Big Picture
Renée Zellweger: Fashion Fun Plus, Nicole Kidman hangs out with her family and Bradley Cooper is a grizzly guy. The latest pics!
MORE PHOTOS +Most Commented
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: Vote in the Final Round! (2036)
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (972)
- TV's Top Couples Tournament: This Round Is Closed, Please Stand By (684)
- Afternoon Mail! Are Gleeks Having More Sex Than Vamps? (586)
- Whitney Houston Dead at 48 (394)
- Beyoncé and Jay-Z Share First Photos of Baby Blue Ivy! (389)
- TV's Top Couple Tournament: And the Winner Is... (328)
- Morning Mail! Is Lea Michele Ready to Walk Like an Egyptian? (286)
- Twilight Director Talks Kristen Stewart and Ex Michael Angarano: "They Were Such a Great Couple" (261)
- Life After Breaking Dawn?! Maybe, Says Studio Head! (226)
Top 10 Stories
- Chris Brown Tweets to Haters After Grammy Win
- Whitney Houston Tribute: Watch LeAnn Rimes' Emotional Performance of "I Will Always Love You"
- Oprah Twitter Scandal! Winfrey Apologizes After Soliciting Nielsen Viewers to Watch OWN
- Glee Scoop: There's a New Love Triangle Going Down!
- The Voice vs. American Idol: This Is War
- Chris Brown's Grammy Lovefest Slammed by Miranda Lambert, Jack Osbourne, Eric Stonestreet, More
- Janet Jackson Remembers Whitney Houston's "Sweet Soul," Gives Advice to Bobbi Kristina on Coping With Death
- Triplets? Twins? Jennifer Aniston Addresses Pregnancy Rumors, Gets Serenaded by Steven Tyler
- Whitney Houston's Body Arrives at Funeral Home as Burial Plans Formally Announced
- Bruce Jenner Talks Kim Kardashian's Marriage: "The Next Guy's Got to Go Through Me"
Fashion Police
Angelina: Going Grey! Plus, Christina Hendricks, Vanessa Hudgens, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Michelle Williams and Kristen Wiig. Rate the highs and lows!
MORE PHOTOS +
Our Partners
Lane Backs Out on "Producers"
Playing Max Bialystock has become a real pain.
Nathan Lane has pulled out of the London production of The Producers nearly a fortnight earlier than expected, because of a bum back.
The exuberant Lane, a Tony winner as Bialystock in the Broadway production of the musical based on Mel Brooks' Oscar-winning 1968 movie, replaced Richard Dreyfuss in the West End production.
Dreyfuss had quit three weeks before the opening of the British production amid speculation that he wasn't up to snuff as Bialystock, the producer who hopes for a flop but comes up with a smash hit. However, the show's producers said that it was his own bad back and a recurring shoulder injury that hampered Dreyfuss. The 57-year-old Oscar winner had recently undergone back surgery and apparently wasn't able to pull off the physically demanding role, which includes plenty of singing and dancing while seducing little old ladies into financing the dreadful musical Springtime for Hitler.
At Brooks' prodding, Lane, 48, agreed to fill in on short notice. But since mid-December, he had pulled out of show five times, citing his ailing back.
"Suffering from two newly slipped discs, Nathan Lane and the producers of The Producers have been advised that he should abstain from any further performances for the remainder of his London contract, due to finish on Jan. 8," says a statement from the show's producers.
Lane is under doctor's orders to rest in hopes of recovering in about six weeks--which should mean he will be limber enough to begin shooting the movie version of the musical in February. He's slated to reteam with original costar Matthew Broderick, as the nebbish accountant Leo Bloom, along with Will Ferrell as Franz Liebkind, the neo-Nazi playwright. Nicole Kidman was originally set to play Bialystock and Bloom's babe-alicious Swedish secretary, Ulla, but she bailed out earlier this month due to scheduling conflicts. Uma Thurman is reportedly in talks to replace Kidman.
As for the London show, understudy Cory English will play Bialystock at the Theatre Royal until Lane's original exit date. English has stepped for Lane during his previous absences, including a night when Prince Charles and his paramour, Camilla Parker-Bowles, attended the show.
Brad Oscar, who understudied Lane on Broadway and then assumed the lead role, will take over in London Jan. 10, as previously scheduled.
0 Comments
Now loading...