Faye Dunaway has been fired from stage show ‘Tea at Five’.
The Oscar-winning actress had been due to make her return to Broadway for the first time in 37 years but has parted ways with the one-woman show – which is based on the memoir of Katherine Hepburn, ‘Me: Stories From My Life’ – during its run at Boston’s Huntington Avenue Theatre.
Producers Scott Beck and Ben Feldman told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement: "The producers of ‘Tea at Five’ announced today that they have terminated their relationship with Faye Dunaway.
"Plans are in development for the play to have its West End debut early next year with a new actress to play the role of Katharine Hepburn."
Though they gave no further comment, the New York Post newspaper alleged the 78-year-old actress had slapped crew members backstage, causing a performance to be cancelled shortly before it was due to begin earlier this month.
The ‘Mommie Dearest’ star was furious when the show was cancelled and began "verbally abusing" the crew, while she was also said to have been frequently late for rehearsal and when she did arrive, banned anyone – including the director and playwright – from looking at her.
Playwright Matthew Lombardo shared the report – which also alleged Faye was fed her lines through an earpiece, despite having a script for six months – on his Facebook page and added the caption: "Ummm. Yup."
In 1994, Andrew Lloyd Webber fired Faye from a Los Angeles production of ‘Sunset Boulevard’ and claimed her singing voice wasn’t up to the role.
He was sued by the actress and the pair later settled out of court.
Faye Dunaway leaves play
