And...Daniel Davis is working Again!- Page 2

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 2:42pm

By the way, I saw Blue/Orange in London and it is a fantastic play. I highly encourage those in LA to check out the show.

[gymman]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 2:46pm

That's interesting...I thought Goulet might draw, since he is a name, so to speak, although an odd choice for the role (and way too old--no offense, anyone!)Maybe they want him as a "name" for the tour, if there is one?

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 2:53pm

I DONT LIKE DANIEL DAVIS...SINCE I FOUND OUT HE WAS SO RUDE TO GARY BEACH AND TO THE CAST OF "LA CAGE", WELL HE WAS ANNOYING IN THE NANNY...SO I GUESS I HAVE NEVER LIKED HIM ANYWAYS.

[bonna]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:15pm

Thanks for answering my question of many posts ago, gymman. I don’t remember hearing anything like that. As I heard it, it was Drescher who didn’t want to do the reunion and she only changed her mind after Lifetime let her direct an episode of Strong Medicine. It seems odd that she would then be critical of Davis if, in fact, he didn’t want to do the reunion.

Anyway, in an attempt to bring this back on topic, I’ll add that I’m glad he’s doing that play and glad that this project will actually be recorded.

[shira467]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:22pm

I'll be attending the first performance and I'll let y'all know how it is.

[gymman]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:27pm

I guess she was pissed that Davis was the only one who didn't show...the whole thing was pretty lame. I sure can't figure these folks out.

[Mamie]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 6:28pm

Well, it's only 4 days (as are all LATW's) but still it's a start. And I am also glad to hear it's being recorded. If I were out there I'd be going myself.

[justthefacts2]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 7:58pm

Oh Lord, Diva, just when I was hanging up my boxing gloves. Don't make me come over there!

I was very disappointed not to see Bob Goulet at the Nanny reunion, but I've put it behind me.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 8:00pm

Sorry, it just a fact.

[SamIAm]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 8:22pm

TheaterDiva: I am not a press agent for Mr Davis nor do I have anything to gain by sticking up for him...but what you are doing on this board is the same thing that was done in the gossip columns...with NO chance for the man to defend himself.

Maybe he is a tempermental performer...gee, now isn't that unusual in the entertainment industry! As if that alone should get you kicked out of a show. I've worked for directors who were close to Nazi clones in their approach to people skills and have worked with performers who would curl your hair.

You don't have to marry the guy or even have a cup of coffee with him...and just because he is difficult(or isn't difficult, depending on you talk to...because there are plenty of people who say he is just fine to work with)does not make for a 'firing' situation.

For this to happen in any production, movie or TV show, the situation has to be pretty dire...because it's a real PAIN to replace someone in the middle of a run or close to opening.

The original post was to applaud the fact that he is working again in LA. If you dislike him as much as you seem to and you are in New York, YOU TOO should be applauding the fact that he got a job there. Enough already with the veiled accusations and 'I know what I'm talking about' insider spiel. We get it. You don't LIKE DANIEL DAVIS

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 8:27pm

Give it up.

[SamIAm]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 9:22pm

Why on earth would I want to give it up, TheatreDiva? Because YOU told me to? You're not the boss of me!!!!

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 9:55pm

I have first-hand knowledge of Davis' shameful backstage antics.

Every afternoon, a few dozen communal boxes of Krispy Kremes were placed backstage by the producers. Though they were mostly 'original glazed', there was one box of a dozen 'mixed' variety pack. There were only TWO chocolate-devils food Krispy Kremes in that box.

Both Gary Beach and Daniel Davis coveted those devils food Krispy Kremes. And Davis always got there first. "Not only would Davis NEVER share, but he wouldn't even leave HALF of one in the box for Gary to even get a taste!" said a well-coonected backstage spy. One or two times, Gary confronted Davis, who tried to pass the blame onto Gavin or one of the Cagelles and Gavin would respond by saying "Are you queens CRAZY?! I gotta do 500 crunches to pay for one of those freakin' Krispy Kremes! I don't TOUCH them. Well, not the devils food ones anyway."

By the time this happened six or seven times, everybody in the cast had reached a breaking point. Or had simply gone into sugar shock.

Updated On: 7/8/05 at 09:55 PM

[midtowngym]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 10:08pm

Now that's a story i would actually believe!

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 10:09pm

Personally, I hope Daniel Davis returns to Broadway soon - he is an amazing actor.

[gymman]

Posted: 7/8/05 at 10:11pm

and a lousy person..but so what? You are right--if he's great on stage, who cares? And he cracks me up in "The Nanny."~so I have no taste...

[justthefacts2]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 8:18am

SamI Am, you are awesome!

Davis is a not a lousy person - far from it. And he is an amazing actor. What he does with a character is alchemy.

[leefowler]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 8:39am

I'm confused by people saying that there was "no hard evidence" that Daniel Davis was indeed difficult on La Cage. Wasn't the management quite explicit about their reasons for firing him? I don't recall the famous phrase "creative differences" being used in their press release.

By the way, to let Mr. Davis go, after earning excellent reviews, in addition to having to pay the guy off, is unprecedented. It was expensive, and bad for the show, but from I've heard from people in the show, the producers had no choice. There would have been a mutiny if he stayed.

[~Leah~]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 9:10am

Cool! These are GREAT news about the play! I was happy to read about it at Playbill.com.

Was something said about the radio broadcast dates already? Do they air that "live"? (I'm especially looking for info about Seattle.) As usual I'm clueless about these things but I'd be SO happy to learn more! So anybody who could fill me in is welcome!

[justthefacts2]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 9:15am

I've heard the exact opposite - the cast was not happy that he left. As for the producers being explicit - they weren't. Michael Reidel broke the story and loaded it into his gossip column so the two came out as one news item. Caused a lot of confusion along with the impression that the producers said what they could not actually be quoted as saying. I'm so tired of going here over and over again.

The producers had Goulet ready in the wings and I don't think they expected it to be bad for the show. 20/20 hindsight.

The fact that the management did something lousy is not implicit justfication for doing something lousy. It would work that way for eveybody, then.

[~Leah~]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 9:32am

D'oh! Nevermind about the radio station thing. I found out on my own! I didn't see that when I checked first. Anyway... Play's not scheduled yet as far as I see...

[leefowler]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 9:49am

Does anyone have the exact wording of what the producers gave as their reason for firing Daniel Davis? My point was that they must have had SOME reason for firing at great expense a well reviewed principal.

As regards members of the company being sorry he left...I'm very close to some of the principals involved here, and they all say he HAD to go. There very may well be some people who sorry to see him go, but I havn't met any of them.

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 10:13am

At the final performance, Gary Beach gave a curtain speech thanking everyone and saying the production had been a 'joy from start to finish'. Now whether or not he meant it or was just being magnanimous is open for discussion.
As for the doughnut discussion, I manage a small group of IT support people. Every once in awhile I bring in bagels for meetings (or just to be nice). I did not realize that sesame bagels were also 'highly coveted' until one of my guys mentioned it to me. So, I went to a highly-paid business consultant who convened a task force and came back with their recommendation: 'Buy More Sesame Bagels You Doofus!’ Not only that, one of the women here has a problem with bleached flour so I always buy her a special gluten-free something-or-other and put it in a special bag with her name on it so nobody else would take it. Now I realize that the 'real world’ of business and the 'make-believe world' of theatre have little in common, but I'm sure the producers would’ve been more than happy to 1) change the doughnut order to include more devils-food or 2) set aside a special bag for Mr. Davis and one more for Mr. Beach if they couldn't find a way to share. It just sounds too petty to be true.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 10:19am

Okay, I have to admit, the doughnut thing is funny.

[LittleFish8386]

Posted: 7/9/05 at 10:21am

Ok, "Bravo you SOB" had me in stitches for like 22 minutes.