"High mercury levels" force Piven out of SPEED-THE-PLOW

Hm. That's too bad. I hope it doesn't impact ticket sales too much, but I would think he was the major draw for a segment of the audience.

Oh well...I still haven't seen it and I wanted to see him. I guess I'll wait a little to see if he comes back. But I'll still catch the show...I hope he comes back and is alright.

Did this illness just hit him? I saw him on Extra over the weekend and he seemed fine.

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yea..when i saw the show about 2 weeks ago he did a great job in the show..but after when he made the EFA speechand was out of character you could just tell he winded and exsausted and just ready to collapse

It might be an 85 minute play but is very powerful and the energy on that stage needs to be tremendous. This makes the job much harder. I hope Jeremy recovers. That really sucks.

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Dang it! That is not the best news for me. I was planning on seeing this when I come to NY in February. Or, rather - scratch that. I still plan on seeing it just for the chance to see Esparza in something. But still, Piven being out is kind of disappointing to me. I've like the guy since Ellen!

"If he is suffering from exhaustion he should talk to Michael Cerveris, who never missed a performance as Sweeney Todd, which is probably about three times more exhausting than Bobby Gould in Speed the Plow."

How about a conversation with 82 year old Estelle Parsons whose show is 3 1/2 hours long? If anyone should be exhausted, its her!

Meh, I am cynical so my guess is that he is 'over it', but really we can't say anything until official word is out. Fantasia got a lot of sh*t for missing dates in The Color Purple, and that turned out to be very legit.

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If he really is out for good, maybe they can find someone to take over the part?

I wonder if Jeff Goldblum is available?

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http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997561.html?categoryid=15&cs=1

He's gone for good. And Mamet isn't happy.

Seems he has a high mercury level. According to an article in variety;

"Jeremy Piven will abruptly end his run in Broadway's "Speed-the-Plow," after missing Tuesday evening's performance and a Wednesday matinee.
According to sources, Piven has informed the producers that he hasn't been feeling well and that the condition is attributable to a high mercury count.

The show's producers weren't returning calls, but Daily Variety reached out to David Mamet, who wrote the showbiz satire and seemed less than convinced by Piven's departure.

"I talked to Jeremy on the phone and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury," Mamet said. "So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer."

https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997561.html?
Piven

EDIT - Sorry for the duplication. Looks like jay and I posted at the same time.

Updated On: 12/17/08 at 06:23 PM

"high mercury count"?? WTF is this - some kind of bizarre joke?

However, this comment from Mamet is quite intriguing:

"The good news is that some really great actors will be helping out and stepping in, which to me is a sign of great heroism and friendship," said Mamet, who declined to name the replacement.

I already suggested Jeff Goldblum - anybody want to toss some other names into the hat?

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