While Lupita Nyong’o was nominated for a Tony Award for her work on Eclipsed, her turn on Broadway has not been entirely smooth sailing. Just before Eclipsed went to Broadway, sources insisted to the Daily Mail that Lupita was behaving like an unhinged diva behind-the-scenes. Sources claimed that Lupita thought she was better than her costars and she refused to socialize with them. There were claims that she’s an “ice cold untouchable diva,” etc. I shrugged off that story because it just seemed petty and untrue. Plus, if Lupita wasn’t enjoying her off-Broadway experience that much, why did she agree to an extended run of the play and the move to Broadway? Well, now Page Six claims that the play’s investors aren’t happy with Lupita’s attitude either.
Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o is upsetting investors, fans and producers of her Broadway show “Eclipsed.” Sources tell Page Six the actress has missed some shows and unofficially requested to have Wednesdays off.
“Wednesdays are her days off, but there was never an announcement, so fans are pissed when they come to the show and she’s not there,” said the insider, who adds that Nyong’o gives “exhaustion or ‘I have a sore toe’ ” as excuses for skipping work. Meanwhile, on one of her off days, the star was spotted hanging out with Misty Copeland, further angering investors. “They were banking on her fame and have not seen a return. The most disrespectful thing is taking off every Wednesday while being seen hanging out with Misty. If you’re too tired to work, stay in bed.”
Another source tells us Nyong’o “hasn’t hustled . . . Tony voters are coming to see her. Fans fly in to see her. This isn’t Hollywood, and she’s bringing her movie-star privilege to Broadway.”
A source close to Nyong’o told us she’s only contractually obligated to be in seven shows a week. “She’s maybe missed a show or two because she was sick and lost her voice, but she was never expected to appear in Wednesday-evening shows. And she’s done more to promote this play than other nominees. This is her passion project that she is dedicated to and proud of.”
Danai Gurira penned the tale about five African women surviving the Second Liberian Civil War. The show has earned six Tony nominations, including a Best Lead Actress nod for Nyong’o, but has earned around $300,000 a week out of a potential $800,000.
“They produced a show with a very difficult subject matter, so the box office may not be what they want it to be, but you can’t put that on Lupita. The amount of publicity she’s done, I don’t think she could’ve done more,” said another insider.
I don’t get it? Her contract is for seven shows a week and she does seven shows a week. Why are they putting it on Lupita if there was no announcement that Wednesday is her day off? And why does anyone care how she’s spending her day off? I really don’t understand the hostility of these sources. As for Lupita’s hustle, I can’t really speak to that. I think she met her media contractual obligations but not much more, mostly because Lupita sees the value in actually having some mystery. She’s not in our faces all the time, not even when she’s promoting one of her projects. Now, I do think there’s probably some finger-pointing going on with the finances. But the play – while well-reviewed – was always going to be a difficult sell because of the subject matter. And that’s not on Lupita either.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
You know what’s not going to inspire people to go see your play? Leaking bitchy items to Page Six. Jeez.
No kidding. Also having a tough time swallowing this one as Danai is a total pro; I highly doubt she would let her friend pull this ish with her play.
She is not exactly a movie star is she? What film has she has starred in?
She won an Oscar for 12 Years a Slave and was also a CG/voice actor in The Force Awakens and also does a voice for the newest Jungle Book.
Amy Adams was also in a couple of big movies and nominated a lot of times, she still is no movie star.
most actors nowadays arent. Angelina and Brad together and maybe the old school like Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.
Completely agree! Oscar or no Oscar, I don’t think she is a movie star. She is recognizable and that is how far I would go when describing Lupita, but in terms of naming movies or projects she’s been in, I am drawing a blank. There was a huge amount of publicity surrounding her in 12 Years a Slave, but it is not like we draw parallels between a movie and her, based on her “star-power”. Having said that, it’s not like she is being offered movie parts that resonate with audience and are commercially viable with Lupita as draw power. They do this with real movie stars like Jennifer Lawrence, Matt Damon, Will Smith…. When you’re a young black actress, and to boost it all, also an Oscar winner, the way is not being paved for her, but rather she has to pave it herself. This is the reason why white male hierarchy in Hollywood has to end.
I am confused, why the extension. If it was not selling, wouldn’t they have just ended the current run.
I follow her on Instagram and she seems to get along with her co-stars, she does TONS to promote the show, posts fan art every week and thanks every famous person who comes to see it so…IDK I think she’s doing tons for the show.
She should probably mix it up then, and not only take Wednesdays off. Once people can guess that pattern, no one’s going to buy tickets for Wednesdays at all. And I’ve never heard of that kind of contract. That seems kind of unfair to the audiences. You’re the draw? You do all the shows through the end of your run unless you’re physically unwell. That’s what real theater actors do, and it’s why fans love and are committed to them. Maybe she needs to think about that. Don’t alienate your fans–they are the ones who really pay your salary.
–TheRealPinky
Pinky– it’s common for leads to take regular nights off, even the same day a week.
That’s not something I was aware of. The leads take the same night off each week? That doesn’t make good business sense.
–TheRealPinky
It’s not common in London for the lead to have any day other than Sunday off. Some of the older actors don’t do matinees but they usually do all six evening performances a week.
Having said that, she may have negotiated Wednesdays off in her contract to meet other commitments made before the play came up.
It is NOT common for leads to take a day off especially if they are famous/well-known. Michelle Williams was brilliant in Blackbird and she didn’t take a day off a week. No one on Broadway does this .
Its common if the actor is in a demanding role, yes. But shows post when named stars are off. Oftentimes the celebrity is the draw and if they are not on stage, theatre goers are allowed to get a refund. So if Wednesday is her agreed upon day off, then the producers should be letting patrons know.
I think the Wednesday fiasco is their doing, assuming it is agreed upon by those involved.
I don’t have a problem with leads taking off provided they have a talented understudy to back them up. Performance art can burn you out otherwise – taking a few days off is how you keep it fresh, IMO. Javier Munoz is the understudy for Hamilton, and from what I understand, he performs on the weekends to give Miranda a break. He was actually playing the lead when the Obamas saw it – no complaints that I’ve seen.
Exactly. For ex, Lin Manuel Miranda doesn’t perform as Hamilton on one of the nights, maybe Monday, though it is made clear on the website
It’s very common for the lead to take a day off, usually the same day each week. A good show shouldn’t be totally reliant on it’s stars, so it’s only an issue when a show is already in a bad state.
Lin-Manuel Miranda doesn’t do Sunday’s, a lot of musical leads do the same. Most do 8 shows a week anyway what with a double performance day.
You can either give people a day off to recover, or massively increase the chances of your star bowing out sick for a week or two at a time. Most shows are smart enough to go with the former these days.
Sometimes people who are reserved come across as “ice cold,” when really they’re just quiet. Lupita strikes me as that type of person.
She does seem to be unfairly targeted in this case. Probably one person who’s bitter about something and taking it out on her.
I think she’s unfairly targeted in this piece too. However, she struck me as stuck up ever since I first saw her red carpet interviews durng the 12YAS award season. Not shy, not reserved, but stuck up. And it’s not that surpising, to be honest. She’s very talented, very smart, very beautiful and grew up very priviledged – having an ego wouldn’t surprise me.
Yes, I remember discussing this when the first article about her not getting along with costars was posted, and many of us were saying that might just be how she needs to work. Not everyone is an extrovert 24/7, and if she’s in a demanding role, off screen she might be quiet to preserve her energy.
She’s not really a movie star and I can see her being quite the diva, especially since the play isn’t doing well. When a “name” consents to doing a play, people go to see that person and of course they are going to be angry if she’s not in it. And they can get their money back.
Meme, someone can only get their money back if the star’s name is *above* the title.
https://www.theproducersperspective.com/my_weblog/2014/07/sure-you-get-a-refund-if-an-above-the-title-star-is-out-but-what-about.html
And you can’t ever get your money back if you bought your ticket from the TKTS booth in Times Square.
This reads like it was planted by somebody with a personal vendetta against Lupita, tbh. There’s so much mentioned that’s not really a big deal if you know how Broadway works, but then this article probably wasn’t intended for those people. Oh well, I’m surprised it took this long for her to start getting torn down by “sources”.
And I’m totally side-eyeing the comment above me. You can see that, oh really? Mmkay.
I don’t understand why Lupita is only doing 7 shows a week. The norm is 8. That includes a “day off” (usually Monday) and two other days when there is both a matinee and an evening show.
When I went to see Porgy & Bess with Audra MacDonald I found out that Audra had it in her contract to skip one of the matinees per week, but that was because her role involved so much singing and it put too much strain on her voice. I don’t see why that would be an issue with Lupita.
Let’s be real Lupita is not Audra.
I thought that everyone on broadway already got a day off each week? Or is that just for musicals, where Monday is usually off for everyone? Not that she can’t also have Wednesday off, just curious.
Mondays are usually dark for shows, so they make up for it with an extra matinee somewhere. It is unusual for a Broadway lead to only perform 7 of 8 (on occasion there’s been a role share if it’s a rarely demanding vocal or physical part, which isn’t really the case here) and I have heard that it caused a bit of eyebrow raising when first announced. Having said that, it’s been this way for ages now and the rest of the piece just sounds like unsubstantiated gossip from someone with a bit of a vendetta.
Yeah their day off is the day their play isn’t running.
I find it curious that so much has been leaked about her around this play given a lack of previous rumors of her being difficult. Who in this play has a vendetta?
Regardless of how performance contracts normally go, if they signed an agreement to 7 shows, that’s on them not her. She can spend that time however she wants. Negotiations exist at the beginning for a reason – if they’re regretting it later in the game, that’s not her problem. Approach to renegotiate if need be, but this kind of shady infighting in the press isn’t making anyone look good.
I don’t get it…she does what she’s obligated to do. What more do they want exactly?
Stars not being in the show is fairly typical and more often than not…NOT ANNOUNCED AHEAD OF TIME. Even in Hamilton the understudy takes over and people find out when they get to the theater. So yea whoever this “source” is needs to check themselves.
The title of the article is that she’s bringing her movie star privilege to Broadway, and if she started out by negotiating that she only has to do 7 shows a week instead of 8, then I think that title is accurate.
Lupita graduated from drama school just a few years ago and she has been so lucky with the breaks she has gotten. She’s young, she’s healthy, and there is absolutely no reason why she can’t do the normal 8 shows a week like everyone else in a non-musical. Yes, obviously someone agreed to the 7 shows per week because of her starpower, but it was a bit spoiled of her to exercise that privilege in the first place.
I thought Michelle Williams was wretched in Blackbird, but now I have to give her props for bringing her awfulness to the stage 8 times a week.
Agree completely Fanny.
Hamilton announces on their website that Lin is off for Matinees. Phantom announces when the Christine is off and Les Miz announces when the Valjean is off, etc. It is for vocal rest and it is only for large singing roles. I’ve never known someone in a play to do less than 8 as there is always someone out there that would be grateful to do 9 (if that was a thing).
Drama School. Oscar. And now a play? Pay your dues Lupita – Jessica Lange didn’t slack.
Fanny, I also thought that Michelle Williams was wretched in Blackbird.
I’ve not seen Lupita in anything except for The Force Awakens, which doesn’t count, but there was a crowd waiting for her to emerge after her show on the night I walked past after leaving another theater. I do agree that she isn’t yet a movie star and hasn’t paid her dues.
Michelle only got that nomination because she’s famous. Her histrionics onstage were laughably bad.
I think Lupita was also guaranteed a nomination because she’s famous, because she’s got an Oscar so people assume she’s good, and because the topic of the play is so serious. Since she was basically guaranteed a nom just for showing up, she could have, you know, shown up.
I know the play got great reviews and it’s so serious and so important and everything, but I passed on seeing it because what a drag on a Friday night.
Would not surprise me if the theatre company was shady about advertising Lupita’spresence. That is, don’t clearly say what her schedule will be so that people buy tickets, hoping/assuming they’ll see her. If it was clear when she wouldn’t be there, tickets for that night might not sell as well. So someone complained and Lupita’s an easy target.