Nathan Lane--Missed Performances

[meermeer2]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 10:24am

I'm not looking to get slammed and I do feel badly that he hurt his back, but how many performances did Nathan miss in London and NY combined?

It just seems like he missed alot of performances and the press (especially the recent NY Times article) doesn't refer to them.

Why's that?

[Tiny-Toon]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 10:26am

When I saw Frogs, he was in the first act but not in the second.

[Mythus]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 11:03am

Tiny-Toon, maybe you were at the performance where the trap door gashed his leg?

I'm not sure why the press hasn't ripped him to bits. Maybe they still have a smidgen of respect for him.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 11:08am

The difference between how Lane's absences have been treated in the press and, say, Donna Murphy's absences, has to do with the fact Max Bialystock is one of the most strenuous and difficult male roles in the musical theatre canon -- if it taxes the vocal and physical resources of a pro like Lane (who's starred in over a dozen Broadway shows in the last two decades and never missed performances until The Producers), then it must be a killer. In contrast, the role of Ruth Sherwood was written for a non-singer and non-dancer -- Rosalind Russell who played it for two years and by all accounts never missed a performance, in the days BEFORE microphones -- yet Murphy missed DOZENS of performances.

Moreover, Lane was extremely candid with the press for the exact reasons as to why he had to miss each and every one of those performances -- during The Producers, his doctors found that he was developing polyps that could possibly merit surgery (extremely dangerous) and ordered him on vocal rest that caused him to miss performances. When he returned the strain and pain was evident in his singing (especially during "Betrayed" -- he could no longer sustain the final note). Basically, not only was the press not negative, just the opposite -- he looked like a trouper's trouper for still going out there every night, despite his discomfort. Similarly, with The Frogs, he missed exactly one and a half performances, despite his leg being badly injured during the Act One finale at one performance. He and/or his representatives let the press know he had a very good excuse for being out (again under doctor's orders) so Riedel and the gossip mavens on the chat boards were satisfied.

Compare Lane's expert PR manipulation in the face of a pysical crisis to Donna Murphy's behavior -- Murphy missed dozens of performances, yet refused to speak to the press about the reasons behind her absences. Now, while one may argue that it is her right to keep her medical conditions private, it's a PR nightmare to allow the press to speculate and guess about such things -- if she didn't want people to know what was really wrong with her, then she should have made something (anything) up (it also didn't help when it was revealed that at least a few of those absences were due to her flying out to LA to film a TV pilot). The upshot of all of this is that Murphy, despite two Tony Awards and excellent attendance records on other shows now has a reputation for being unreliable which is going to have a negative impact on her stage career -- it's questionable whether producers will ever hire her again to star in an open-ended run of a Broadway musical.

Updated On: 12/28/04 at 11:08 AM

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 11:08am

That and his health problems are well documented and he's been up front and honest about them. Unlike the Donna Murphy fiasco, for example.

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 11:11am

I understand that Nathan's back injuries were far more dehabilitating that the press has let on. The kind of 'slipped disc' which people tend to scoff at as not being so bad - until one has them - and you cannot move a knotted muscle without agonizing pain. You can become a semi-invalid who needs help to dress, shower at go to the toilet.

And to my knowledge, he missed ONE performance in the London PRODUCERS - not five.

Updated On: 12/28/04 at 11:11 AM

[magruder]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 11:15am

Donna Murphy missed a lot of King & I and Passion performances too, though not to the degree of Wonderful Town. It's something just chronic with her.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 11:17am

I thought she only missed one performance of Passion? Didn't know about her absences in King & I....

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 12:01pm

Margo's argument above says it all. Max and Ruth aren't remotely in the same league in terms of musical theater demands.

[Sumofallthings]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 12:02pm

Yeah stick that in your musical theatre pipe and smoke it.