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Well, there are two sides to every story, and here’s the other one in Megan Mullally’s exit from Lips Together, Teeth Apart. Told you yesterday she quit the show, with sources citing clashes with director Joe Mantello. Several sources told me today that while Mullally might have felt tension in rehearsals, her abrupt exit shocked everyone. The story from insiders on the production is that Mullally left after trying unsuccessfully to replace one of the actors. I’ve heard that actor was Patton Oswalt, the stand-up comedian who starred in the indie film Big Fan, and the TV series The King of Queens, but who is making his Broadway debut in the revival of Terrence McNally’s play.
The Roundabout and McNally didn’t comment on that, but issued statements that rallied around the director and addressed the hardship that Mullally’s departure has created for the production.
“Joe and I were thrilled to be in the rehearsal room with these four actors,” McNally said in a statement. “Joe is my longest and one of my most trusted collaborators. We have waited and worked for almost three years to make this production happen. Megan Mullally’s decision to withdraw at this late date is devastating.”
This one from the Roundabout Theatre’s artistic director Todd Haimes: “We were surprised and disappointed that Megan Mullally had to withdraw from the production immediately in breach of her contract. With the loss of Megan in a four-person ensemble, work has been delayed after only two weeks of rehearsal. We have wanted Joe Mantello to direct this comedy since he staged a reading for us 3 years ago. We expect to announce replacement casting shortly. The first preview performance will be delayed. The opening night date remains April 29.”
An insider who observed the rehearsals acknowledged there were moments of tension but denied Mantello was abusive. Some of the tension had to do with Oswalt’s newness to the stage. It took him more time to warm to the the pace than Mullally, Lili Taylor and David Wilson Barnes, each of whom have been at it longer.
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One should never hire a non-stage actor for a stage role no matter how talented or popular. One must be stage savvy. It’s not only the pace; it’s mastering the space and stagecraft. What a blunder.
You obviously haven’t seen Scarlet Johansson in A View From The Bridge.
Scarlet J has actually been working on stage since she was a little girl.
Mullally is, in fact, a stage actress, having appeared in Grease, How To Succeed in Business and most recently Young Frankenstein. She also has several other theatre credits in both New York and Los Angeles.
Er… um. I believe the OP Knarf was referring to Oswalt, not Mullally. But I’m sure she appreciates the run down on her excellent resume.
So she’s a professional huh?
“Never?” That’s ridiculous.
Well, hardly ever.
Oh man, a well-placed Pinafore reference merits major street cred…
One must avoid use of the indefinite pronoun.
Oh please – as someone whose been trained for stage and camera – PUHLEASE! God, you’re such a cliche.
As “as someone whose been trained for stage and camera,” how many times have you said, “let me tell you about tonight’s specials…”
Even though I agree with you, maybe you’re the cliche.
You realize you just made up out of thin air that PM waits tables, and then used that fantasy as evidence that PM was a cliche?
Brilliant argumentative skills.
Joe Mantello is a bully. He is vile to actors and feels torture is a form of direction. Megan has been acting in the professional theatre since she was 19. She saw up close what a despicable person Joe Mantello is.
Life is too short to be abused by a sociopath. Bravo Megan. Protect your talent. Terrence McNally can defend Joe all he wants but everyone knows the truth. At least in the city of New York.
not everyone in NY, dear. he has many friends, many colleagues, much respect and has produced a great body of work. i have never seen him “torture” anyone and he is far from a sociopath. when have you been in a process with him? you have words and an opinion, period. and bravo to megan for protecting her talent by leaving a theatre company in the lurch? sad.
“One should never hire a non-stage actor for a stage role no matter how talented or popular. One must be stage savvy. It’s not only the pace; it’s mastering the space and stagecraft. What a blunder.”
I have a question for you then…
How does one get into stage-acting if someone never gives them a shot. At one point in time Megan Mullally wasn’t a stage actor. At one point in time Kristen Chenoweth wasn’t a stage actor, at one point of time James Earl Jones wasn’t a stage actor…phylicia rashad, idina menzel, johnathan price, john lithgow….the list goes on.
If these people weren’t given a shot as a stage actor, the world would’ve missed out on some pretty amazing performances.
…jackass
@Scott Hindle:
I can answer your flawed premise with ease and without calling names too.
First, it’s too bad if no one gives an actor a chance to act on stage, but that’s not what we are discussing here. In other words, you can’t base an argument on a series of “what if”s and then conclude in your favor.
Secondly, who says that they have never had a chance? Starting in high school — and I’m hardly knocking that experience, because many high schools in this country have professional stages with auditoriums to perform at a professional level before a live audience — college, community theater, off-off-off whatever, and so on, an actor can get some stage experience.
However, thirdly, perhaps no one gave your straw-man actor a chance because he couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag. So the possibility exists that he or she does not deserve a chance.
Then your gigantic leap to conclude that if people like me had their way countless talented actors that we all know and love would, or might, not be working today (“If these people weren’t given a shot as a stage actor, the world would’ve missed out on some pretty amazing performances”).
However, see my point above that they all started somewhere, and probably in pretty humble origins, and then worked their way up.
So, bottom line, what is it about my dogma that prevents talented actors from working? You see the fundamental mistake some posters here made? My dogma doesn’t prevent an actor without stage experience from being hired; their resume prevents them from being hired because what producer or director in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Ashland, Seattle, LA, or anywhere in the world, working at that level, hires inexperienced stage actors?
Not many.
To take it from the top, I would never hire an actor without stage experience if I were producing, directing, or casting for the professional stage. Why should I when I have yet to exhaust the possibilities, such as Al Pacino, Angela Lansbury, Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, Judi Dench, Anthony Hopkins, and so on.
Not to mention the thousands of non-name actors out of Julliard, off Broadway, and regional yet highly professional theaters around the country. I mean: is there some shortage of seasoned stage actors that prevents my enjoying such an artistic luxury that bans inexperienced stage actors from an expensive production, knowing that I will have the support of a paying audience? the critical community? Actors Equity?
Finally, if this board is in fact moderated, please ban posters who cannot refrain from name-calling.
Thank you.
No, this is still flawed. You don’t know Oswalt’s resume and his experiences in high school and college so these comments are unwarranted. Also, who’s to say Oswalt Patton isn’t climbing to the top himself. I know people are throwing out there that he does stand up, but let me just say: that’s harder than it sounds. Stand up comedy is a form of stage comedic work that is difficult and to find a talent able to do it is rare. As someone who does both stand up and stage acting I can tell you that. And believe me, Patton Oswalt has played larger houses than the Roundabout. Also, he’s just an excellent actor. Go watch Big Fan or at least the trailer to see that.
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 I can say it sucks when your actors break a contract and especially at the country’s largest non-profit. 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.
Patton is a talented and very experienced standup comedian, and is no stranger to the stage. Having done both film and stage work in the past, I can assure you that aside from being mindful of sightlines and body position, theater isn’t any more difficult then movies. They each have their little challenges, but I doubt any of it stumped the man to the point where Mullally would have been justified in her frustration to the point of jumping ship this late in the game, and effectively screwing her former cast mates as well as the production itself. If anything, this is proof positive to the theater community of just how low class she really is, and hopefully future directors will be mindful of it before casting her themselves.
Thanks for the run-down on what “one” must never do.
It should, however, be noted that, while he isn’t a stage actor, Oswalt does have years of acting experience in addition to his stand-up: nearly a decade on a three-camera sit-com (more than Mullally); multiple roles on TV dramas; animation voice work; and decades of performing in front of live audiences as a stand-up comedian.
Mullally, meanwhile, is no Helen Hayes – if her only stage credits are indeed just a couple of broad supporting roles in cartoonish musical comedies, I don’t see where she gets off acting like a snobbish theater veteran (at any rate, her insufferable mugging in Will & Grace diminishes rather than adds to her resume).
No doubt Oswalt should have gotten his feet wet elsewhere before trying out Broadway, but I find it hard to believe a performer who has spent as many hours on stage as he has wouldn’t have developed a feel for the play’s rhythm in time for opening night.
That’s what one thinks.
Hopefully Lisa Rinna is available
I believe that Miss Lindsay Lohan is available. A strong understudy, or two, is recommended for this choice.
I guarantee you the best thing that will come out of this is the bit of stand-up Oswalt creates about it.
HA HA! Can’t wait for that!
Patton Oswalt has how many seasons of ‘King of Queens’ under his belt? Granted, it was TV but it’s still rehearsal, blocking, marks and stage direction. Don’t see how he couldn’t handle stage work but hey, I’m not there. I love Megan M. She was nice to me when I was not even on the radar here in L.A.
Knarf said: “One should never hire a non-stage actor for a stage role no matter how talented or popular.”
.
Quite agree, Frank. That way, as the older actors die, there will be fewer stage productions, eventually to the point that all of the stages on Broadway will be vacant. Excellent thinking.
Wha? Hordes of trained actors come out of theatre schools every day.
Granted, they’re not necessarily interchangeable, but Patton spent *years* onstage on the standup circuit. He’s no stranger to memorizing lines or engaging a live audience.
Patton Oswalt may not be a seasoned stage performer but leaving a production as suddenly as Ms. Mullally has is – among other things – unprofessional. Irony much?
None of us were there in rehearsals so we don’t know exactly how things were going.
Megan has actually been more on stage than in front of a camera!! This would have been her 4th play on broadway since the early 90s and first non-musical, she’s also done many concerts and alot of off-broadway plays.
Being in a sitcom isn’t nearly the same as being on a stage without cameras. It’s a much different environment. Hollywood and Broadway are two vastly different areas of entertainment. I’m guessing Patton was just taking a while to adjust and that created impacience and tension.
@Alan Coil:
Talk about excellent thinking — what logic school did you or the others here attend? Thousands still take acting classes and get their training from the stage up. There is no shortage of acting students and I bet there never will be.
I seriously do not get your logic.
Have you ever witnessed a movie actor on stage? A movie actor with no stage training? It’s a disaster. Why bother with a crash course in stage when there are so many trained and experienced stage actors out there, many of whom also have film experience.
I heard on Bloomberg News this morning that tickets at the cinema chains like AMC,Regal are going up. Ticket prices for 3d films are going to priced seperately from regular ticket prices. Now this could hurt 3d films grosses. I can’t recall the estimate price how much they’re being raised. Nikki you might want to take look into this one.
why would anyone be ‘shocked’ by someone leaving a production??
it’s a way of life……things change, people change their minds.
Patton is the only one worth seeing in that group.
fyi…Megan started in theater, she was the female lead in How to Succeed with Matthew Broderick before she was cast in Will and Grace.
No judgement. Just fact.
I worked with Megan on How to Succeed.. and she was great on stage.. and a near nightmare off stage. During the opening night party, she was in the roundabout of the hotel… hopping up and down on her husbands car throwing a temper tantrum. Rumor had it that when she didn’t win the tony for the show.. she cut up her costumes with scissors.
I’ve heard nice things about her too… but i know she’s got diva tendencies.
You are so full of shit. Instead of spreading lies, check your facts.
Megan never got nominated for any Tony and so even less won one,logically enough. So whomever said in this thread that she did work with Megan had an odd, fragile memory.
Lord knows what happened exactly at The Roundabout but for the one who said that she had only gone into comedy stage, you have probably never heard about The Berlin Circle. She was in it, as well as in Mayhem and you don’t leave these plays with a stomachache for laughing. Not at all.
The cancellation of Lips Together proves there were other issues than Megan Mullally’s departure.
Guthrie used to say, “Rise above it, dear boy! Rise above it.” There are very few actors nowadays with the self-respect required to take Sir Tyrone’s advice, however.
to Scott Hindle –
one gets their break on stage the old-fashioned way – by studying theatre and taking acting classes. stage acting is incredibly different from film acting, and it behooves an actor to hone those skills individually.
The real question is, if Joe Mantello is so vile, why does he keep getting hired? Certainly not for any talent that I have ever seen evidence of. Mullaly is a consummate professional, and would certainly not have gone so far as to break her contract without good reason. For now, this is all speculation.
One does have to wonder what the thinking was behind Oswalt’s casting. It isn’t as if he is a box-office draw. One goes to a Broadway play expecting the finest thespians, not amateur night.
Tell that to all the guest actresses who’ve played Rizzo.
Oswalt is fiercely bright, funny and original. He’s a big, and growing, deal. Yeah, it’s a risk to put him onstage, but it might have been a risk that paid off. Two weeks of rehearsal is hardly enough time to decide if he can do it or not. Chances are it was personal differences that blew the lid off cast relations and sent Megan packing.
It’s not professional at all to break your contract and have an entire production postponed because you’re not getting your way. If she wants to do that, she needs to appear only in projects she’s directing herself from now on. “Finest thespians” – oh, please. Do you see how much shows with mediocre but famous actors gross on Broadway?
As someone who does both, stand up can definitely be harder than stage acting. And believe me, Patton Oswalt has played larger houses than the Roundabout. Also, he’s just an excellent actor. Go watch Big Fan or at least the trailer to see that.
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 I can say it sucks when your actors break a contract and especially at the country’s largest non-profit. 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. Joe Mantello gets work because he’s talented and directed one of the most successful show on Broadway (see Wicked for details).
Cast Stockard Channing-She would ROCK that role
To bad Piven used the old “Mercury tainted sushi” excuse. Money won’t buy you happiness, but you can quit a job you don’t like a lot easier when you have Karen Walker cash in your Hermes Tote.
having worked with “mr. mantello” numerous times – i can say without hesitation – he is not “vile”. he is extremely talented, creative, collaborative and helpful. he is not unkind – he is passionate and demanding as any good director is, and that is what any good actor wants. he is not patient with bullshit or excuses or blame, but he will stick with you til the end if you do your work. if you do YOUR work.
She is acting anything but professional in this situation. She told the director her problems with Patton Oswalt and he apparently told her he was not replacing him. She even suggested names for his replacement. By quitting, she is not only putting the show on hold, but is also in breach of contract. I like her, but I’m sorry she is not the director and is not in any position to make decisions about casting.
I’ve worked with Joe Mantello and he is the smartest guy in the room. If you do your work, he’ll be your biggest fan. And he is a breeze to get along with: kind, funny, generous.
After many years of being in theatre and being known as “one of the very few down-to earth actors in Hollywood” I doubt that Megan mullally had any “diva” moments. I’m sure for whatever reason she decided to quit, it was a good one. After actually meeting her, she seemed to live up to her down to earth image and seemed more than happy to spend a few minutes of her time talking to her fans
I wanted to see this for Lili Taylor. I couldn’t care less if Megan was in the play. In fact, I would have been happy to see it without her.