Valerie Harper Unable To Tour With "Looped"

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 6:12am

This is from Valerie Harper's Facebook Fan Page:
"With great sadness, I've decided not to do the "Looped" tour at this time. My doctors recommend that I undergo several more tests, get rest and recoup! Meanwhile, the fabulous Stephanie Powers will be stepping in to fill "Tallulah's" shoes, in this hilarious, side splitting comedy! Coincidentally, Stephanie starred an 1960's movie opposite Tallulah Bankhead, which is the basis for "Looped." Get well soon Valerie! from RC in Austin, Texas

Updated On: 2/6/13 at 06:12 AM

[followspot]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 9:15am

Lung cancer. All good thoughts to Valerie!!

[newintown]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 11:47am

Harper's performance was the one good thing about that silly evening.

[GottaHaveAGimmick]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 11:54am

Have a ticket for Ft. Lauderdale run. May have some serious cocktails before the show.......

[Will42]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 12:36pm

This is very sad to hear. Wishing Ms. Harper full and speedy recovery.

[SondheimFan5]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 4:37pm

Is Stefanie Powers any good?

[newintown]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 4:48pm

Looking a bit Kathy Griffin-ish these days.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 5:28pm

"Harper's performance was the one good thing about that silly evening"

Hey, what do you have against Michael Mulharen? (Is his character even in the tour, or did they cut it down to a two-hander?)

I have to agree with Newintown. This is a dreadful play, salvaged only by Harper's performance. Her transformation to her campy version of Streetcar to her "real' performance was quite impressive.

I wish the best of luck to Ms Powers. She has one long row to hoe. The same playwright who gave us LOOPED later gave us HIGH, an even worse play that not even Kathleen Turner could save. It opened and closed on the same week on Broadway.

Here's hoping for a quick recovery for Ms Harper.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 5:36pm

Luckily, I never bought my tickets for the Fort Lauderdale run at the Parker Playhouse. I was planning on taking a group as this show was GENIUS during its Broadway run (so... much... FUN!). LOOPED was Valerie Harper's show and ONLY Valerie Harper's show. I properly wish Ms. Stefanie Powers much success with the tour and I will not be seeing this production now.

Good thoughts and prayers to a speedy recover to Ms. Harper.

Now... here is Ms. Harper's statement on all this:

Harper endorsed Powers as her replacement, stating, “Stefanie is the perfect choice to take over this role. She is extraordinarily talented and will make one terrific Tallulah! I have called to give her my blessing and I urge everyone to go out and see this hysterically funny play and support Stefanie's participation.”

And PattiLuponeFANatic, you have your info inaccurate. Stephanie Powers co-starred with Tallulah Bankhead in the 1965 film DIE DIE MY DARLING. LOOPED is about a legendary "looping" session Tallulah was doing for the film DIE DIE MY DARLING. LOOPED was never a "1960s movie".

Here are the ladies during the Broadway run of LOOPED:

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 6:47pm

I think it would have served them well to cancel the tour. It was Harper's show and she was perfection. She was singled out as wonderful in the reviews while the writing was canned. She received the Tony nod and would be the big selling point. Replacing a Tony nominated actress with an actress new to the part in a poorly written play is a huge risk.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 6:50pm

^^^^^^^

FTW!

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 6:53pm

Well, Stefanie Powers actually knew Tallulah Bankhead, so she has that in her favor. from RC in Austin, Texas

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 6:59pm

Yes but Stefanie has little time to prepare. Val got an out of town tryout to perfect the performance.

Also, Powers worked with Bankhead on one film, so I think people are stretching the depth of the relationship looking for an angle to sell the show. It's a curiosity, but I dont think it gives Powers any leg up on perfecting the part.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 7:04pm

"Also, Powers worked with Bankhead on one film, so I think people are stretching the depth of the relationship looking for an angle to sell the show. It's a curiosity, but I dont think it gives Powers any leg up on perfecting the part."

It does sound great, though, and they're smart to use it. They will need all the help they can get.

When LOOPED came out, I was intrigued because of Tallulah - then saw it was Matthew Lombardo's work with Valerie Harper starring and lost interest fast. I was comped a ticket, and went out of curiousity. As I'd expected, the writing was awful - but the performance was stunning.

[supportivemom]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 7:06pm

So sorry to hear that Valerie is sick. I just saw her on the Jeff Probst talk show (which I only watched because of her) and she seemed so excited about the show. I have been a fan of hers ever since MTM. She came across as very endearing on that talk show and she looked great. I have also been a fan of Stefanie Powers and I'm sure she can handle the role.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 7:07pm

I'm reading Valerie's Biography now. Check it out. It's lovely.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 7:15pm

When I was a junior in high school (c. 1970), our school newspaper editor assigned a co-writer and I to get an interview with Valerie Harper, then appearing as Rhoda on TV and touring with STORY THEATRE on stage. The theater manager told us "no way" and threatened me with dismissal (I worked at the theater as an usher) if I "bothered our stars for your silly little paper".

So my co-writer and I (children of the rebellious 60s) waited in the parking lot for Miss Harper and her then-husband and co-star, Richard Schaal, to arrive for the matinee; we told them our story. They immediately handed us over to actor Paul Sands, who hid us in his dressing room while the Schaals met with the manager on some other matter, and then brought us into their room where Harper and Schaal spoke with us for more than an hour and left us with an interview that spanned more than 4 newspaper-size pages!

They were both lovely, but Miss Harper in particular was not only kind, but one of the funniest people with whom I've ever spent an hour.

I never saw her again to say thank you, so I guess I'm saying it here--along with my best wishes for her renewed health.

Updated On: 2/5/13 at 07:15 PM

[SNAFU]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 7:47pm

What a kick ass story GavestonPS!

[supportivemom]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 8:21pm

Gaveston- thank you for posting that! I LOVE reading stories about my favorite actors and how kind they are off camera! My sister and I were the only Jewish girls in school when I was growing up. Rhoda Morgentern was a character I really admired and Valerie played her so well! It still made me mad when Rhoda divorced because I wanted her to always be happy.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 2/5/13 at 9:42pm

Thanks, guys. I assume it isn't "name dropping" when I'm obviously not claiming to know Miss Harper; I'm just giving her credit for being kind to a couple of nervous teenagers. (I should find my copy of that issue of the school paper, because, frankly, Harper and her husband spoke much more openly than in any other interview they gave at the time. I think they relaxed because they knew the circulation was small and the interviewers were obvious fans.)

FTR, about 10 years ago I ran into Paul Sands at a gym in LA. So I did get a chance to thank him for his part in the "caper". LOL.

[newintown]

Posted: 2/6/13 at 9:32am

"Hey, what do you have against Michael Mulharen? (Is his character even in the tour, or did they cut it down to a two-hander?)"

Aww, Mulheren is always an adorable teddy bear on stage; I forgot about him, because (as I recall), I couldn't see him from my seat, unless he stuck his head out the window of the sound booth.

That role is still in the show, but they've hired a much younger, much humpier actor, (perhaps he covers the bigger male role).

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 2/6/13 at 10:25am

That was a bad design. You could almost never see him, no matter where you sat. It was odd that he was there at all, but that seems to be the way of a Lombardo play. All of them seem to start out one-handers (a strong female figure), with other characters tacked on.

I would love to know where Lombardo gets his backing. He's been spectacularly unsuccessful.