‘Once’ Turns To Britain for New Broadway Leads

The hit Broadway musical “Once” announced some unexpected casting news on Monday - the sort of news that tends to disappoint aspiring actors in New York theater. The musical’s lead performers, Ben Hope and Laura Dreyfuss, who were named to the roles of Guy and Girl in March, are being replaced by two British newcomers to Broadway, Arthur Darvill and Joanna Christie, who will make their debuts in the show on Tuesday.

What makes the announcement unusual is that the producers of “Once” had not indicated that Mr. Hope and Ms. Dreyfuss would be temporary when naming them as the show’s stars last month.

Indeed, Mr. Hope and Ms. Dreyfuss were announced with fanfare for several reasons: They were taking over for Steve Kazee - who won a Tony Award last June playing Guy - and Cristin Milioti, who was nominated for a Tony as Girl; they were ascending in the show that had won the Tony for best musical; and the two actors had previously been the standbys for Mr. Kazee and Ms. Milioti, waiting in the wings to perform whenever the leads were sick or on vacation. For the countless performers who have been standbys on Broadway, the dream is always to take over the role full-time someday, though it rarely happens in this era when producers seek new stars to replace the outgoing ones.

A spokeswoman for “Once,” Susanne Tighe, said on Monday that Mr. Hope and Ms. Dreyfuss had not been pushed out. Rather, she said, the producers’ plan all along was to have them in the lead roles temporarily. “We didn’t know when Arthur and Joanna’s visas were going to be completed, so we couldn’t include end dates for Ben and Laura in the March casting announcement,” Ms. Tighe said.

Asked why their temporary status wasn’t included in the March announcement, Ms. Tighe repeated the point about the visas. She said the casting of Mr. Darvill and Ms. Christie was not a reflection on the strengths of Mr. Hope and Ms. Dreyfuss. Asked why the producers were casting two British actors in the role when American actors like Mr. Hope and Ms. Dreyfuss were available, Ms. Tighe said, “The creative team and the producers liked Arthur and Joanna.”

The musical is about an Irishman and a Czech woman falling in love in Dublin, and their friends and family. Mr. Kazee and Ms. Milioti are American.

New York producers can cast British actors in Broadway shows under an exchange program with British theater organizations. Actors Equity Association signed off on the “Once” casting; a spokeswoman for Equity did not immediately have further comment. Mr. Darvill has appeared on the BBC show “Doctor Who” as one of the doctor’s companions, Rory Williams, while Ms. Christie has appeared in British theater and television productions. A separate production of “Once” recently began performances in London.

Mr. Hope and Ms. Dreyfuss will be returning to standby status in “Once,” meanwhile. Neither immediately replied to requests seeking comment on Monday.