Faye Dunaway gets fired from play
Faye Dunaway has been fired from a Broadway-bound play after an alleged altercation with crew members. The Oscar-winning actress was dropped after the Boston run of “Tea at Five,” a one-woman show in which she portrayed Katharine Hepburn. The project was set to mark Dunaway’s return to Broadway for the first time in 35 years.
The show’s producers, Ben Feldman and Scott Beck, announced the decision to part with Dunaway in a brief statement Wednesday.
“The producers of ‘Tea at Five’ announced today that they have terminated their relationship with Faye Dunaway,” it read. “Plans are in development for the play to have its West End debut early next year with a new actress to play the role of Katharine Hepburn.”
“Tea at Five” was written in 2002 by Matthew Lombardo, who has reworked the script for the new production. Directed by John Tillinger, the commercial run played at a rented Huntington Theater Company venue from June 22 to July 14.
Though the producers gave no explanation for her dismissal, the New York Post reported the parting came after a troubled run with the actress, who allegedly struggled to memorize lines, arrived late to rehearsals and yelled at the crew on numerous occasions.
The conflict came to a head July 10, when the performance was canceled moments before curtain because Dunaway, 78, allegedly “slapped and threw things at crew members who were trying to put on her wig,” sources told the Post.
A representative for Dunaway did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.