If I remember correctly Doves understudy ended up having more performances than Dove herself. There were a lot of people on theatreboard saying how the director was obviously annoyed whenever he had to announce that Dove was still off sick. Maybe the higher ups in Heathers were looking at that situation and trying to stop it happening to their own show. I just had a look at the old Heathers West End website and it shows Olivia as the only understudy for both Veronica and H McNamara. I don’t think I ever realised just how small the cast was for Heathers in London. I guess, with the limited west end run, they never expected their lead to get so ill and therefore never thought it necessary to have backstage swings (there are no swings listed on the cast page of the website). It was really crappy of them to put Carrie in so much danger, they must’ve realised how ill she was. Or maybe, because she never put her foot down, they thought it wasn’t as bad as she continued to perform. Tonsillitis is contagious and she very easily could have taken out the whole cast, it’s incredible they made it to their last scheduled performance!
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Think Light in the Piazza didn't premier until 2019 - wasn't Heathers closed by then? I saw it after its West End transfer at the Haymarket in 2018 and I don't think it was there that long.

I think it's appalling if they weren't supportive but honestly wouldn't there always be that pressure if you're being paid to do a job? No manager wants to have to cover for their employees and their priority will always be that the work is getting done like it's meant to.

Does she go into detail about what that pressure was? Because I wonder how much of it was Carrie not wanting to let people down when she was the 'star' and she knew the pressure a significant amount of absence would have on the small cast.

She cried in Oliver's lap when she had to take one day off sick in Addams so it wouldn't surprise me if it was more internal pressure.
 
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I’m amazed the other cast didn’t get tonsillitis. I do actually feel a bit sorry for her because I’m sure she is deep down aware she was used for her name/fan base and that must have been rough to push through the illness. The Heathers songs are quite shouty too - sounds quite painful to sing generally.
 
emmer_moans said:
I’m amazed the other cast didn’t get tonsillitis. I do actually feel a bit sorry for her because I’m sure she is deep down aware she was used for her name/fan base and that must have been rough to push through the illness. The Heathers songs are quite shouty too - sounds quite painful to sing generally.
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But this is why I don’t think the pressure to perform through illness came completely from the top. She probably put enough pressure on herself to carry on to justify why she was there.
 
Plus, she got some criticism for being cast as Veronica while everything I saw about Olivia in the role was really positive.

She hates her understudies as it is, and was so funny about not wanting to congratulate Olivia. I can't imagine she wanted to give Olivia much of a chance to outshine her in a role that was 'hers'.
 
silkytoes said:
Plus, she got some criticism for being cast as Veronica while everything I saw about Olivia in the role was really positive.

She hates her understudies as it is, and was so funny about not wanting to congratulate Olivia. I can't imagine she wanted to give Olivia much of a chance to outshine her in a role that was 'hers'.
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I agree. I don’t deny that there was pressure from higher-ups, I’m sure that was quite difficult for Carrie. But I think a majority of the pressure for her to perform came from herself not wanting to share the spotlight with her understudy (who was undeniably better as Veronica).
 
silkytoes said:
I think it's appalling if they weren't supportive but honestly wouldn't there always be that pressure if you're being paid to do a job? No manager wants to have to cover for their employees and their priority will always be that the work is getting done like it's meant to.

Does she go into detail about what that pressure was? Because I wonder how much of it was Carrie not wanting to let people down when she was the 'star' and she knew the pressure a significant amount of absence would have on the small cast.
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I think your comment is spot on. No one in any production will ever be happy with the main cast getting sick and having to be replaced by an understudy. It’s not just the issue of people’s expectations even.

An understudy normally has considerably less actual rehearsal time with the rest of the cast prior to the premier, so the rhythm of the whole show will be more or less different. they’d be lucky if it turns out well enough and the audience loves it. But when you promote the show with such heavy focus on the “star”, it’s that much harder to sell it without their being in the actual performance.

i admit I didn’t see the show and didn’t watch the video where she talked about this, but from what I’ve seen and heard, I’d say I really don’t think Carrie suits the role. It’s too much of a stretch, vocally and acting ability wise. She tries hard and I can’t blame her for that. The situation is unfortunate.
 
PamSlams said:
I think your comment is spot on. No one in any production will ever be happy with the main cast getting sick and having to be replaced by an understudy. It’s not just the issue of people’s expectations even.

An understudy normally has considerably less actual rehearsal time with the rest of the cast prior to the premier, so the rhythm of the whole show will be more or less different. they’d be lucky if it turns out well enough and the audience loves it. But when you promote the show with such heavy focus on the “star”, it’s that much harder to sell it without their being in the actual performance.

i admit I didn’t see the show and didn’t watch the video where she talked about this, but from what I’ve seen and heard, I’d say I really don’t think Carrie suits the role. It’s too much of a stretch, vocally and acting ability wise. She tries hard and I can’t blame her for that. The situation is unfortunate.
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Absolutely, of course they're going to prefer that she's there and in the show, that's what they're all prepared for and it's what she's being paid for.

As an adult, you need to learn to navigate those situations and advocate for yourself. Your employer is not your friend and is unlikely to be putting your best interests first. It's your responsibility to put your health first and put your foot down and take the time off you need to get better.

I remember my dad telling me this in my first ever job when I'd never called in sick before and I was planning to ask their permission to send me home. Of course they'll say no to that, they needed me. He told me to get a grip and just tell them I was going home!
 
anjschuyler said:
I still think the last thing we need in this world is this show, but I don't mind this. I like the tempo and Carrie sounds good on it.

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Very Disney-esque but I'm surprised how much I enjoy that! Fingers crossed the musical is good as a whole, though I'm not very into most ALW musicals personally.
 
DigiDuino said:
Very Disney-esque but I'm surprised how much I enjoy that! Fingers crossed the musical is good as a whole, though I'm not very into most ALW musicals personally.
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I much prefer her singing like this to her belt. This song is so sentimental - it doesn't really make me think "wow, this is a new and different Cinderella!", the tune sounds really derivative and the lyrics are a bit...obvious. But I'm sure the old ladies will like it.
 
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