Not being familiar with the world of Broadway, I have some questions:
Would it be easier for Jackie to get her start in a touring company of a Broadway show?
Should Jackie try to reenact the story of POTO and get a position as an understudy in a Broadway show? Doing so would, of course, ground her concert touring.
Could she be a summer-vacation fill-in or does the long-serving understudy always take that position?
I remember George Hamilton saying that to be a star, an actor needs to start his/her career as a star. In other words, not take a supporting role in a production as doing so will type the actor as a supporting actor for the rest of his/her career. Is this true?
Sure, it would be great to be in a touring company of a Broadway show. However, with zero experience on Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off Broadway for any show, the likelihood of that occurring for Jackie is virtually zero. Jackie would be competing against dozens, if not hundreds, of others, even for a minor role. And all these people probably have years of experience against no experience for Jackie.
As noted above, there will be dozens, if not hundreds, of others trying out for all understudy opportunities. All of them probably have actually played a part in a POTO show at some level. Many would have done so many times. All would have sung the POTO songs many times, albeit most likely not in a concert setting like Jackie but in an actual theater show. A concert setting is far different than a theater show setting. Any many will have taken theater voice lessons to boot in addition to acting.
Summer vacation fill-ins probably would be by understudies. And then others could become understudies of the understudy to guard against sicknesses.
There is no magic to being in a theater show just like there is no magic to getting an entry level job.
An entry level job typically requires certain minimums such as college education and/or related job experience. One exception could be a sibling of an employee but again even that would require the person to have some education or experience in the job area. Businesses are not in the habit of hiring an art student for an engineering internship. They want someone in school for engineering with good grades and ideally with some prior work experience. No magic, just reality.
Same for a theater show job. They are not hiring engineers to act and sing in a theater musical. Since there are far fewer Broadway (and Off-Broadway) positions available, who would you pick? A complete neophyte who only just started to learn how to do theater acting/singing or someone who has spent years learning their craft? Jackie has a great voice, but that is only a part of a theater show.
More time is spent acting than singing in a typical theater show. For example, the musical
Waitress runs for 2 hours, 30 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission. There are 22 songs sung in the musical. The songs total 52 minutes and 48 seconds. So we have the show lasting 135 minutes. Thus, we have 53 minutes of singing (slightly less than 40% of the show) and 82 minutes of acting (slightly more than 60% of the show).
So what would you want, a great singer who looks horrible acting or a great actor who has a decent voice. I will bet that unless Jackie was funding the theater production, they will pick the latter rather than the former. They want to fill seats, not cause people to say the acting was bad so do not go. There are thousands of people who can sing decent enough for a theater show while also doing a decent job acting. Jackie has yet to prove that she can act and sing in a theater musical. Until enough producers see that and believe Jackie can carry her part in a show, Jackie will not be offered even a small part in an Off-Broadway show. Producers are not crazy. They have a responsibility to their investors who funded the show. They want to at least not lose money or else who in the world would invest in another one of their future projects? As with any business, the bottom line is important.
It is nice that George Hamilton said to start as a star rather than an underling. Interesting, because this is NOT what George Hamilton did himself.
George Hamilton attended the Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York, graduating in 1957. At that time it was an all boys private college preparatory school. He did theater and the such while at the school.
George Hamilton's first roles were in TV. He appeared on such shows as
The Veil (playing an Indian),
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin,
The Donna Reed Show and
Cimarron City. Not exactly starting out as a star when one plays an Indian on a TV show.
His first film role was a lead,
Crime and Punishment U.S.A. (1959), directed by Denis Sanders. Although shot in 1958 it was not released until the following year. So, here George Hamilton did get a "star" part, his first.
The film was seen by Vincente Minnelli who thought George Hamilton would be ideal for the younger son in
Home from the Hill (1960), a Southern melodrama with Robert Mitchum. Hamilton was cast and the film was popular. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed him to a long-term contract. Almost like Jackie playing the daughter of Robert Redford in
The Company You Keep but Jackie not given a long-term contract since was Independently made film so no major studio involved who could afford to hire Jackie to a contract.
MGM then cast George Hamilton in support of Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner in the melodrama
All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960) which flopped at the box office. Again, George Hamilton was not the star.
Hamilton's next film was far more popular, the beach party comedy
Where the Boys Are (1960). This was a hit and remains one of his best known movies.
Thus, it took years of bit parts in TV shows and his 4th film before George Hamilton could be called a film star.
George Hamilton in reality did not actually follow his own statements as to what one should do in one's career.
Reality states that one usually has to prove oneself over many years and many roles before one may succeed in becoming a star. Few people bypass this and magically jump to star status immediately.
And Jackie, by being in
Get Jack, is following the normal first steps of trying to prove oneself as being a viable person who can possibly become a theater star at some point in the future.