Tamsin Carroll — who starred in Cameron Mackintosh's 2002 Australian production of Oliver!, winning every single major Australian award for Best Actress in a Musical – will be the alternate Nancy in the London company of Mackintosh's revival, which begins performances at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane Dec. 12 prior to an official opening Jan. 14, 2009.

Carroll will assume the lead role of Nancy Wednesday and Thursday evenings, the two performances that TV's "I'd Do Anything" contest winner Jodie Prenger is not scheduled to play. In addition, another popular finalist from "I'd Do Anything," Sarah Lark, will also be part of the company as one of the street sellers in "Who Will Buy?" Lark will also cover the role of Nancy.

Fascinating. So many questions.
Why such a long preview period on a show which is basically a revival?
Tamsin Carroll comes with glowing credentials. No pressure for Jodie then? Cameron must have had her in mind all along?
Why is Jodie only doing 6 shows a week? It's not even a leading part. I bet Rowan Atkinson is doing all 8 shows!
Why hasn't Sarah Lark ( who I rather liked ) got something better? Has she been promised the takeover after 6 months?

I am disappointed that Jodie is not doing all 8 shows, and paricularly disappointed she is not doing the Wednesday matinee which allows people like me and my daughter to travel to see the show and return home the same day. I bought tickets in good faith that Jodie would do the matinee on a wednesday but looks like my daughter will not see Jodie, as she really wanted to. I'm sure the alternate will be fantastic but that's not the point really. I reckon we have been conned cos Cameron Mackintosh didn't want Jodie to win. Sarah Lark is excellent, and should have gone much further in the competition. Good luck to her too!

To be fair its been announced since she won the show what shows she would and wouldnt be doing

Jodie Prenger IS scheduled to do Wednesday matinees at the moment. It is Wednesday evenings and Thursday evenings that the alternate is scheduled to be on.

It's not exactly the most taxing part in the west end... why can't she do eight shows a week like everyone else, especially after how many times ALW said mentioned to every Nancy contestant "I wonder if you can do 8 shows a week?".

Depending on the interpretation and quality of voice used As Long As He Needs Me could be quite demanding in a way that the much larger part of Fagin isn't. I think we have to accept that anything said in the course of a TV freak show is likely to be meaningless to the extent that it has any connection with real life.

The issue of the alternate being much more highly qualified than the person she's alternating with is interesting, to say the least. If I were Jodie I would be getting rather worried.

Maybe this time they have learnt from Connie Fisher? SoM screwed up her voice. Maybe they don't want to do the same to Jodie. In some ways Nancy is just as a demanding role as Maria. After a couple of months if she is ok with the 6 shows a week maybe they will up her performances to 7 or 8 shows? Who knows.

Actually it was announced before Jodie won that whoever won the competition would not do all 8 shows a week. The use of an alternate is probably to make it easier for someone with no professional experience to be able to be in every performance they're scheduled to be on in.

"In some ways Nancy is just as a demanding role as Maria."..........Not remotely!!!!

To be fair to Connie, it was an unreasonable expectation for her to be expected to do the 8 shows a week as Maria. It is a heavy role and had it not been reality cast, whoever else it might have been, would surely have been given an alternate. Summer Strallen was never expected to do all eight. But Nancy isn't comparable at all. It isn't either very physically or vocally demanding. An alternate really shouldn't have been necessary. And that this alternate, Tamsin Carroll, is arriving with such kudos behind her, rather negates the possibility of her being sidelined. Am I the only one who suspects that she has been fed the carrot of taking over fully after Jodies's 6 month contract (I assume) has finished, in order to encourage her to do it?

"to be fair to Connie"???!!!
I think if you look back you will notice that there was an alternate in place before Connie was even cast. Emma Williams was quickly swept aside when Connie made promises she would do all eight shows when she knew damn well an alternate was already employed. She took on too much and couldn't handle it - the responsibility lies with her and the greedy people who mange the show and her career.

An interesting point from Mark Shenton's blog (http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/shenton/2008/11/bits-bobs-and-bill/#more)



How intriguing...

No, I hadn't foirgotten that. But it actually really wasn't relevant to the point. Perhaps you should check the context. Connie should never have been asked to extend from the six shows to the eight. And if/when she optimistically assumed she could do more, she shouldn't have been taken advantage of when that just wasn't a reasonable ask.

But that Mark Shenton blog quote was indeed very intriguing. It says quite a lot if true that Cameron Macikntosh is indeed arranging the press night to be with Tamsin Carroll. On the other hand, when ticket sales are unlikely to be influenced much either way by critical opinion of Jodie, an excellent review of Tamsin Carroll will potentially increase sales for the days when Jodie isn't playing. It might just be playing clever. On the other hand, he is opening the door to the press having a field day with the presumption that he isn't happy with the reality of Jodie's performance. And whether Tamsin Carroll takes over, or it's someone else, I still think it unlikely that she will be asked to extend past her initial contract.

It wouldn't surprise me. Even if Jodie does well and I'm sure she will, I doubt she'll get extended like Connie did, but then again if she packs them in than she should do. But honestly, would another musical revival be selling out if it wasn't for the tv show? Look at Sound of Music, closing soon, after 2 years, which isn't a bad run, but hasn't lasted because Connie hype died down when she went out of it. Oliver will be the same once Jodie leaves.

Prenger will perform on a Wednesday for the celebs, press and party guests. It's the mere mortals who won't get to see her on any other Wednesday night.

I doubt that Jodie will be extended, but I actually don't think the situation for "Oliver" is quite he same as it was for either "The Sound of Music" or "Joseph". And Cameron Mackintosh is playing it differently to Andrew Lloyd Webber, at least partly because that difference allows it. Maria and Joseph are roles that to a large part carry their respective shows. So the loss of the original primary attraction, in either case, constitutes the much bigger loss of the focus of the show. Nancy, on the other hand, is a good part, but she isn't, and shouldn't be, the primary focus. And Cameron Mackintosh has already shown his hand very clearly by going down the celebrity casting route re Rowan Atkinson and Burn Gorman to provide other very notable additional foci to spread attention. Effectively Jodie is just another celebrity (albeit via television) casting, and is therefore that much less individually critical to the whole. The financial situation might play a part that wasn't originally expected, but I think Cam Mac was looking to avoid the too specific reliance on individuals. And credit crunch etc allowing, I think it has likely worked.

[quote name='showtoones' date='Oct 30 2008, 03:32 PM' post='51911']
Tamsin Carroll — who starred in Cameron Mackintosh's 2002 Australian production of Oliver!, winning every single major Australian award for Best Actress in a Musical – will be the alternate Nancy


Wow nothing like using home grown talent ay!

So Sarah Lark will go on when Jodie or Tamsin are unavailable? Is Tamsin contracted to cover illness aswell or just her 2 shows?

Tamsin Carroll was fantastic as Nancy in the Australian production of Oliver! She should and hopefully be recognised for her talents and voice! Shes done us Aussie's proud!

doe anyone know if oliver will be doing day seats?

I , for one, am delighted that I will get to see the 'alternate' Nancy as I have tickets for a Wed evening in Feb. Excellent. I have to admit that I thought Jodie was awful and wasnt looking forward to seeing the northern lass trying to be a cockney sparrow. As for the Lark - well she was actually my fav on the show - perhaps she will get the part later.
As for the show - well Rowan Atkinson is actually the big draw isn't he. Potentially magnificent casting - I have a feeling he could almost redefine the role - not easy after some bloody good people have played it.
The best I saw was Robert Lindsay - what a waste of his taent doinmg that sitcom on the telly when he was so good in this, Cyrano and Me and My Girl.

The likelyhood of seeing Sarah Lark play Nancy will be slim as Jodie and Tasmin will never take holiday together and the alternate always gets first call if the person playing the part is off on times where the alternate ia not scheduled!
If Sarah does get on though she'll need to put her platforms on!

You can view some clips of Tamsin as Nancy by clicking the following link which shows extracts from the Australain version. http://www.oliverthemusical.com/music_and_video/video.php

I am pretty certain it is her in these clips and she looks and sounds great.

Busymum

I booked for one of Jodie Prenger's scheduled performances (January 21st matinee), but now that I've seen and heard some clips of Tamsin Carroll I'm starting to regret it.



But if Tamsin's on holiday, wouldn't Sarah Lark have to do the Wednesday and Thursday evening performances? Or is Tamsin not allowed to take those days off?

I doubt very much that the mangement would let Jodie an Tamsin have holiday at the same time. Actors have to book their holiday in a diary so not to have lots of people off at the same time.

But if Jodie was on holiday and Tamsin was doing the full schedule and became sick then Sarah would get her chance but it also means Sarah is not Tamsin's Alternate.

I thought if Jodie was on Holiday then Tamsin would cover her shows and Sarah would cover the other two shows that Tamsin would of been doing..

Some lack of sense showing in the last posts. Surely what Marius Pontmercy said was more likely. The issue isn't wherher Tamsin would be expected to cover Jodie's holiday (of course she would), it is in respect of who would be expected to cover Tamsin's holiday. Either Jodie would be expected to actually sing the full number of performances for that week, or Sarah Lark would cover those days. And I think they would probably choose to let Sarah have the opportunity.

Out of curiosity, though, did Tamsin Carroll have an alternate in Australia?

Nope she had an understudy when she did the role here. Christina Tan was the understudy here.

If anyone wants pics of Tamsin in Oliver! I finally had time to update the gallery on her fan website.

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Well, isn't that just my luck!!! I purchased tickets a few weeks before contest finished.
Family treat for New Year's Eve... guess what...it's WEDNESDAY EVE...an Jodie wont be performing !!!

Angry and dissapointed

I'm sure they will all be fab!

who are you angry at yourself for booking tickets before the winner being annouced. or the fact that they stated the winner will do all 8 shows and now is'nt.

I agree with you on this one. Connie didn't have the experience to make a sensible decision on this one, and they should have known that. It would have been far better to let her build up gradually, or make a decision after a couple of months in the role.

Unfortunately, the press wrote about the alternate as if this was evidence that Connie wasn't good enough, or the producers didn't have faith in her as having box office appeal. Maybe they didn't have faith that the winner would have enough box office appeal, but when they realised she did, they took full advantage, never mind the impact on Connie's voice.

Everyone involved should have made it clear that Maria is a "big sing" and that it was only responsible to protect her voice by not giving her enough rest between performances.

On the other hand, I do think Nancy is a different show and to bring in an alternate feels like Jodie is being pushed out. Especially when the alternate is being praised to the rafters and we all got the feeling that Jodie wasn't their first choice from the tv show anyway.

I also agree that it is good casting to bring in star names for the other roles. In particular Rowan Atkinson should be amazing. I can't wait to see how he does.

But it was announced that the winner wouldnt be doing all shows before the end of the competition and they are doing more than originally announced.

I wish I didnt have a ticket for Jodie.

She is doing the Wednesday Matinee. Tamsin Carroll is doing Wednesday and Thursday evening performances only.

Why is everyone so sure that Jodie will not get an extension on her contract after 6 months? We know that Cam Mac wasn't happy with her winning IDA but we don't know hopw he feels about her now. And we don't know how she will be doing. If she gets good reviews and tickets sell well, there is no way she will be booted out after 6 months.
Then again I agree with the people who said he's done a smart deal by casting a role that is not the lead. There are plenty of appealing names in the production.

I don't get why Sarah Lark would want to take on the understudy role though. It's highly unlikely that she will go on much as Nancy and during the other evenings she will only be on in the ensemble. Of course there is nothing wrong with being in the ensemble but when you look at the roles that other tvshow contestants got (the marias and Josephs for instance) and the things she's been doing over the last couple of months, one would expect her to be able to get something better out of her tv fame, especially with her talent. Also, we never got the feeling Cam Mac carried a torch for her, he probably asked Jessie and Rachel first.

I am certainly one of those who thinks that Jodie will probably not be extended beyond the initial 6 month contract. But that is "probably". All things can change. And I don't suppose that Cam Mac's initial disappointment will be held against her if she is seen as an advantage in practice. I just tend to think it a bit likely that Tamsin Carroll has been inveigled over with the carrot of the promise of the full role in london in due course. She just smacks of plans in place for AFTER Jodie already, and that applies to the inclusion of Sarah Lark too. But it all should be made clear fairly soon. I am not surprised that they have waited for the show to open, and the reviews, but "Oliver" has surely sold well enough to warrant an extension to the booking period already. It won't be far away. And who will be continuing with the show, if yet finally decided, is likely to be clarified at the same time. It might all depend on those reviews.

I think Rowan Atkinson will be very interesting to see. But is he really likely to want to do more than 6 months? If he doesn't, that might provide a good reason for not changing Nancy at the same time. But, whatever, if/when Jodie does leave "Oliver", is not "Chicago" likely to follow?

It is anyones guess what CM thinks, only time will tell what will happens. No one knows what CM wants and who he has asked. Sarah Lark is a fully trained professional, so even if you have appeared on a tv programme, it is now time to find your own way. From now onwards all the girls will have to audition just like everyone else.

"It's not exactly the most taxing part in the West End..".
It is obvious from that comment, you have absolutely no experience or knowledge of theatre. The role of Nancy is an extremely taxing, emotional role, which requires a great amount of stamina, talent and experience to fulifill.
While Jodie is obviously very talented and I'm sure will do a fantastic job, it is not unusual to have an alternate perform scheduled shows in a large scale musical like Oliver!.
I also think it was a very smart move by the producers. Considering this is the biggest role/show Jodie has ever worked on, she probably won't have the stamina to sustain 8 shows a week, at least initially. Her stamina will improve, absolutely, but being able to rest 2 shows a week will no doubt mean she will be "on" more often than "off", which in turn benefits the audiences who would like to see her perform the role.
This leads to another advantage for audiences: if an actor needs to have a show off because of illness etc, and the understudy goes on, the audience have no prior notice. With an alternate, the shows are scheduled, therefore audiences can decide which performer they would like to see (in this case, Jodie or Tamsin) and book tickets accordingly.
I hope you now have a greater appreciation of this industry, its demands and workings.

Did Tamsin Carroll have an alternate in Australia?

I believe she is amazing!

No she didn't. Reason being Tamsin Carroll is an extremely experienced, multi-award winning performer who has played the lead in many many shows. Without taking away from Jodie's talent in any way, Tamsin simply has a lot more experience and stamina so it was not necessary to have an alternate.
(An example of Tamsin's tenacity, she recently played the role of Magenta in The Rocky Horror Show and was the only cast member to never have a show off for the entire season. While the demands of that role are significantly lower than that of Nancy, it is still unusual to perform 8 shows a week for 8 months without having to take a day off. No-one else in the company did it.)

I can't wait to see Tasmin, I believe she is just fabulous.

Well that was just plain weird my last post apparently got deleted. Hmm. Probably because I linked my site to it.


She definitely is. And also a very gracious performer in the industry too. Considering back when she played Nancy in 2002-03, the amount of doubts the producers had with her in the audition process, she basically excelled in the role. The major concern they had was that she was too young to play Nancy, since the role isn't written for a 22 year old person to perform in. So they made the role younger for her to accommodate her in the role. Suffice to say, she clean sweeped the awards and was the youngest person ever to do so.

So if you get a chance to see her in the role do so, she definitely deserves the break in London, so very happy that Cam Mac gave her the chance.

I have watched a clip of Tasmin, on you tube and I have always believed Nancy should have been in her early twenties, I know she is just going to be amazing, I just can't wait to see her. Cameron believe it or not is a fool, he knows exactly what he is doing. Does anyone know if Tasmin will perform on press night?

Sorry I meant to say Cameron is not a fool, you don't get to be that successful and get where he has, I'm not a fan but he has done very well.

Do you know what nights she is performing?

She's performing Wednesday (night) and Thursday (night).