Wonderful Town -Where is Murphy? — Page 3

i totally agree w/ jrb_actor:
its the managment's fault...
this entire thing seems crude..
and if u want to see her.. i would wait
til another show comes up..
anyways..
there are only 6 perfs left..
so ur choice..
the weislers always seemed kinda eery to me.
the show should close, with all this controversy
and terrible reviews.. i will be surprised if
it makes a comeback with Brooke Shields...

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jrb - seriously, unless they have her locked in a basement, I have to believe that she has the major responsibility. What good would it do the producers to keep her from showing up?

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Oh okay. I'll give you that then.

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Look, I don't know or really care why Murphy has missed 60+ performances. If it's some personal matter (health-related or otherwise) frankly, I don't want to know as it's really none of my business. She's one of the most talented musical theatre stars of this generation -- that goes without question. The issue is that, whatever the reason, her missing so many performances has hurt the show, hurt the morale of the cast, and -- like it or not; fair or not -- is going to affect the ability of Donna Murphy to headline Broadway shows in the future. Many producers are going to be hesitant to entrust her with the lead of a show ever again given her attendance record on WT. And that's a shame considering how brilliant she was in this show, as well as "King & I" and "Passion," which was one of the finest performances of the last couple of decades (where she only missed one performance in an incredibly demanding role).

I hope that for her sake and the sake of her many fans that she'll get another starring opportunity and whatever has caused her to miss so many performances won't happen again.

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I hope so, too, Margo. And, I hope that everyone who actually is involved and affected by all of this comes out doing fine.

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What's been the 'official word' from either her or the production?

Well that part certainly is a little peculiar.

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A few things:

Donna Murphy went public with this issue. She spoke about her absences in Liz Smith's column, IF she wanted anonymity and privacy, she should not have gone public. I don't blame her for going public, but she (or anyone else) can't now backtrack and complain about her absences (and the reasons for them) being of public interest.

I don't care why she's gone. I just care that she didn't show up for a large number of performances, and I couldn't buy a ticket for a performance during her supposed last week of performances. I no longer play the will he/she or won't he/she game. I live in Ohio, and it's too much of a financial risk. No star is worth that kind of trouble.

I also second Margo's assessment of Murphy's talent. She's phenomenally gifted, and it's a shame that her absences have overshadowed that.

Updated On: 9/21/04 at 08:37 PM

jrb... I think you added a little spice to what I said... I never said this was like a private converation between friends. I said this is a public place and conversations cannot be controlled in public places. This message board is open to all, therefore is public. There is a huge difference between public and private converations. Just wanted to clarify for you.

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Updated On: 9/21/04 at 09:09 PM

well said and this poster agrees :)

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It is very sad that so much time and energy is spent here about Donna's absence, instead of celebrating her unique talent! It's even more heart breaking to imagine that it may affect her career forever. Seems quantity is more valued that quality!

I find it very insulting that the staff at the box office and at Telecharge continue to insist on a daily basis that Donna Murphy is performing in WT until 9/26. Play Bill published an article earlier today announcing that Donna is starting her final week in WT. What is the point of all this?

In the past 3 weeks, I've personally observed ticket holders in front of the theatre screaming at theatre staff about this misleading situation. They routinely respond that it's Donna who calls and cancels every day, always at the last minute. I've heard this myself. The theatre management is blaming Donna, while others are blaming the management! A Telecharge person told me on the phone at about 5:15pm today, that Donna was performing this evening. On the other hand, they will give ticket refunds based on Donna's absence instantly! I think this daily game of lying to the audiences is certainly what we're indignant about. It's also hurting Donna's reputation simply by drawing so much attention.
All in all, it's pretty clear that that the hope of seeing Donna this week is in very short supply.

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Updated On: 9/21/04 at 09:22 PM

Here is a link to the Play Bill article:

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/88524.html

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jrb is right.

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