 |
 |
"Lazy" Matthew Broderick irks Nathan Lane
23 Aug 2006 00:22:41 -0700 alt.showbiz.gossip
previous
Lili2...
|
NY POST...PAGE 6
August 23, 2006 -- BROADWAY'S most beloved buddy act - Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick - is going solo after their less-than-triumphant pairing in "The Odd Couple." Lane was overheard in the Hamptons last week telling friends he felt Broderick hadn't given his persnickety all during their most recent stint together as Oscar and Felix. The implication was that fans who loved their pairing a few years earlier in the smash hit "The Producers" might never see them work together again. The revival of Neil Simon's classic "The Odd Couple" was a hit with the public. Some $21 million worth of advance tickets were sold, and the show was SRO even after it opened last fall to yawn-filled reviews - and zero Tony nominations. The Post's Michael Riedel reported Lane was "cranky" in previews because Broderick was slow to learn his lines. A script girl was planted in the front row in case Broderick needed prompting. But the real problem was that Broderick seemed to be falling back on his Leo Bloom shtick from "The Producers" rather than developing a new characterization of the fastidious Felix. "He [Lane] was not happy with Matthew's lack of effort, and lack of preparation," said one theater source. The split is nothing like the Jerry Lewis-Dean Martin breakup, but the two seemed frosty to each other the other night when they sat at the same table at the opening night party for Martin Short's show. Broderick will next take the stage in the January world premiere of Kenneth Lonergan's "The Starry Messenger" at San Diego's Old Globe Theater. Broderick, who starred in Lonergan's 2000 movie "You Can Count on Me," will play a married university astronomy professor. Lane's next Great White Way role will be starring this fall in a new production of Simon Gray's bittersweet "Butley." Simon Halls, who represents both stars, denied any bad feelings between the two. "That's ridiculous. They are the best of friends," he snapped. "Somebody's just trying to stir up trouble." Neptuna...
|