Theatre stunt casting, a boon at the box office, but how does ensemble feel?

TORONTO – It’s an ever-growing trend in the theatre world: Casting a big celebrity in a stage production.

For audiences, it means excitement, and for producers it often leads to a boost in ticket sales.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s premiere in “Hamlet” across the pond next Wednesday, for instance, is “easily the most anticipated event of the London theatrical season,” says the New York Times.

But how do such stars deal with being the centre of attention in a live theatre production? And what is it like for the other cast members dealing with such hype?

It all comes to down the treatment in the rehearsal room, according to Montreal theatre producer Adam Blanshay, who recently celebrated six Tony Award wins for his shows.

“The directors and the creative team, they make the entire company feel as an ensemble and no one is generally treated any different,” he said.

“Certainly the shows that I’ve been involved with where there have been stars in the play, everyone has been on equal footing from Day 1 in the rehearsal room.”

Such was the case when Angela Lansbury starred in “Blithe Spirit,” which hit Toronto earlier this year.

The former “Murder, She Wrote” star was what everyone was talking about ahead of the premiere. But on opening night, her fellow actors were able to match her stellar performance and shine just as brightly.

“That’s basically down to Angela and also Michael Blakemore and his direction,” said cast member Jemima Rooper.

“He was very keen on making it different from when they’d done it in New York six years ago. … And Angela was just so sweet and humble and brilliant and is just a normal actor, a normal person, and so professional.”

Rooper admitted the notion of stunt casting or star casting in theatre “is sometimes something that you feel a bit suspicious of” as an actor.

“Until you’ve met someone, you don’t really know if she’s going to swan in, covered in fur coats and suddenly we’re all going to have to bow down and no one’s allowed to talk or anything.”

Plus, “you want to be able to bring something and offer something, and in that situation it may not be as relevant,” she added.

But Lansbury was “incredibly generous,” said Rooper.

“I think Angela would say it was very important to her that it isn’t just her performance and that she wants to be part of a company.”

“Back to the Future” star Christopher Lloyd also takes a humble approach to his stage roles.

“I’m in there with everybody else to create a play and make that story come alive for an audience, and I am just as anxious and concerned and worried whether I’ll be able to do my part as well as I’m expecting anybody else to do theirs,” he said.

“I think when anybody is working together … whatever status they have on the outside doesn’t matter anymore.”

Noted Helen Hunt: “Very quickly people forget who’s famous and who’s not and they concentrate on doing the show.”

Still, the equilibrium can shift momentarily when the big star first appears on stage and is met with a roar of applause, as Lansbury was during “Blithe Spirit” in Toronto.

The entrance applause provided a challenge in Act 2 when she appeared onstage during a dialogue-heavy scene, said co-star Charlotte Parry.

“I say, ‘How kind of you to have come,’ and she goes, ‘Not kind, not at all,’ and they’re clapping over that, so half the time that doesn’t work.”

Oscar-nominated “Gone Girl” star Rosamund Pike recalls being surprised by entrance applause for Judi Dench when the two starred in “Madame de Sade” in 2009.

“That’s quite American, I think,” she said. “It was very odd. People wouldn’t do that in England. That’s not an English custom.”

The chance to work alongside a legend and “be part of something very special” makes it all worth it, though, said “Blithe Spirit” co-star Charles Edwards.

“(Lansbury’s) appearance on a London stage after 40 years, and the fact that she wanted to do this tour and wanted us to do it. You go, ‘Yeah, of course I’d love to.'”