| re: Of course, Lainie was also fired from "Funny Girl" after the run started due to Streisand's being nervous | |
| Posted by: pierce 04:25 am EDT 10/12/17 | |
| In reply to: Of course, Lainie was also fired from "Funny Girl" after the run started due to Streisand's being nervous - PlayWiz 12:34 pm EDT 10/11/17 | |
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| The sequence of events was actually pretty messy. Lainie Kazan was notified before the Tuesday evening performance that she'd be going on that night because Streisand had strep throat. Kazan had made numerous media contacts since becoming the star's understudy, and she asked all of them if she could contact them if she ever went on; they all answered yes. So she and her mother feverishly contacted all of them, telling them she was going on that night. And much to her surprise & chagrin, Streisand showed up that night to perform. The following day, columnists ran stories about her non-appearance, with headlines like "Show goes on, but Kazan doesn't" and "It's not funny, girl." The Funny Girl management wasn't happy about Kazan's stunt, and told her so in no uncertain terms. However, Streisand's decision to perform on Tuesday worsened her throat condition, making it impossible for her to do the Wednesday matinee and evening shows. Almost immediately after being called on the carpet, Kazan was informed she'd be doing both shows that day - but (as management was now wary of her actions) she was informed she couldn't leave the theater and couldn't make any phone calls. Kazan bowed to their wishes, but begged them to be able to make just one phone call - to her mother. Seeing this as an innocuous request, management relented. So she called her mother and told her to contact all the people they'd called the day before. Which she did, and they all showed up and reviewed her performance favorably (though there was a general feeling she wasn't the perfect fit for the role that Streisand was). When Streisand returned to the show on Thursday, she refused to speak to Kazan. It became clear to her that her days with the show were numbered, and soon she was terminated. And that wasn't all - producer Ray Stark, who had signed Kazan to a separate contract for future stage and film work, used loopholes (citing what he termed as Kazan's unprofessionalism) to cancel it. It should be noted that the "understudy goes on" drama was just the final straw for Kazan's involvement with Funny Girl. Streisand was always uncomfortable with Kazan's chutzpah, and she wasn't happy to learn Kazan had become her understudy. When Kazan became romantically involved with Peter Daniels, the show's assistant conductor, Streisand was even less pleased. Daniels had worked closely with Streisand on both the show and her People album (Streisand even arranged for him to have special billing on the LP), so this turn of events - followed by Kazan's alert-the-media understudy stunt - was too much for the star to cope with. Just as a follow-up, it should be noted Kazan married Daniels in 1971 and they remained together until his death in 1989. And the new understudy hired for Funny Girl in 1965 wasn't permitted to contact the media if she went on for Streisand; that became a clause in her contract. |
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| Previous: | Of course, Lainie was also fired from "Funny Girl" after the run started due to Streisand's being nervous - PlayWiz 12:34 pm EDT 10/11/17 |
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