Second Stage to Revive LIPS TOGETHER, TEETH APART

[somethingwicked]

Per an EPA casting notice, it will be the first show of their season this fall, directed by Peter DuBois.

Happy to see the play (which I love) getting another shot at at a New York revival after the debacle with the Roundabout production.

[HorseTears]

Love this play. What's the story on the Roundabout debacle? I don't remember what happened.

[PlayItAgain]

i never understand why companies posts these notices before announcing they are doing the production.

[AEA AGMA SM]

"Love this play. What's the story on the Roundabout debacle? I don't remember what happened."

Megan Mullally quit after only two of rehearsal. I don't remember if there was ever an official statement from any of the parties involved, but it was floated around that she was tired of Joe Mantello's abusive behavior in the rehearsal room and that she was very unhappy with Patton Oswalt's work up to that point and was lobbying heavily to have him replaced (by Nick Offerman, according to some). No matter the reason, Roundabout did quickly issue a statement making it clear that she was in breach of contract, though I don't remember if they ever filed charges against her with Equity. They initially said they would replace her and simply postpone the start of previews, but ultimately the production was cancelled and they produced the Broadway mounting of Everyday Rapture with Sherie Rene Scott to fill the slot in their season.


"i never understand why companies posts these notices before announcing they are doing the production."

It's just timing. Sometimes you need to begin casting before your season is publicly announced, and Equity requires that they hold EPAs, which also need to be publicly announced. It's just the way it happens sometimes.

[HorseTears]

Ah! So THAT'S how Sherie Rene Scott got her show on Broadway. Was wondering how that happened.

[quizking101]

Yup, Michael Mayer was busy that year, doing previews for both shows simultaneously and opening them within ten days of each other (the other show being AMERICAN IDIOT)

[AC126748]

According to the EPA notice, Chloe and Sam are already cast. I wonder with whom.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Weren't those rumors re Patton Oswalt dispelled later too? I believe when Megan Mullally actually spoke about it, she mentioned her mother being incredibly sick at that point. I really don't believe the Patton Oswalt story for a second, I can't imagine Mullally quitting over him. And if we're discussing rumors, one of the rumors that later emerged was that Roundabout started the ugly rumors about Mullally as retaliation for her quitting.

[Borstalboy]

I don't remember ever hearing about Mantello being abusive. On day two? Really? I somehow doubt this.

Whatever, it's arguably McNally's best play and I hope the revival is a knockout.

[AC126748]

I don't believe Mullally has made any public comments about her departure aside from the following one, from an interview with THE ADVOCATE just a few weeks after everything went down:

Yeah, someday the story will come out. But I think you and I both know that I am not a diva. It’s sweet of you to ask me about it, but at this point it’s not a big deal. Let’s wait until it all comes out organically, you know what I mean?

[AEA AGMA SM]

Sorry, borstal, bad iPad typing. She quit after about two weeks of rehearsal ("weeks" got left out of my first post).

As I said, it was all rumors and other than Roundabout stating, very vocally, that she was in breach of contract, I don't recall anything else ever being confirmed by any of the involved parties. For what it's worth, Mantello has said in the past that he sometimes has issues with maintaining his patience and controlling his temper in the rehearsal room.

From an article that ran in the New York Times around the time Assassins was being revived by Roundabout:

'I don't suffer fools, it's true,' he said; among friends, his nickname is Hothead. 'I'm not proud of it, and I am certainly working on finding a way to be more patient. I have fought and lost that battle many times. But there's a kind of actor that just drives me nuts' -- the kind, he later added, that arrives with no ideas and expects him to extract a performance. 'Or if I feel I'm being taken advantage of, or manipulated, or my time is being wasted, I go ballistic.'
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/11/theater/theater-surviving-assassins.html?pagewanted=all

[somethingwicked]

The most open I've ever seen anyone involved be about the situation was David Wilson Barnes in the interview below:

Can we talk about Lips Together Teeth Apart, the Broadway play that wasn't yet?

"Um...wow. This is complicated. What happened was basically -- and I am gonna throw her under the bus, because I do think it was her fault -- Megan Mullally. Putting on a play is obviously stressful. She had a lot of stressful things going on in her life at the time. Understandably stressful. She had come off of a few shows that that were not good experiences for her. Her talk show, as I understand it, didn't do what she wanted it to. It was not an easy time for her. We were going through the normal difficulties in rehearsal. Ultimately she just was like, "I can't deal with the amount of stress." So she quit. That's basically what it was.

Patton Oswalt got the brunt of the bulls**t, with [people saying he was] why she quit, which is complete crap. I want to say for the record that's ridiculous. He was working his butt off. It was his first play and he did have a learning curve, but he was becoming great. Her leaving was not about him. That guy's a genius. He's one of the smartest human beings I've ever come across."

Why not just fill her role, rather than cancel?

"I think they tried. Megan was ridiculously good. Unbelievable in it. That part was written for her in a retroactive way. She also was the headliner, the big draw, which I think was stressful too for her too. They couldn't get someone who was good enough to fill her shoes. And Patton during all that was like, "I don't want to talk about it, because the more I talk about it, the more it's gonna be talked about." So he wouldn't answer questions, he wouldn't talk to press and it just fizzled out. It's a play ultimately. It was going to be a great one. But it's not the Geneva Convention. It doesn't affect anybody's life at all. [laughs] Except for mine."

It would have been your first leading, non-replacement role on Broadway.

"I was certainly disappointed."

Did that bad experience turn you off to Broadway?

"Not at all. A thing with actors that gets us in trouble is that we like to blame the machine. But we're choosing to ride the machine. At the end of the day the only thing that's gonna keep you sane is to be honest about what you're doing. So when that crumbled I was just fascinated watching it crumble. I was actually more disappointed a month ago. I was drunk at some bar or something, and I started thinking about it, and suddenly was like, 'Motherf*cker!' But so what? I'm in this great play at MCC. Keep it moving."

http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/10-2012/dont-go-gentles-david-wilson-barnes-talks-his-indi_63450.html

[Brick]

I believe I remember one of the large stresses in her life was her mother had become very ill. She mentioned that in an interview, as well, I believe. Ultimately, she decided to cut her losses, cut and run. Unfortunately, it was everyone else's losses, too.

[AC126748]

Thanks for sharing that interview, somethingwicked. I had never seen it before.

[Owen22]

I really like David Wilson Barnes. Dude should be WAY more famous than he is. His Father Karras was the only good thing about the John Doyle "Exorcist" play in Los Angeles a couple years ago. Wish I had been able to see his musical up at Yale Rep this winter. It would be great if they could reassemble the Roundabout cast for "Lips" but that would probably bring up too much crap better left forgotten...

[sallyann]

Mantello does have quite a reputation for his "hotheadedness" and it seems particularly aimed at women although my understanding is all the cast were affected by his behaviour in this case. However Megan was the only one who tried (unsuccessfully) to address it by approaching both him and Roundabout management before she left. Untrue rumours about her were put out to take the heat off him. She did comment later about it here
http://poptimal.com/2011/07/26/comic-con-2011-childrens-hospital-press-room-and-panel/

[inception]

was looking at the Second Stage site to get an idea of how much more Sex With Strangers might possibly extend, but saw that this starts previews early October and that the cast has been announced:

MICHAEL CHERNUS: Sam
TRACEE CHIMO: Chloe
AMERICA FERRARA: Sally
AUSTIN LYSY: John

I wasn't interested in this as it seems such a dated play, very much of its time, but I would be excited to see both Ms Ferrara and Ms Chimo - who simply left me stunned with her talent last fall. The cast seems young though, but I wonder how old the original cast was when this was first done? I am sure someone here must have seen the original production.

[Esther]

Swoosie Kurtz (Sally) & Anthony Heald (John) were both 47, Christine Baranski (Chloe) was 39 & Nathan Lane (Sam) was 35. And now I officially feel very old because I was around 25 when I saw them and I'm the same age & now older than they were back then. lol

I have no idea how old Tracee Chimo is, but America Ferrera is 30 & the men I believe are both 36, 37. I couldn't find a birth year fro Chernus, but saw on imdb that he was part of Group 28 @ Juilliard, so I guesstimated his age.

[AC126748]

Tracee Chimo is around 35.