‘China Doll’ by Mamet delays B’way opening

LOS ANGELES, Nov 10, (RTRS): “China Doll,” the new Broadway play written by David Mamet and starring Al Pacino, has pushed back its opening by about two weeks in the midst of rumors of trouble during its preview period.

The show’s attracted some bad buzz since it began previews Oct 21, stirring talk of unfavorable consumer word-of-mouth and Pacino’s trouble remembering lines. So far that hasn’t hurt box office any, with the show grossing more than $1 million in each of the two weeks it’s been running — and managing to do so with short performance weeks of six or seven performances apiece. (Sales for the week ending Nov 8 will be reported later today.)