Nathan Lane Misses London Producers Performance Due to Bad Back

By James Inverne
December 17, 2004

Nathan Lane, the much-lauded star of the West End production of The Producers, has had to pull out of a performance because of a bad back.

Lane’s no-show at the Dec. 16 evening performance was a blow to an audience that, according to the Daily Mail, included Prince Charles. The American actor replaced Richard Dreyfuss in the production, but Lane has to bow out for good on Jan. 8, 2005, to begin filming the movie of the musical.

Tickets for Lane’s remaining performances are like gold dust. The telephone line for tickets begins with a recorded message warning that “all top price tickets are now sold out until Jan. 8, when Nathan Lane leaves.” Brad Oscar is set to replace Lane.

At the time of writing the box office did not know whether Lane would be appearing for the Dec. 17 evening show. An operator said, “We haven’t been told that he won’t be on tonight, and he hasn’t missed any other performances. But he has had a bad back, so you never know.”

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