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.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Updated On: 12/28/04 at 11:08 AM
