OK, I'm a total nerd and downloaded the casino contract's rulebook off Equity's site. It's from a few years ago, so it might've changed, but regarding understudy slips:

(D) Changes In Cast. This Rule shall apply to all Actors who play or understudy a Star or Principal Role.
(1) All Understudies to Principal Actors shall be listed in the cast list, table card, Program or Playbill (when available), and Souvenir Program unless requested by the Understudy not to be listed.
(2) When an Understudy takes the place of a Star or Principal Actor billed above the title or when such an Actor is replaced by another, then an announcement of the change in cast shall be made prior to the rise of the curtain stating the name of the Understudy or replacement Actor, the character portrayed, and the name of the Star or Principal Actor playing the character as listed in the cast list.
(3) In addition to the above, whenever possible, such announcement shall be posted conspicuously and prominently, and in an unobstructed manner on the house board at the entrance to the theatre. Such announcement shall be at least 8 x 10 inches in size with the name(s) of the character(s) portrayed and the Actor(s) in letters of at least one and one-half inches in height.
(4) All further changes in cast made necessary by the absence or replacement of an Actor shall be posted on the house board in letters of at least one and one-half inches in height or announced from the stage prior to the rise of the curtain.
(5) If a program is provided, the following language shall be displayed on the cast page: “Any changes in cast for today’s performance shall be listed on the house board at the entrance to the theatre or announced from the stage prior to the rise of the curtain.” (See Rule 6, BILLING.) (There's more, but it's about payment and press releases.)

So it sounds like they're not required to include them.

Here's the link to the PDF if you're as nerdy as me: http://www.actorsequity.org/docs/rulebooks/Casino_Rulebook_05-07.pdf

Aw...makes me want to go back...I miss Rick's performance (haven't seen him since August)

My upgrade experiences have been a bit different. The first time, I was in the rear mezz and the ushers came up and got us and moved us to the front mezz. Another time they took my ticket (rear mezz) when I entered, threw it in a bucket and handed me a new one (2nd row of the orchestra)

You know, I can't think of a time when I've had understudy/swing inserts in Vegas, either, and I've seen a handful of both. I thought it was an Equity rule that when an understudy or swing goes on, you have to do at least 2 of 3 options (verbal announcement, playbill insert, understudy board). Unless with the casino contract that's not the case.

I totally understand your point of view boy0210 but I look at it from a performers' viewpoint as well as a patron....and please know that I am not "one of them" but if I were, I would want credit given to the fellow castmate who stepped in at the last minute. I realize it doesn't interfere with the the show itself although from what I have read, each actor brings to the production their own interpretation of the role they are playing. Can you tell that I am pretty new at this theater thing???

I'm more in love with the show itself than the actors, so as long as they don't ruin the show for me, I don't mind not knowing the actors' names. But I do try to find out the names of actors who have that WOW effect on me :)

I would be very PO'd to pay good money to see a show and then not even know who you saw. PU-lease!!

The annoying part is when the ropes are out and ushers give you the stink eye just for trying to get a peek at the understudy board.

"It's a bit harder catching understudies in Vegas-- first you have to be lucky as far as when you're there, and secondly, the understudy board isn't easily viewable from outside the ropes. ;) "

I know. And they don't put those replacement notice inserts inside the playbill. I've seen 4 different Frankies in Vegas. The only one I'm absolutely sure of is Rick Faugno. I think I've also seen Graham Fenton, Travis, and one other replacement but I would be hard pressed to tell with absolute certainty which one is which. :(

I hope ALL the guys have renewed. Interesting perspective about Jeff's performance. When you talked about the audio in Row H, I thought of Gyp's line in the basement scene -- "and YOU... stay outta [Row H]". Speaking of Gyp. Guess I didn't think about it much till now, but Gyp always struck me as more dignified than dangerous, at least with the lines written for him. (Vegas is the only cast I've seen - one time - other than Broadway, so I don't have much in the way of comparison.)

And when it comes to a good audience...as Frankie says in the car scene: [Audience] is everything! EVERYTHING.

I would love to see that as well. It's a bit harder catching understudies in Vegas-- first you have to be lucky as far as when you're there, and secondly, the understudy board isn't easily viewable from outside the ropes. ;)

Ooh,I want to see Jonathan as Frankie too!

No, but I've wanted to. And has Jonathan Rodriguez gone on yet?

Has anyone seen David Demato as Frankie? He performed the late show on Tuessday, May 12th. He has also did several shows the last week of April. His Frankie is "amazing",

Yep, Carly's the new permanent Lorraine. I'm not sure when Julia left, though I think the souvenir lady I was talking to said it was within the last month.

Thanks! :)

Nice review, Leanna. Hopefully things in LV will pick up soon!

Is Carly Thomas the new permanent Lorraine? When did Julia Krohn leave?

Gary and I had a similar experience when we were in Vegas in February. We bought tickets in advance for the Saturday night show, and last minute tickets for the Sunday show. At both shows, it was (unfortunately) very obvious that many orchestra seats were empty, especially up front. We gave ourselves a complimentary upgrade and just moved down. :)

When I got there, the usher told me, "We're offering complimentary upgrades tonight," and then showed me a seating chart. Although I'm sure it wasn't just that night...

I picked my seat, and the usher wrote over my ticket the new row, section, and seat #.

MANY of the people around me were commenting (positively) about being upgraded as well.

"I was able to get a rear mezzanine seat in the 2nd row at 3 p.m., and come 6 p.m. they had upgraded me to ROW H OF THE ORCHESTRA? "

How does this work? Do they offer it voluntarily or do you have to ask?

The prologue you can skip:

I felt incredibly refreshed seeing this production. That may sound like a slight against London, but that's not really what I mean. It's just that Vegas is the one near and dear to my heart, and although London was familiar enough to be comforting and different enough to be interesting, this was like, I dunno? Coming home? I only last saw the Vegas production in February, but somehow it seemed like longer.

And it really helped that the audience, however small, was very into it. They were actually paying attention, didn't seem drunk or asleep or puking, and weren't singing along! So nice to hear that kind of cheering, applause and laughter after way too many performances with tame crowds. One lady clapped and yelled, "WOO" at Rick's enraged, "Sit! Down!," there was a huge response (mostly gasps and "awww!"s) after "I don't want anybody involved in our future but me and Frankie," and there was a ton of laughter after "he brought his own towels." Strangely enough, the applause for "Sherry" wasn't that intense, but response to songs -- as opposed to dialogue -- did pick up later on.

What WAS somewhat worrisome was, as I said before, the small crowd. I know Jeff and Erich have renewed for a year, all the shows are riding out a sucky economy, and they probably don't have to sell out to recoup... so perhaps there's nothing to worry about. But it was so sad that I was able to get a rear mezzanine seat in the 2nd row at 3 p.m., and come 6 p.m. they had upgraded me to ROW H OF THE ORCHESTRA? That's great, but... not great. The usher who showed me a seating chart gave me quite a huge range of seats to choose from, too. By curtain, there were maybe 4 people in our row, and I'm pretty sure the rear mezz was empty. Well, I hope things pick up.

The show:

I always enjoy Rick, but at this performance, I was starting to I feel like the musical part of the role is possibly becoming too routine for him. Of course, it could've been an off-night, but the songs didn't quite have the same spark I remember -- although if it had been my first time seeing him I wouldn't have had that impression at all. And most of his book scenes were still fantastic. Every argument between Frankie and Mary (and then the sit-down), there were definitely sparks flying. Nothing has been lost there. And I especially liked how he was trying so hard to be the peacemaker during the sit-down – during the Nick-Tommy argument ("Whose side are you on?," etc.), Rick’s was kind of spreading his arms out like a referee trying to calm things down.

Deven seems far less angry and violent than when we saw him in February, but he's still more prone to yelling than I remember him being on tour. (Also, instead of patting Nick on the stomach during, "Have a little party!," he elbows Bob in the ribs. Nice foreshadowing of the Chicago scene, I guess.) The audience ate him up, and I knew we were off to a good start when a few people in the crowd were actually cheering for "We put Jersey on the map!" It was nice to hear THAT again.

Erich is still adding some fun riffs into "Cry For Me," and his older Bob voice doesn't emerge as suddenly as it used to. I loved how he looked at the "party girl" as she went downstairs and then made this gesture like, "OK, I'll just stay here and watch you undress." HA.

Jeff’s final Fall monologue was extra emotional. It's always been heartbreaking -- up there with Philip Bulcock's -- but Saturday night up on the catwalk, doing the "Uncle Nick" monologue, he seemed to be nearly in tears. Even as he was walking into the wings he had an incredible amount of emotion on his face. What really helped was how he moved in the preceding scene during "Stay." It was very floppy and non-committal -- at that point you could see Nick was already losing his enthusiasm and starting to not care anymore, and then comes Bob's "I don’t want anybody involved in our future..." line, which breaks him.

New folks:

Joe Barbara is the new Gyp. Strangely enough, he didn't strike me as all that dangerous. More like dignified. Which is not something you normally associate with Gyp -- at least in lieu of dangerous -- but it still worked. I also nearly busted up laughing at his old man hunch and wizened scowl as Pete, the bowling alley guy.

Carly Thomas is the new Lorraine (I think I saw her in Rent?). I liked her a lot. She looks and acts a little older than most Lorraines I've seen, which was an interesting change. I kept thinking of the description in the open calls -- that Lorraine is a "young Diane Sawyer" and very career-oriented. She was quite playful at the beginning, but then all that changed, and there was a very nice sense of the passage of time between the interview scene and "Bye, Bye Baby." Of all the Lorraines I've seen -- including the two take-no-shit Lorraines in London -- Carly's was probably the most ready and willing to kick Frankie to the curb and get back to her career.

Misc:

* Has the Yannick hat changed? I don't remember it being white before. Then again, maybe I'm just confused because of London.
* There also seemed to be a bit more riffing during "Ces Soirees-La" than I remember.
* Jason Martinez's drunk guy at the bar who's hitting on Mary is absolutely hysterical. I think I saw a few similar characters at Harrah's that night... ;)
* Row H of the orchestra is especially susceptible to the over-amplification of Act 2. People around me were covering their ears during CTMEOY, and it was more noticeable from there how much more the mics are turned up as soon as the horn section comes out. Ow ow ow.
* This may have been the first time I've ever seen a Crewe react to Mika making eyes at the Four Seasons. :) John Salvatore actually swatted Kristofer McNeeley in the stomach! I will be laughing for days.
* I exited through the inner stairwell (which I'd never done before), and it was really cute hearing all these people go on about how great the show was, and how many were moms thanking their kids for taking them to see it for Mother's Day. I hope the word of mouth keeps spreading.
* In all, not a performance that blew me away, but instead brought me back home. It was nice. :)