Breaking News: Christian Slater Joins 'The Glass Menagerie' as Tom Replacing Dallas Roberts — Page 3

If there's no need to audition someone of Slater's caliber, then why was Tobey Maguire forced into that strange reading/audition fiasco. Maguire is obviously a bigger marquee name than Slater.

Plus, Slater has done stage work in the past, while Maguire never has. He is unproven on stage, so of course he would have to audition.

From Riedel's column today:

"WHO'S directing this revival of "The Glass Menagerie," anyway?
David Leveaux or his star, Jessica Lange?

From the look of things, I'd say it's La Lange, who's playing Amanda Wingfield.

It was Lange, I'm told, who picked critics' darling Dallas Roberts to play her son, Tom, in the classic play by Tennessee Williams.

And it was Lange who, over the weekend, apparently had a hand in dispatching the poor kid.

On the eve of the production's first preview at the Barrymore, Roberts has been replaced by Christian Slater.

What happened is murky.

One person close to the show says Lange seemed annoyed that Roberts' performance kept changing throughout last week's technical rehearsals. Another source says she was unnerved by his "intensity."

That intensity didn't seem to bother Lange's husband, Sam Shepard, who appeared opposite Roberts recently in "A Number" at the New York Theater Workshop. By all accounts, Shepard and Roberts got along just fine.

Slater comes to the production fresh from a triumphant performance as McMurphy in the London hit "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

The former movie star has carved out a nice career in the theater. When he finishes "The Glass Menagerie," he'll head back to London to star in another Tennessee Williams play, "Sweet Bird of Youth."
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Lange was "unnerved by his intensity"? Huh? She didn't want a powerful actor acting opposite her?

So did Dallas Roberts get replaced because he was out-acting and upstaging Lange and her ego couldn't take it? Was he so spontaneous and "in the moment" that he was throwing her off? Was he so intense that he was making her look bad?

If this is true, then I'm very disapppointed with Lange. Frankly, I'd rather see a Menagerie with Roberts' too "intense" Tom, than Lange's Amanda. This story is even more sad and pathetic than I had imagined.

http://nypost.com/entertainment/41055.htm

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Updated On: 2/23/05 at 11:44 AM

Well I was very underwhelmed by her Blanche, so I could totally see Roberts walking off with their scenes together in Menagerie. But, obviously, it's all rumor and speculation at this point. We'll see how well she adjusts to Mr. Slater (who's no slouch in the intensity department).

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The play is the important factor here. Let's see how the cast serves the play. That's most important!

Miriam

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Love him or hate him, but Riedel has proved to be extremely reliable in his reporting of backstage/behind-the-scenes information. He may be a creep, but his sources are impeccable.

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Exactly, Magruder. This is why I'm skeptical that Lange would have Roberrts fired for not having nailed down the characterization. I recall that when greeted with some early criticism during previews for the Broadway production of Streetcar she stated that she was under the impression previews were for determining what works and what doesn't.

I was rather annoyed when Lange made some unkind comments in the press a couple of years ago when she learned that Glenn Close was doing Streetcar in London. The comment had something to do with Glenn's age (too old for the role). It was a real meow moment. I just hope she hasn't ****-whipped Leveaux.

interesting. margo's link to the riedel piece still works, but if you got to the post and try to access it normally via their last seven days feature, you get a blank page.

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