Hurt left The Fifth of July at Circle during the extension. I don't know why he left as I'm not coming across anything from that time period in his career. If what was said in the press at the time can be trusted, the producers of the Broadway production had discussions with Hurt, but they acknowledged that they needed some names in the cast. Shortly after Fifth opened on Broadway, Hurt was a name. The Broadway production opened on November 5, 1980. Hurt was either filming Body Heat at the time or about to start as it was apparently filming a bit later in November. On December 25, Altered States opened. On February 27, 1981, Eyewitness opened. And then on August 28, Body Heat opened. In February 1981, Hurt opened in Childe Byron at Circle Rep, but that was a limited run, and after Body Heat must have wrapped. Hurt's casting was announced just a few weeks before performances started. So while it's not clear that the producers of Fifth on Broadway would have cast him, he would not have been available. He might have been available for a replacement run, but I wonder if he felt that the Circle production was such a special experience that he wanted to keep that memory.
He was the best Ken Talley, and the production at Circle Rep was the best I've ever seen the play, but it profited not only from a great cast, including Nancy Snyder, but also from the intimacy of that theatre. When Hurt left, Timothy Shelton was also excellent as Ken Talley. |
