Sidelined From Royal Family, Roberts Doing Well, Family Says; Play to Open On Time

By Kenneth Jones
and Andrew Gans
05 Oct 2009

Tony Roberts
Tony Roberts
Photo by Aubrey Reuben

Tony Roberts, who took ill during the Oct. 4 matinee of Broadway's The Royal Family, is laughing and joking with friends and family, according to a statement from Manhattan Theatre Club on Oct. 5.

Artistic director Lynne Meadow and executive producer Barry Grove, on behalf of Manhattan Theatre Club, said in a statement, "We hope for Tony Roberts' quick and complete recovery. We have spoken to his daughter who reported that, 'Tony is doing well, laughing and joking and hoping to be back in the show this week.' We are awaiting further reports from his family. Tony is beloved to us at MTC, to The Royal Family and to his enormous fan base everywhere."

The production, currently in previews, will open on schedule on Oct. 8.

In The Royal Family at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Roberts plays Oscar Wolfe, the longtime manager of a famous acting family inspired by the real-life Barrymore family.

Roberts was taken to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, and the Sunday matinee (a "press preview" attended by media and industry folk) was canceled. Roberts' understudy, Anthony Newfield, played the evening performance Oct. 4, according to a show spokesperson. Roberts' condition is being assessed.

Roberts received Tony Award nominations for his performances in Play It Again Sam and How Now, Dow Jones. His other theatrical credits include Xanadu, Victor/Victoria, Barefoot in the Park, Don't Drink the Water, Sugar, Absurd Person Singular, Arsenic and Old Lace, They're Playing Our Song, Jerome Robbins' Broadway and The Sisters Rosensweig. He won the London's Critics Poll Award for his performance in the West End mounting of Promises, Promises, and his many screen credits include "Annie Hall," "Play It Again, Sam" and "Serpico."

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According to MTC, "Follow a famous family of stage stars as they go about the drama of the day: choosing scripts, dashing off to performances, stealing kisses from handsome beaus. But what’s this business about the youngest diva wanting to quit the stage for domestic bliss? Never, darling!"

The Royal Family continues to Nov. 29. Tony Award winner Doug Hughes (Doubt, Mauritius) directs a cast that includes Tony Award winner Rosemary Harris as Fanny Cavendish, the actress-matriarch of an American acting family in the 1920s classic. Jan Maxwell plays Fanny's daughter, Julie Cavendish, with Reg Rogers as Julie's brother, Tony.

For tickets, visit www.Telecharge.com; call (212) 239-6200 or (800) 432-7250 or go to Friedman Theatre box office (261 W. 47th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue).

Visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.