At approximately noon on Sept. 12, “Aladdin” production stage manager Kat Purvis sent an urgent email to Myriah Bash, general manager of “Aladdin” worldwide: “I don’t know if we have a Jasmine tonight.”
Sonya Balsara, who plays that leading role on Broadway, had called out sick. One of her understudies, ensemblist Katie Terza, had been previously injured. The other understudy, Mikayla Renfrow, was on a delayed flight coming back from a scheduled vacation.
Originally, Renfrow was set to return to “Aladdin” in her usual ensemble track at the Sept. 12 evening performance. But her international flight from Milan had been delayed by 90 minutes. She’d notified Purvis that she likely wouldn’t make it to curtain and would need to call out. At the time, Purvis knew that a swing could go on in her stead, no problem. But now, with Balsara and Terza out, Purvis had no one to go on in the principal role.
