Diana Rigg Leaving My Fair Lady — Page 2

The tweet in and of itself is disrespectful to Rigg and essentially undercuts the message it's trying to convey by in turn attacking her stance. She is from another era and is a living legend- the production was lucky to have her in a thankless role. I'm 98% positive this board is making more out of the situation where there is none. Her contract was short, it was documented from the beginning as the poster above noted, so while coincidental, I doubt she'd succumb to any drama or that she'd be terminated given her status in the biz. Casts change, moving on...

Updated On: 7/18/18 at 03:13 PM

Elighten me since I don't follow the show much, but does she bring something to her character that others wouldn't ever duplicate? Because if so I may just go see this with her opposed to waiting for it to be on TKTs!

There is no need to rush to see her performance -- I think 8 minutes sounds generous. (I'm a fan of Rigg, so I'm glad to have seen her but not if it was the ONLY reason I saw the show.)

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You know what's unprofessional? Talking to the press about issues you have with another cast member. This is entertainment. No one has to be friends and get along. Did the Hamilton OBC get along? Did the Sex and the City actresses get along? Did Bstte Davis and Joan Crawford? No no and no. But they got over it and worked together. No reason why Diana Rigg could not have done the same. And I say that as someone who thinks Lady Oleanna is a goddess.

qolbinau said: "The Hamilton OBC didn't get on? Is this common knowledge? Who and why?"

Leslie Odom Jr. And Javier Munoz have made no bones about the fact that there was a fierce money dispute.

BroadwayConcierge said: "

Takeaway from all this: ride out your contractbefore you diss your teammates."

She doesn't need My Fair Lady.

Elegance101 said: "BroadwayConcierge said: "poisonivy2 said: "Leslie Odom Jr. And Javier Munoz have made no bones about the fact that there was a fierce money dispute."

That was between the cast and management though, no? Not between co-stars..."

I believe there was tension between LMM and Leslie, as well. Not sure if this is the same thing, but they are not the closest of friends."

Here's a pretty good account of the fighting over money that eventually led to tensions with LMM as well.

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-hamilton-broadway-profit/

But you know what? By that time the OBC cast had made the producers rich men, and they had devoted a big chunk of their lives to the show. And they didn't run to Mr. Riedel blabbing all the details of the tense money disputes. And they were 100% right. They had been a huge part of the show's success and they did deserve a bigger slice of the pie.

And the Hamilton cast completed their contracts and as far as I know have never aired personal grievances in public.

Miss Rigg has been working in MFL for what, less than 6 months? And she couldn;t find a more tactful and professional way of handling what seem to be personal differences with Lauren Ambrose?

Maybe she couldn't handle the rigors of eight shows a week?

I think it’s pretty obvious, given the timeline of events, that Rigg is leaving over backstage drama. Whether that drama was the news of Lauren Ambrose having an alternate or something else or something else, I don’t know. But I have never heard of someone having a 6-month contract that didn’t announce it at the outset.

Diana Rigg was forced into a situation where she could have diverted the drama or given into it. She chose to give in, and I find that incredibly distasteful. Her legacy means very little to me, as MFL is the only thing I’ve ever seen her do and it was nothing another actress could not excel at. This whole situation makes me glad to not have any love lost over it.

I loved this production and I’m sad to hear the backstage atmosphere may be less than ideal, but as others have noted (and as I have experienced in my professional life), you don’t have to love the people you work with. You just have to be professional and do your job. If they continue to do just that, so be it.

newintown said: "'Cause the director is mad at her for dissing his mediocre leading lady?"

*sips tea*

If Benanti were playing Eliza she'd be calling out left and right. Would Rigg have commented on that?

Julie Andrews replacing her would be too good to be true. Sadly, unlikely... She directed that big Australian production 2 years ago, and the Lerner&Loewe estate presumably chose Sher/LCT for the Broadway revival over her production. (Sher said in an interview that there was a bidding war of sorts with several different commercial producers to get the rights for My Fair Lady)

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Updated On: 7/18/18 at 07:27 PM