Broadway experts, I am not one of you.

Can anyone tell me if, when a play is in "preview", a few days before opening, if the primary stars are on-stage? Anything else "expected to be" lacking, in your experience?

We've never been to a preview, but was thinking about going to one for the Cat on a Hot Tin Roof revival at the Broadhurst.

Every "preview" I have seen has included the "starring" performers as opposed to understudies.

Almost always the primary stars appear.

But, sometimes, understudies routinely perform at matinees, though not usually until the run is well underway. You can usually determine that on Playbill.com And, with a play that's probably unlikely.

We've seen many shows during Previews and then again much later. With "Gypsy" starring Bernadette Peters, some changes were made to her wigs and wardrobe - nothing else significant. With "Boy from Oz", they had changed a few of the songs (for the much better) between the time the Playbill was printed and the show we attended.

With a play, improvements are surely made in every way throughout the run - but probably nothing you would notice.

Thanks Dukey, we appreciate the response. I think we'll go ahead and grab some tickets.

djkbooks, when I posted my response back to Dukey, your reponse hadn't come up yet.

What you said makes a lot of sense, especially with a play as established as something from Tennessee Williams. Just not being familiar with them, I wasn't sure what previews entailed at all or how "complete" everything was. I think we're feeling pretty comfortable with roughly what to expect now. Thanks a bunch.

We also saw "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf" with Kathleen Turner in Boston before it headed to Broadway. Everything was magnificent.

Previews are a great time to see a play, especially if there are "stars" in it. There are smaller crowds at the stage door if you're into that and there can be a real freshness to a play still being worked on. It's fun to be among the first to see a new show, especially when it's a successful on (if it's not a successful one, you may be among the few that see it before it closes).

A few years ago I bought a single seat to see a preivew of La Cage aux Folles at the Marquis. I was dumbfounded to be seated next Jerry Herman who wrote the music and lyrics for the show (as well as Mame and Hello Dolly.) He was very gracious and actually chatted with me at intermission about the show. It was a thrill for me as I am a big fan.

I saw a preview for Tommy at the La Jolla Playhouse before it headed to Broadway. I had a SRO seat but was able to sit down. The director, Des McAnuff, was seated behind me. He had on a headset and I overheard him giving hushed last minute directions during the show. He asked a few of us about our opinions, we all told him Pinball Wizard needed to be amped up and he agreed.

(Went to a preview for Damn Yankees, also Brodaway bound. Had a SRO seat andactually had to stand, sigh.)

The purpose of a preview is to get a show ready for its opening. So, it's highly unlikely that standins or standbys will be filling in!

When I saw "Rock n Roll" before it opened, playwright Tom Stoppard and director Trevor Nunn were there working on it-and approachable-something you're not likely to get later in the run.

I agree that it's "highly unlikely", but to my recollection Bernadette Peters missed some preview performances of "Gypsy" due to illness, so you never know...

Obviously, sickness is always a possibility. But, that could happen ANY time during the run of a show. That's hardly a greater problem during the preview period.

Sounds like we're pretty low risk and we'd probably like it anyway. I'm sure this is all obvious to the regular theater-goer, but we appreciate the advice!

Thanks again.

We have season tickets to ACT in San Francisco and usually do Saturday matinee previews. One, because the tickets are less costly (omigod what if it bombs?) and two because we have to drive into the city and don't like to drive home late at night.

We have never had understudies at a preview. The purpose of a preview, I think, is to fine tune the performance. Occasionally we will read a review of later performances and realize that something we had seen had not worked and had been re-done.

Fun, and educational. Go for it.

As Howard said, the purpose of previews is to get a show ready for opening. Sometimes there will be glitches in the show that they are still working out. Most notably, I remember seeing Sutton Foster in previews in Thoroughly Modern Millie and the elevator broke down in the middle of a tap number! They took a short intermission and got it fixed and started the number over again. Otherwise, I agree that you are unlikely to notice anything different. It's a great way to see a show that is likely to be "hot."