"muscle, that's entirely why she quit - she legit thought it was going to suck.
what she's waiting for is for Haimes to admit that he thought it was going to suck too. Honestly, if he didn't, the show would still be on. She called Mantello out, he stuck to his guns, and Haimes, who was producing this, didn't think that it would get them anywhere without her.
She's just waiting for someone to say she was "right". which she may have been - in fact, she probably was - obviously the show was a disaster, and Roundabout shut it down. However, it doesn't mean that she did the right thing. "
I really like Mullaly and I agree with you on a few things. Mantello stuck to his guns because he thought he was right, just like she thought she was right. Maybe he truly could not replace the Mullaly role that fast to open a short time later after she quit. She has a great deal of experience and should have been professional enough to make the chemistry work. It seemed like she didn't want him from the beginning and made it difficult. That is unprofessional in itself. As actors, you don't always get who you want to work with. Hell, I have seen plays where one time it was OC and the next time it had 3 understudies. They make it work. You can tell some of the chemistry isn't there sometimes, but generally it is the nature of the business.
It would have held her in greater stead if it flopped due to her assumptions and she quietly had an "I told you so" moment. If a show fails, but the actors involved are fabulous (all but one) it doesn't always fall on the excellent cast. She seemed to take far too much on her shoulders personally. She broke a contract and that is not on. He may have been fabulous and had some belief behind him, so it bothers me that she signed on and did not seem generous enough to encourage and try make it work, (to the end)
"it's a dirty little war"