I still can't believe he got away with it.
An Inside Look at an Offstage Drama
It was a mix of money, talent and ego on Broadway that produced one of the best dramas in New York theater - offstage.
The main characters: A hot television star making his Broadway debut, only to fall ill. A respected director trying to create a Tony Award-worthy production, who put off his star’s complaints with the assurance that he was “killing it” on stage. A hard-driving producer looking to sell tickets and whose sarcastic e-mail messages testify to a relationship gone sour. And, in a supporting role, an arbitrator with the soul of a theater critic, whose 44-page ruling offers a rare look behind the curtain.
The actor, Jeremy Piven, stunned the theater world in December by bolting the revival of David Mamet’s Hollywood drama “Speed-the-Plow,” citing health concerns caused by mercury poisoning. Mr. Piven became the butt of late-night television jokes and was widely ridiculed as a hard-partying Hollywood dilettante who was not up to eight performances a week.
While the broad outlines of the battle have been known, the blow-by-blow account of the meltdown of “Speed-the-Plow” is laid out in the arbitrator’s previously confidential ruling, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. The arbitrator, George Nicolau, ruled in the actor’s favor in late August.
The decision was based on three days of closed-door testimony in June by Mr. Piven; the producer, Jeffrey Richards; and others that generated a 1,466-page transcript. The ruling also relied on evidence including e-mail messages and Mr. Piven’s credit card, car service and cellphone records, which the producers submitted as part of their attempt, Mr. Nicolau writes, “to paint Piven as a fun-seeking night owl.”
Broadway is increasingly dependent on casting high-wattage stars from film and television to help sell tickets to nonmusical plays: “A Steady Rain” with Daniel Craig, “Hamlet” with Jude Law and “God of Carnage” with James Gandolfini are among such shows now running. The producers of “Speed-the-Plow,” led by Mr. Richards, had been eager to keep Mr. Piven, the Emmy-winning star of HBO’s “Entourage,” onstage, despite the fact that he began seeing a doctor just days after the first rehearsal in September 2008. And when Mr. Piven quit, the producers pursued grievance and arbitration hearings through the Actors’ Equity union.
Early in the ruling, Mr. Nicolau writes that the producers and Mr. Piven made arguments that amounted to “two very different plays.”
“In one, the actor is a malingerer intent on leaving the play, one whose asserted tiredness was the result” of a “flashy, late-night, around-the-town lifestyle,” he says.
“In the other play, the actor is one who is ill with Epstein-Barr virus and mercury toxicity,” who goes to doctors “constantly” for treatment and whose concerns are “met with disregard, disbelief and disdain.”
“With that prelude,” the arbitrator writes, “let me summarize the play I have seen.”
According to testimony from Mr. Piven and his doctor, Carlon M. Colker, the actor began feeling ill while “Speed-the-Plow” was in rehearsals, and he was found to have the Epstein-Barr virus and high levels of mercury. Dr. Colker testified that he urged Mr. Piven to get more rest and perhaps take time off from the show, and eventually recommended that Mr. Richards have a doctor affiliated with the production examine Mr. Piven to certify his medical condition. That never happened.
On Nov. 23, a month and a half into the run, the decision shows, Mr. Piven e-mailed the director, Neil Pepe, to underscore his worry.
“I’m in bed now as I do on Sundays and get out on Tues.,” Mr. Piven wrote. “This has been one of the great experiences of my life and yet I don’t know much longer I can do it without collapsing.”
Mr. Pepe forwarded that message to Mr. Richards, who said at the arbitration hearing that he disregarded it because he did not believe Mr. Piven was in bed from Sundays to Tuesdays, since he had seen him one Monday at a cocktail party given by an “Entourage” designer. Mr. Piven said he had been committed to attend.
On Dec. 2, Mr. Pepe wrote to Mr. Richards and a co-producer that it would be “very smart” to have their own doctor evaluate Mr. Piven “so he cannot lean as hard on this health thing.”
“I think he is playing up this mono/Epstein Barr as a legitimate excuse to leave which I think is simply not true, as he has had it for the past three months and has performed the show and been out partying,” Mr. Pepe wrote. “We need to call his bluff.”
Two days later, Mr. Richards sent an e-mail message noting that Mr. Piven had asked to be told when Tony Award nominators and voters were at the show because it would help “psyche himself up.”
In a message sent later that day, Mr. Richards wrote, “I know he’s suffering from mono/Epstein-Barr and exhaustion, so I hope that the Page 6 item about his attending Brittney [sic] Spear’s birthday party Tuesday night was merely to ‘psyche him up’ for his two perfs on Wednesday.”
And on Dec. 11, Mr. Richards indicated in an e-mail message to colleagues that he did not believe Mr. Piven about his health concerns.
“We must have a second opinion,” Mr. Richards said in the message. “First we were told hepatitis. Then, Epstein-Barr now mercury poisoning. Who knows next it might be tb.” (Mr. Richards testified that he is known for using sarcasm and irony.)
Soon after, Mr. Richards and Dr. Colker had a heated phone conversation, which ended when Dr. Colker abruptly hung up. According to Dr. Colker’s testimony, Mr. Richards called back to say he had secretly recorded their first phone call - then hung up himself. A bit later, Dr. Colker testified, he received a call from a person identifying himself as a USA Today reporter and claiming to have the tape recording. Dr. Colker said he believed the caller was Mr. Richards, disguising his voice. Mr. Richards denied that, and said he had in fact not taped the first call.
The producers eventually arranged for Mr. Piven to be evaluated by a doctor after what would be his last performance, on Dec. 14. But that never happened, and Mr. Piven flew to California.
Mr. Piven was ultimately replaced in the cast by two actors in succession, and the production went on to recoup its initial $2.26 million investment. It closed as scheduled in February. Only Mr. Piven’s co-star Raúl Esparza was nominated for a Tony.
In an interview, Mr. Piven, who has returned to “Entourage,” described the showdown as “the most surreal experience of my 25 years as an actor.” He expressed pain about media reports that referred to the controversy as “Sushigate” - because the mercury poisoning was said to have been caused by his large consumption of raw fish - and added that the decision had “vindicated” him. He said that he hoped to work on Broadway again.
Mr. Pepe declined to comment, referring questions to the play’s producers. Mr. Richards initially declined to comment, and then sent a statement by e-mail. “Jeremy Piven’s situation during Speed-the-Plow was a particularly difficult one,” he said. “While we were disappointed with the arbitrator’s decision, we accept it and have put the matter behind us. We wish Mr. Piven success in his career.”
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It was a mix of money, talent and ego on Broadway that produced one of the best dramas in New York theater - offstage.
The main characters: A hot television star making his Broadway debut, only to fall ill. A respected director trying to create a Tony Award-worthy production, who put off his star’s complaints with the assurance that he was “killing it” on stage. A hard-driving producer looking to sell tickets and whose sarcastic e-mail messages testify to a relationship gone sour. And, in a supporting role, an arbitrator with the soul of a theater critic, whose 44-page ruling offers a rare look behind the curtain.
The actor, Jeremy Piven, stunned the theater world in December by bolting the revival of David Mamet’s Hollywood drama “Speed-the-Plow,” citing health concerns caused by mercury poisoning. Mr. Piven became the butt of late-night television jokes and was widely ridiculed as a hard-partying Hollywood dilettante who was not up to eight performances a week.
While the broad outlines of the battle have been known, the blow-by-blow account of the meltdown of “Speed-the-Plow” is laid out in the arbitrator’s previously confidential ruling, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. The arbitrator, George Nicolau, ruled in the actor’s favor in late August.
The decision was based on three days of closed-door testimony in June by Mr. Piven; the producer, Jeffrey Richards; and others that generated a 1,466-page transcript. The ruling also relied on evidence including e-mail messages and Mr. Piven’s credit card, car service and cellphone records, which the producers submitted as part of their attempt, Mr. Nicolau writes, “to paint Piven as a fun-seeking night owl.”
Broadway is increasingly dependent on casting high-wattage stars from film and television to help sell tickets to nonmusical plays: “A Steady Rain” with Daniel Craig, “Hamlet” with Jude Law and “God of Carnage” with James Gandolfini are among such shows now running. The producers of “Speed-the-Plow,” led by Mr. Richards, had been eager to keep Mr. Piven, the Emmy-winning star of HBO’s “Entourage,” onstage, despite the fact that he began seeing a doctor just days after the first rehearsal in September 2008. And when Mr. Piven quit, the producers pursued grievance and arbitration hearings through the Actors’ Equity union.
Early in the ruling, Mr. Nicolau writes that the producers and Mr. Piven made arguments that amounted to “two very different plays.”
“In one, the actor is a malingerer intent on leaving the play, one whose asserted tiredness was the result” of a “flashy, late-night, around-the-town lifestyle,” he says.
“In the other play, the actor is one who is ill with Epstein-Barr virus and mercury toxicity,” who goes to doctors “constantly” for treatment and whose concerns are “met with disregard, disbelief and disdain.”
“With that prelude,” the arbitrator writes, “let me summarize the play I have seen.”
According to testimony from Mr. Piven and his doctor, Carlon M. Colker, the actor began feeling ill while “Speed-the-Plow” was in rehearsals, and he was found to have the Epstein-Barr virus and high levels of mercury. Dr. Colker testified that he urged Mr. Piven to get more rest and perhaps take time off from the show, and eventually recommended that Mr. Richards have a doctor affiliated with the production examine Mr. Piven to certify his medical condition. That never happened.
On Nov. 23, a month and a half into the run, the decision shows, Mr. Piven e-mailed the director, Neil Pepe, to underscore his worry.
“I’m in bed now as I do on Sundays and get out on Tues.,” Mr. Piven wrote. “This has been one of the great experiences of my life and yet I don’t know much longer I can do it without collapsing.”
Mr. Pepe forwarded that message to Mr. Richards, who said at the arbitration hearing that he disregarded it because he did not believe Mr. Piven was in bed from Sundays to Tuesdays, since he had seen him one Monday at a cocktail party given by an “Entourage” designer. Mr. Piven said he had been committed to attend.
On Dec. 2, Mr. Pepe wrote to Mr. Richards and a co-producer that it would be “very smart” to have their own doctor evaluate Mr. Piven “so he cannot lean as hard on this health thing.”
“I think he is playing up this mono/Epstein Barr as a legitimate excuse to leave which I think is simply not true, as he has had it for the past three months and has performed the show and been out partying,” Mr. Pepe wrote. “We need to call his bluff.”
Two days later, Mr. Richards sent an e-mail message noting that Mr. Piven had asked to be told when Tony Award nominators and voters were at the show because it would help “psyche himself up.”
In a message sent later that day, Mr. Richards wrote, “I know he’s suffering from mono/Epstein-Barr and exhaustion, so I hope that the Page 6 item about his attending Brittney [sic] Spear’s birthday party Tuesday night was merely to ‘psyche him up’ for his two perfs on Wednesday.”
And on Dec. 11, Mr. Richards indicated in an e-mail message to colleagues that he did not believe Mr. Piven about his health concerns.
“We must have a second opinion,” Mr. Richards said in the message. “First we were told hepatitis. Then, Epstein-Barr now mercury poisoning. Who knows next it might be tb.” (Mr. Richards testified that he is known for using sarcasm and irony.)
Soon after, Mr. Richards and Dr. Colker had a heated phone conversation, which ended when Dr. Colker abruptly hung up. According to Dr. Colker’s testimony, Mr. Richards called back to say he had secretly recorded their first phone call - then hung up himself. A bit later, Dr. Colker testified, he received a call from a person identifying himself as a USA Today reporter and claiming to have the tape recording. Dr. Colker said he believed the caller was Mr. Richards, disguising his voice. Mr. Richards denied that, and said he had in fact not taped the first call.
The producers eventually arranged for Mr. Piven to be evaluated by a doctor after what would be his last performance, on Dec. 14. But that never happened, and Mr. Piven flew to California.
Mr. Piven was ultimately replaced in the cast by two actors in succession, and the production went on to recoup its initial $2.26 million investment. It closed as scheduled in February. Only Mr. Piven’s co-star Raúl Esparza was nominated for a Tony.
In an interview, Mr. Piven, who has returned to “Entourage,” described the showdown as “the most surreal experience of my 25 years as an actor.” He expressed pain about media reports that referred to the controversy as “Sushigate” - because the mercury poisoning was said to have been caused by his large consumption of raw fish - and added that the decision had “vindicated” him. He said that he hoped to work on Broadway again.
Mr. Pepe declined to comment, referring questions to the play’s producers. Mr. Richards initially declined to comment, and then sent a statement by e-mail. “Jeremy Piven’s situation during Speed-the-Plow was a particularly difficult one,” he said. “While we were disappointed with the arbitrator’s decision, we accept it and have put the matter behind us. We wish Mr. Piven success in his career.”
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