As Broadway fights virus surge, unsung heroes find spotlight
By MARK KENNEDY
AP Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — The theatrical magic keeping Broadway going during the latest coronavirus surge has been the unheralded actors ready to step into any role due to an emergency. Then there’s Carla Stickler, who had actually left show business altogether but returned to rescue “Wicked.” Stickler, who had launched a new career as a software engineer in Chicago, canceled her vacation and returned to New York to star as the green-skinned Elphaba when the cast was ravaged by illness. Her effort is just an extreme example of the work Broadway’s understudies, standbys and fill-ins have made to keep shows open, often learning multiple roles with little formal rehearsal.
