Have any lead performers ever pulled out a play during previews

Sorry if this has been covered before but I was just curious about any major players who might have pulled out before a play opens? Does the understudy/stand-in usually get the first offer to fill-in?

And, if an actor "expects" to be a production...is that to be construed as he expects to be doing it because he signed the paperwork OR he expects to do it unless something better comes along...

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I'm not sure if this counts, but...

Did Henry Goodman actually make it to the critics before he got bounced after replacing Nathan Lane in The Producers? I was one of the lucky few to get to see Goodman muddle through the end of "The King of Broadway" and "Betrayed."

Margo: Do you know how many previews Eve Arden was in? Did you see her in it?

Not sure how many previews Arden played, but it wasn't many. I think she left after the first week or so. And no, to my eternal regret, I never saw the show.

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Wasn't Kattan fired?

I was lucky enough to see Moose Murders (with Ms. Arden). Its the most famous flop I've seen, along with the play version of Harold and Maude.

Dorothy Loudon left the role of Carlotta Vance in the 2002 Lincoln Center revival of Dinner at Eight after two weeks of performances (she was very ill at the time, and died a year later). Marian Seldes replaced and received a Tony nomination.

Steve Barton replaced Roger Rees in previews of The Red Shoes. The show itself was a flop that closed after five performances.

Updated On: 8/1/05 at 02:30 PM

Pal Joey, circa 1976
Edward Villela (as Joey) played the first preview, a Friday, and said "No more". He was gone. Eleanor Parker (as Vera) played through Sunday afternoon, 4 performances, and also 'ankled' as Variety used to put it.

The understudies, Christopher Chadman and Joan Copeland, played the run which got lethal reviews.

More Joan Copeland: about the same time as Pal Joey, say a year either way, there was a disaster called Dr. Jazz at the Winter Garden that played about 6 weeks of previews and 5 performances. Joan Copeland had a featured above-the-title-billed role. Sometime about 3-4 weeks into the preview period, Ms. Copeland said to the effect, "This is ridiculous. The show is a mess and they keep cutting my role", so she 'ankled'.

I forget who took over, but I remember that the show had so little money in the till that they splashed paint that didn't match at all quite unartistically over Copeland's name on the front-of-the-house posters and never repainted the new actress's name in.

PS - Joan Copeland was Arthur Miller's sister.

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We are talking about "pulling out" of a role as opposed to being fired, right? There's a big difference there. As far as the original question in regards to dibs on a role. I had a friend who was an understudy as Raul in "POTP" and would also fill in during vacations. When he asked if the role would eventually be his when the star left, he was told upfront that the role would never be his. Not wanting to be an understudy any longer and feeling a bit hurt, he left. So it seems there is no senority when it comes to Broadway.

Glebb-Buckley left Into the Woods in the very early stages of the show.

Ron Rifkin was the only member of the LA cast of The Paris Letter that was asked back for the New York production.

Chris Kattan was asked to "pull out" from the shows during previews. I know someone who worked at Lincoln Center last year and told me this. Apparently Kattan and Lane didn't see eye to eye and so he was asked to leave. And when Bart came in, he already knew the role, so from my understanding they had Bart in the wings for sometime.

Updated On: 8/2/05 at 10:55 PM

Amanda Plummer left BUG at the Barrow Street Theatre right before it opened, leaving her understudy, Shannon Cochran, to deliver a tour-de-force that left me reeling.

Plus, Shannon has really nice abs.

P.S., BUG was the best show I've ever seen besides Wooster Group stuff. Maybe I should start a thread for it.

But anyway, yeah, Amanda Plummer.

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