Tony winner Audra McDonald put on vocal rest
Posted June 21, 2012
Less than two weeks after winning her fifth Tony Award for The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Audra McDonald has been ordered to take a brief leave of absence from the production.
A statement from the show's publicist said that McDonald, one of Broadway's most celebrated performers, had been "performing with a respiratory infection last week," and that as a result "her vocal cords have become inflamed to a point where she cannot sing." Her doctor has prescribed complete vocal rest through the end of the month; McDonald is scheduled to return to Porgy on July 3.
"A singer is both a musician and an athlete," said McDonald's spokesman, Sean Michael Gross. "Just like a pitcher can't throw with a sprained wrist, a singer cannot perform with inflamed vocal cords. And while medical treatments are part of the process, a proper recovery is also dependent upon rest. This is Audra's current dilemma. No one is more frustrated and disappointed than she is that she will be out of the show through the end of June, but she must adhere to her doctor's orders."
In her absence, the role of Bess will be played by McDonald's understudy, Alicia Hall Moran. In addition to earning a Tony for its leading lady, Porgy also won this year's award for best revival of a musical.
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