“Sunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the days,” sing the weary residents of Anatevka in “Fiddler on the Roof.” That will also be the melancholy tune on Broadway in the coming weeks, as several shows, including “Fiddler” and the megahit “Jersey Boys,” prepare to darken their marquees. Here’s a look at what happened during the long runs of five of them.
Onstage marriage proposal (after a show, by Ben Rappaport, who plays Perchik; Megan Kane said yes).
The Color Purple
Closes Jan. 8
Total performances: 482
Other than a misplaced exit, Adrianna Hicks has had very few mishaps as a swing who has covered — or stepped in to play — seven characters in the Tony-winning musical “The Color Purple.” Unlike an understudy, who usually covers one lead role, a swing steps in “whenever someone is out sick or on vacation, or someone can’t make the train,” as Ms. Hicks put it.
Like all swings, Ms. Hicks, 27, is at the theater even when she’s not scheduled to perform, in case something happens to an actor during the show. That’s what occurred at a performance in May when Cynthia Erivo, the show’s Tony-winning star, left after the first act because of illness.
“Somebody runs upstairs and was like, ‘Cynthia might be out, so just be prepared,’” Ms. Hicks recalled. “I was like, ‘Nobody talk to me, I just need to focus.’ They announced my name and said the performance would be continued by Adrianna. I remember walking out onstage and with the audience so responsive, loving that moment.”
Ms. Hicks said covering Ms. Erivo’s leading role, Celie, which she has done over 25 times, was the most daunting part of being in the show, her Broadway debut. (She goes next into the Encores! production of “Big River.”)
“In her voice there’s such freedom, because she has it in her body physically,” Ms. Hicks said of Ms. Erivo. “With me, I’m still learning to get it there.”
As for that missed departure, Ms. Hicks said, “Flaws have happened.”
“I have exited off the wrong side of the stage because I’m so set being another character for the entire week, and then, for one show, doing someone totally different,” she said with a laugh. “Thank God we just walk onstage and stand there at certain moments.”
