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Megan Mullally is exiting the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway production of Terrence McNally’s Lips Together, Teeth Apart, I’m told. The reason? Mullally simply had had enough of the abrasive manner of director Joe Mantello, who is gearing up for an April 9 opening at the American Airlines Theatre.
While he’s one of Broadway’s proven hitmakers with Wicked and others to his credit, Mantello can be confrontational with his actors. Mullally decided yesterday that she’d seen enough. The Emmy-winning Will & Grace star has appeared on Broadway in Grease! and Young Frankenstein. She was going to star with comedian Patton Oswalt (in his Broadway debut), Lili Taylor and David Wilson Barnes, in a drama that takes place on the deck of a Fire Island beach house, where two couples celebrate Fourth of July and face uncertain futures.
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Nice to see her stand up to that abuse; one of the down sides to this business unfortunately. Wicked sucks btw.
Yeah, Wicked sucks… Did Joe fire you at some point?
yeah, but it was worth watching for Chenowith. she was great.
How can quitting be equated with standing up to someone? Wonder how long Mullally has been planning to screw the production days before previews were to begin.
Could it be that Mullally was set by the producers and Mantello was trying to get her to give a performance that ended up out of her range? That was my first thought anyway.
Nothing in this play is out of anyone’s range. She’d be just fine, maybe even good. Joe’s a creeper.
Excuse me. Wicked is the best thing to happen to Theatre since the Lion King open for the first time. Wicked is the most universally respected show of all time.
Oh come now. Universally profitable, yes. But it’s certainly not the most universally respected show of all time. You MUST know that what you speak is false.
This is more about how “wicked” Joe Mantello is, and less about the show WICKED.
lol
I just…lol.
Successful, certainly. Universally respected? Read any Broadway message board and you’ll soon realize it’s not.
nasty always knows nasty
you are kind of an idiot
It’s not cool for me who’s already purchased airfare! I’d like to think she’d be just as vocal back and deal with it for the very short run.
I’m glad to hear that she is standing up to him. Good for her!
Megan is simply in the wrong here. I don’t care how much of a fan you are of Will and Grace. I’m an arts administrator and I can say it sucks when your actors break a contract and especially at the country’s largest non-profit theatre company. Think of the other actors, the designers who have been working on this show for months, their crew, the graphic designers who created the posters, the people who work house staff who no longer have jobs because an already successful actress wasn’t getting her way. It’s not fair. As philosopher Mills would say, in a moral dilemma one must consider the greatest good for the greatest number of people, one must consider happiness. Looks like Megan’s the only one happy here.
P.S. Now come on people…We all know Joe Mantello is a good director. Don’t act like the director of the original Angels in America, Take Me Out, and Wicked is not worthy to be working because you’d honestly be lying to yourselves.
She’s also allegedly developing Karen Walker: The Musical… which would be amazing!
She does realize that she’s over 50, her talk show got cancelled and the last gig she got was that damn butter commercial, right? Suck it up, Megan! It’s a job!
Why does it matter if she is over 50? And so what if she did a butter commercial. She did it because she uses that product and she thought it would be fun to do. Talented actresses ARE allowed to do commercials if they want. It is a job but when the director is being abrasive, she nor the other actors should have to put up with that.
she starred in will and grace. what does she care about keeping a job?!
Not true. She’s in the second season of Party Down on Starz.
Can’t blame her. Her Will and Grace co-star will be in PROMISES, PROMISES, which is supposed to be great.
Maybe the director couldn’t get her to lose that stupid voice.
hello she doesn’t talk like that in real life and she has a stellar singing voice, she has starred on broadway multiple times and has a great band!
Good for Megan. If only more actors had both the financial means and the courage to make the same decision.
First of all Megan doesn’t need this job! She’s been so busy with 2 tv shows and performing with her band over in London. So i think she’s doing just fine! And second if this is true which i think it isn’t cause there’s no source mention, good on her for standing up for herself!
Well, after she did that “I can’t believe it’s not butter” extended music video, the offers must have been pouring in. This gal knows a career move in a bright yellow tub when she sees it!
Sadly, whenever I see her name I will always think about the butter commercial…. so bad.
Apparently Mantello was a raving lunatic to Idina Menzel in the pre-Broadway run of WICKED in San Francisco, so he has something of a history of sparring with his leading ladies. Actors too — Robert Morse chose not to come into New York as the Wizard after the San Francisco run because Mantello was less than gentlemanly.
Wicked is a horrible mess on stage. Sad she won’t be in the show but good for her to stand up
Joe Mantello is incredibly abusive to actors and especially female ones. Wicked was a happy accident and he was unbelievably cruel to the creative team and actors. This is a known fact. The guy is the meanest in show business. And one of the luckiest. Karma is a bitch. He must have some good karma to be such a douche and so successful because it ain’t talent or charm.
i’m sure she’s a dream. could it be that she wasn’t happy with other actors? could it be that she is as two faced as well almost everyone in this “business”… did he maybe want a performance and not a blame assignment on others in the cast? karen walker the musical seems redundant – her life is karen walker – and she is above everyone’s inexperience, “dearie”.
sounds like panic and lack of trust. stay on tv or maybe talk shows… oh, oops, she did that.
Megan?! Thinking that she’s above everyone else?! PLEASE!!! Why comment when you don’t know what you’re talking about? ……..ya know, I’m not even gonna try explaining this to you. Maybe you should do some research before making assumptions like these.
Megan’s career peaked after she turned the tub around in that “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” spot. Where do you go after that?
This woman is the mayor of crazy town! Anyone involved with that production should send her a thank you note.
And you would know HOW???
Megan proved her acting chops recently performing as the lead in the critically acclaimed and extended run of THE RECEPTIONIST in LA. She also joined the Season 2 cast of the lauded but barely seen PARTY DOWN that airs this Spring. This is obviously not a question of material or competence.
2 of of the most respected actors in the business finally BANNED him from rehearsal when he directed them. Yes, he directed one of the biggest hit musicals of recent times, but he
has a terrible reputation among real actors and is only interested in his own career.
Lily Taylor is no peach to work with either and Joe has a reputation for being nasty (though usually right) – between those to forces a TV girl would be wise to flee before she got hurt.
What TV girl? Get your facts right, Megan’ background was chicago theater, she’s done plenty in LA and this would have been her fourth stint on Broadway.
her “manager” danielle thomas attached her thick lips to this gravy train while it was still on FRIENDS, and she profited handsomely.
she’s a limited and vindictive person, ms. thomas, and her “management” skills in handling mullally and her affairs post-FRIENDS
on full display for all.
Ms Mullally was in Friends. Wow I must have missed thst. So must she!
Megan Mullally was on WILL & GRACE, not FRIENDS…And it’s DaNNielle Thomas, not Danielle.
The comments here are so pathetic:
1. Wicked may be one of the worst “books” to every win a Tony. The cast – and crew – literally hold their noses at the dialogue.
2. Megan’s *character* (Karen) had “that voice” but Megan does not.
3. She had a long and fabulous career – including a major role in a Bway musical – long before Will/Grace. She’s a respected member of the Bway community…and if she quit it was for good reason.
1. hahaha
2. megan and karen – same VOICE different wardrobe.
3. if “how 2 succ…” is any measure of her “succ” she’d be temping. if she hadn’t been lucky enough to win the role of karen she’d be judging people in the retail field.
Get your facts straight. Wicked was nominated but didn’t win the Tony for book, score or best musical. Idina won for actress.
Wicked is the highest grossing musical of the current day. The audience loves it. It will live for several lifetimes.
Joe Mantello is very lucky that despite his horrible behavior to all involved in Wicked he gets a piece of the show forever.