Espinosa Out as HAIR's Sheila?

Word on the street is that Eden Espinosa has begun telling people that she will in fact not be playing Sheila in the Broadway transfer of The Public's HAIR.

According to Espinosa, the producers of the show jumped the gun and announced her casting before she signed a contract.

Although I'm not sure exactly why (she has a history of turning down roles amidst financial negotiations,) the deal fell through.

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This production has been hitting quite a few bumps in the road.

I hope it makes it, and if so, for a little more than six months.

Jeez...this production is having huge issues already and it doesn't open for three months.

It's a fantastic production too...or at least it was at the Delacorte.

The show was outstanding in the park.

But I think that was due in fact to it being... in the park.

I really don't see how this is going to transfer into a "proper" theater.

Circle in the Square would have at least been more intimate with its stadium seating which would mirror the setup at the Delacorte.

I was at Eden's solo show on Monday night at Upright Cabaret here in Los Angeles (with the fabulous special guest Tracie Thoms as well). And directly from her mouth, she confirmed that she would not be doing Hair, and would be remaining on the west coast at the moment. At her show she confirmed this news publicly to various people that night, including the girls who run www.theedenespinosa.com.

Oh, and the girls who run that site never put up any casting announcements, show dates, news, etc. until directly confirmed by Eden herself, so hence I'd say the information on that site is definitely reliable. Hence, while playbill and bww put up the info about Eden in Hair, they waited for confirmation before posting.

Updated On: 1/8/09 at 04:35 AM

At one point, wssn't Eden's addition to the cast cited as one of the reasons for the delayed opening/preview? Just asking.

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Why do I get the feeling that this production isn't even going to happen?

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Speculation on my part, but ... They're probably trying to get everyone to work for scale, citing the horrible economic times. I'm sure Eden hasn't worked for scale in a very long time.

If I were a producer, I would attempt to work out a "percentage of the house" deal (as tricky as that might sound). A point system, the way they do with many film stars in budget-tight movies. That way, if it's a big hit, they get paid royally. If not, they don't. It made multi-millionaires out of many movie actors, including Alec Guinness (the first I am aware of) who worked for scale in Star Wars ... but got a percentage of the gross. He made FAR more than any actor would have gotten with a flat fee. Same with Nicholson in the first Batman movie. Also worked cheap, but with a percentage.

Why can't Broadway start doing that?

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Ed, I believe it was the change/addition to the production partnership when they added producers that caused the delay, not the addition of Eden to the cast, although I could be mistaken

I just want to know why she wouldn't do it? What else has she got to do?

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best12bars, I completely agree with you and I'm hopeful that the lowered ticket prices for Rock of Ages are sign of a coming change.

"I can't believe that the producers and the media would jump the gun on something as big as this."

On what planet in what solar system does Eden Espinosa's presence count as "something as big as this"?

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You know the cycle on Broadway:

1) "Who is Eden Espinoza?"

2) "Get me Eden Espinoza!"

3) "Get me an Eden Espinoza-type!"

4) "Get me a young Eden Espinoza!"

%0 "Who is Eden Espinoza?"


So have we moved from level two to three?