Injuries to Butz and Marvel Force Delay in Opening MCC's Fifty Words

The opening of MCC Theater's production of Michael Weller's Fifty Words, starring Norbert Leo Butz and Elizabeth Marvel, has been postponed due to injuries sustained onstage by both actors. The show, which cancelled its preview performance on September 24 and was set to open on September 28, will now open on October 1 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, directed by Austin Pendleton.

In a joint statement released by Artistic Directors Robert LuPone and Bernard Telsey, MCC said, “In order to give our cast time to heal properly, and to give the critics an opportunity to reschedule their tickets and file their reviews, we felt it best to cancel two press performances and delay the opening night.” The quote refers to a decision to ask critics not to attend the September 25 performance, although the show will go on. The press statement noted that Fifty Words "includes a fair amount of physical action," but did not specify the injuries suffered by Butz and Marvel.

Fifty Words follows seemingly happy married couple Jan and Adam over the course of an evening alone. At 9:10 p.m., they're reveling in the freedom of having waved off their young son, Greg, to a neighborhood sleepover. By 9:30 p.m., things have gone way past awry. Alternately funny and frightening, the show is an expansive look at modern marriage, as seen through the looking glass of one couple's long night's journey into day.