LA CAGE LEADS THE PACK WITH 14 NOMINATIONS!

Sorry, just wanted to see how it looked!

Seriously, congrats on 4 nominations:
Revival
Lead Actor
Costume Design
Choreography

Updated On: 5/10/05 at 09:01 AM

He was still eligible for a nomination though and he would have been seen by the voters earlier in his run.

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Was Davis Sacked?????? I thought he personally left the show......anyways, for that, I'm glad he didn't get nominated

MTVMANN, not only was Davis sacked, but it was announced by the producers of La Cage that he had been sacked and why he had been sacked.

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No, what we heard was why the producers wanted the public to believe he was sacked. We will never know the real reason he was fired. He was certainly making Gary Beach look not-so-good in comparison, according to most of the reviews, so that can't have been happy for the Beach coterie. And Davis had never been the "big name" the producers had wanted to star with Beach, and Goulet, obviously, was available by March. But those brilliant reviews Davis got - now that could tricky. What better way to neatralize his good press and smooth the way for his replacement than by smearing Davis? Then the public would be talking about his so-called "behavior" (without asking about the source of the stories) instead of his performance (which HAD actually been witnessed by said public and was verifiable.) And guess what? It worked! It's called spin.

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Do people really believe there is some hidden, complex, "must be another unknown secret," reason that Davis was fired? I think the reason is obvious and much more simple than that.

I also don't get the notion that the "REAL" reason they fired Davis for a box office boost. He's been known for his attitude problem for years. He may be talented, but I really believe it's all his own fault.

hey, justthefacts, here's some facts for you. If what you were saying had even a grain of truth to it, Davis could sue the producers for all they are worth and win without so much as breaking a sweat. Whether Davis was so good he made Beach look bad is open to debate (I saw them both and wasn't impressed by either), but the reason he was fired was his backstage behaviour, NOT his onstage performance.

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"I also don't get the notion that the "REAL" reason they fired Davis for a box office boost."

Oh, come on. I'm not saying Davis didn't do things that contributed to his dismissal, but if the show had been making money and had a healthy advance, there's no way he gets fired. Look at La Cage's weekly gross since he left? Pitiful. But they took a gamble that Goulet would help ticket sales.

Interesting, in the Broadway.com feature on Tony nominees, Gary Beach says that most of what was written about the backstage problems at La Cage wasn't true.

Hi Folks! I just joined the board. I feel like I know some of you already and it's great to be here. In my humble opinion, from what I've read, since I've never met either Davis or Beach, I have to agree with Allthefacts and others who feel Davis unfairly got the blame for all the mess. Also, look at Michael Benjamin Washington's kind comments about Davis in the interview published on this board - was it last week or the week before? He had nothing but nice things to say.
Regardless, looking at the grosses since he left, it won't matter much if the show keeps hemoragging money the way it's doing now. Last week the attendance was in the 58% area. Not good. Maybe this is the public opinion of the show now that really counts!

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I think the dismissal of Daniel Davis is best summed up by Harvey's declaration given prior to every "La Cage" performance. "What happens at La Cage stays at La Cage". I think it is ridiculous to think that any cast member, Beach, Washington, or Creel etc... is going to air anything in public. The statements about possible problems were vague at best, and the statements now declaring that no one had a problem with Davis are just as vague. No one is mentioning specifics, either pro or con. I'm sure that no one wants to burn any bridges and all involved would like to continuing working in the Broadway community.

Perhaps things were blown out of proportion in order to hasten the Davis exit, but there is no proof of that. If we remember, there were lots of problems in finding someone to fill the role of Georges long before the prodution even started rehearsals. With all the names being tossed about, I never recall Davis being mentioned, yet he was cast. Was that out of desperation in order to keep the show on schedule? Who knows? Only the producers of the show, and their not talking either.

Updated On: 5/11/05 at 12:26 PM

Maybe I am the only one here who loved Gary Beach, but whatever. I thought Davis was really good - I had no idea he could sing.

I was surprised that he had such horrible backstage behavior. He was so nice at the stage door. Looking back at it, the whole cast didn't seem to have much of a bond.

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