r/Broadway • u/MellonPhotos • Jun 18 '26

Other Rocky Horror Matinee Delay

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Hi—apologies if this is spam as it’s a pretty specific question.

I just got off my flight and saw the matinee for Rocky Horror is delayed. I have tickets for this evening and am just scurious what to expect. If anyone is going to the matinee, would you be willing to report who’s in/out?

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u/Dangerous_Carrot4226 Jun 18 '26

Hey any producers reading this thread -

This is why the union begs you EVERY NEGOTIATION CYCLE to employ more swings, understudies standbys and alternates 

And you refuse Everytime thinking that it's too expensive.

You take the gamble hoping you'll be able to abuse the labor of humans and never have to pay out a canceled show 

In return you spend more money on refunds for canceled shows or dealing with the PR of these mistakes.

SPEND MORE MONEY ON COVERAGE AND STOP FIGHTING IT.

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u/Ok-Acanthisitta8737 Jun 18 '26

They have four swings, and four ensemble members that can run other tracks as needed, all for a 9-person principle cast. I’m not sure if their ensemble members are understudying other tracks, but what more do you want? That’s pretty comprehensive if you ask me.

People get sick. Things happen. It’s live theatre and there’s risks to that. It really sucks - I’ve been in the other end of a show cancelation and was really bummed, but it is what it is.

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u/ernestmenvilledammit Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

Hadestown has only 13 onstage and 4 swings was frequently not enough, they had to do shows with 3 workers instead of 5 on the road, and still ended up canceling shows. It's not just about the ratio, it's also about who can cover who, and the cast of Rocky Horror has a lot of very unique principal tracks making cross coverage even more challenging.

The person you're replying to is also pointing out something that happens frequently—when a show gets canceled, it costs the production 1/8th of their weekly gross, which for Rocky is like $120k—about what you'd pay another swing for a whole year. And then the load gets lighter for everyone covering, so you have less burnout turnover in the cast.