A box office representative confirmed Dec. 13 that the actress, wildly lauded for her performance as Ruth Sherwood in the Bernstein-Comden Green show, is "feeling under the weather".
Five minute prior to the 7PM curtain Dec. 16, over 150 ticketholders waited patiently in a line that stretched west from the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in order to exchange their tickets or obtain a refund. An employee of the theatre distributed a slips of paper with the following notice:
PLEASE NOTE: Donna Murphy will not appear at this performance of "WONDERFUL TOWN" EXCHANGES AND REFUNDS: If you wish to exchange your tickets for a future performance, or to receive a refund, please do so at the box office. Exchanges or refunds may also be obtained at the box office at a later date. If you purchased your tickets through Tele-charge, exchanges or refunds may be obtained by phone or by mail. For details, call Tele-charge Customer Service at (212) 239-6210.In Murphy's absence, understudy Linda Mugleston has been playing the role of the older, more jaded Sherwood sister who moves to New York with dreams of making it big. The production marks the first Broadway revival of the 1953 Bernstein Comden-Green musical and the Broadway directorial debut of choreographer Kathleen Marshall.