But, when you take off the sparkly showbiz sunglasses and remember this is, in fact, real life we're talking about, then what occurred at Paddington the Musical this week becomes far more remarkable.
Victoria Hamilton-Barritt, who plays the villainous taxidermist of the show Millicent Clyde, was on holiday abroad and all three of her covers were unable to perform. That is, unless, someone else could step into those leather heeled boots...
"I was never going to say no," she said, in an exclusive chat with Radio Times, "I was scared to say yes, but I knew it wasn't going be a no."
Millicent Clyde has quickly become one of the most recognisable roles in Paddington, owing to Hamilton-Barritt's Olivier Award-winning voice and the standout song Pretty Little Dead Things – so for O'Reilly, only in her second theatre job post-drama school, the challenge was the size of one of Clyde's stuffed elephants.
O'Reilly's parents, visiting from Cork and scheduled to head back that night (again, musical logic), also knew this was a no-brainer for their daughter, so promptly cancelled their flights to support her for the day ahead.
"I just kept hugging people. I was terrified and this company means so much to me, they genuinely are like my family and my friends, so when I saw all of their faces I just wanted to hug them, and not once did anyone make me feel like I couldn't do it."
"I just thought 'If I'm going to do it, I'm doing it properly, I want to at least try my very best to play Millicent, especially for Pretty Little Dead Things.' Everyone loves it, so I wanted to the character and that song just the tiniest bit of justice."
It was then that clips dropped on social media, showing producer Sonia Friedman coming onto stage to announce the changes taking place that night.
View oEmbed on the source websiteHowever, even after the show began, she said it "took a village" to keep everything running smoothly.
For O'Reilly, starring on the West End has been a dream since she was four-years-old, and so she gladly welcomed all the chaos the day had brought.
Following the evening, producers Sonia Friedman and Eliza Lumley released a statement that read: “We are beyond grateful to Rose who, when it became clear that we might have to cancel last night’s performance, extraordinarily volunteered to step into Millicent Clyde’s shoes.
"Rose quite literally saved the show and, in doing so, gave 1,100 people a performance they will never forget. It was one of those very rare nights in the theatre when everyone in the building knew they were witnessing something truly special.”
"Everyone says Swings and Covers are the absolute backbone of this industry for what they can pull out on short notice, so I'm so honoured to be one and to be surrounded by such incredible swings to work with.
"I would just love to tell my four-year-old self that if you really believe in yourself and you take it seriously, work hard, and you find good people. It's possible."
For more recommendations check out the Theatre section or listen to our new podcast In the Interval. Plus, our Jesus Christ Superstar review and Beetlejuice review. We also have events like the best kids theatre shows and best West End shows.
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