Norbert Leo Butz and William H. Macy to Replace Jeremy Piven in Speed-the-Plow
Butz will join Speed-the-Plow as film executive Bobby Gould on December 23; Macy will take over on January 13. Until December 21, the role is being played by understudy Jordan Lage. The play, which also stars Raul Esparza and Elisabeth Moss, is scheduled to run through February 22, 2009, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, directed by Neil Pepe.
“We have been advised by Jeremy Piven’s medical representatives that he is seriously ill and is unable to fulfill his contractual obligation to Speed-the-Plow. Consequently, he has left the production ten weeks early,” the play’s producers said in a statement.
Butz most recently starred in the off-Broadway play Fifty Words and the Broadway production of Is He Dead? A Tony winner for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, his Broadway credits include Wicked, Thou Shalt Not and Rent.
Macy, an Oscar nominee for Fargo, founded the Atlantic Theater Company with Mamet and has starred in New York productions of American Buffalo and Oleanna. His credits include numerous films written and directed by Mamet, including House of Games, Things Change, Homicide, Oleanna, Wag the Dog and State and Main.
Mamet reacted to Piven’s sudden departure with a typically acerbic quote, telling Variety, “I talked to Jeremy on the phone, and he told me that he discovered that he had a very high level of mercury. So my understanding is that he is leaving show business to pursue a career as a thermometer. The good news is that some really great actors will be helping out and stepping in, which to me is a sign of great heroism and friendship.”
Speed-the-Plow follows a day in the life of high-powered film executive Bobby Gould and producer Charlie Fox Esparza, who brings his old friend a can’t-miss action script with a big star attached. The arrival of an attractive temp secretary Moss threatens to upend Fox’s grand scheme.
The revival of Mamet’s 1988 black comedy opened to positive reviews on October 23 and has been doing solid business, grossing about $500,000 a week and sometimes more for the past month.