Excuse me...the Nathan Lane example is a bad one? Whether or not I'm a fan, I have to say that you need to know what you're talking about before you say something that generalized.
The ONLY day Lane was out of the Frogs was when he fell and injured his legs badly toward the end of Act I and he was taken to the hospital. He missed ONLY the second half of that show and the evening show and was back to perform on Thursday in spite of a relatively serious injury
If you feel he is unprofessional because of his absences from the Producers, we need to hang up that old saw in the shed. He was suffering from a career threatening case of vocal polyps and stayed with the show much longer than he should out of dedication to the cast and the audience. He is NOT a diva...NOT unprofessional and is one of the few remaining theater animals in the business who shows total dedication.
Have you heard he's in London right now? He left a much deserved vacation a few days after the Frogs closed to bail out Mel Brooks and Susan Stroman who cast Richard Dreyfuss who left the show. Lane had 3 days to rehearse and opened in previews on time. Unprofessional diva? I think not.
As for Davis, he is an old pro on the stage and, whether we know the details or not, I'd be inclined to give him a break. He probably thought he could do this show and go onstage and realized he could not. It happens. He has no history as a diva or a difficult actor and has nothing to gain by ticking off the audience and leaving when he ISN'T sick.
"Life is a lesson in humility"
Updated On: 11/27/04 at 05:42 PM
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