A Taste of Things to Come wasn’t highly recommended, but the reviews were in positive agreement on two things – the cast was great and the songs were fun. (I also agree. In particular, Marissa Rosen’s physical comedy elicited a lot of laughs.) Combine those things with reduced-price tickets on Goldstar (which wound up being sixth row center!) and a nearby venue, and I was sold.

According to the program, cast member Linedy Genao originated the role of Rachel in On Your Feet. Cindy and I saw On Your Feet last week (see earlier blog) and neither of us could remember a character named Rachel, so we looked it up online during intermission. (What did people do during intermission before smart phones? Did they have to talk to each other? Or were the lines for the bathroom longer in those days?)

There was no character named Rachel in the online cast list for the current Chicago production of On Your Feet, which put off thoughts of senility for at least one more day, and which also got me to thinking about ensemble members and whether the actors give them names even if those names don’t appear in the program.

I found an interesting website called Theatrefolk (the drama teacher resource company). It has a page that discusses ensemble members who aren’t named in the script creating names and backstories for their characters (https://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/creating-a-strong-ensemble/). Apparently even ensemble members need to know their motivation.

Then I found the original Broadway cast list for On Your Feet and sure enough, there’s Genao, playing an ensemble member named Rachel (https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/on-your-feet-497820). Perhaps the character should have gotten identity theft protection when the show went on the road.