I'm pretty sure I saw Norman Lear there last night. If not, it was his evil twin.
Jay, I guessed as much that warbly vibrato was the wife of the restaurant owner. Was he the short, roly-poly gent with the grey hair? Though he sang around the piano with the group we left before he did any solos...or maybe he doesn't. Are you an habitue of the place? Food was perfectly fine, if not memorable, and we had a lovely bottle of Australian chardonnay. It's great that it's right there at the theatre.
Can't speak to the understudies, but the guy who is the understudy for Starbuck certainly looks more the part from his resume shot.
I gotta get on this facial hair thing again for both Starbuck and File. File is a meticulous man... appearances are important to him. He's darning his own shirt. He talks contemptuously of the man his wife ran off with as being nearsighted and having weak hands. If File had any facial hair, it would be scrupulously trimmed and maintained. It's part of his anal nature. No beard stubble.
Starbuck would not have facial hair at all. He's a con man. He'd want to appear heroic. Rock-jawed, fresh-faced, and wide open, nothing to hide. More importantly, he wouldn't want anything competing with or distracting from that pearly smile and charm. Nor would he want to convey an image of mistrust or as someone too slick and sophisticated, an image that can often be misconstrued from face hair. Especially a scraggly, patchy mustache and goatee like the one the actor was wearing last night. Weenie, very weenie. Mostly, it looks like a little boy trying to grow face hair and can't. Another image Starbuck doesn't want to convey.
