Tyne Daly, 77, has suddenly dropped out of an upcoming Broadway play after being hospitalized for an illness.
The Emmy- and Tony-winning actress, known for her starring roles on Cagney & Lacey and Judging Amy, was set to star in a new Broadway revival of John Patrick Shanley’s play Doubt. The production is also headlined by Ray Donovan star Liev Schreiber.
But on Friday, the day the show was supposed to begin previews, she was unexpectedly hospitalized, forcing her to withdraw from the play to receive medical care.
Roundabout Theatre Company, the nonprofit company producing the show, noted in a press release that Daly was “thankfully expected to make a full recovery.”
Isabel Keating, a Tony nominee for playing Judy Garland in The Boy from Oz, is now filling in as Daly’s understudy. Beginning on February 13, the role will be assumed by Oscar and Tony nominee Amy Ryan.
Ryan received a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for Gone Baby Gone, and is known for her TV roles including Michael Scott’s love interest Holly on The Office, Beadie Russell on The Wire and Jan on Only Murders in the Building.
She also received Tony nominations for her Broadway roles in A Streetcar Named Desire and Uncle Vanya.
“With respect and admiration for Tyne, we wish her the best and a quick recovery. We are grateful that Amy Ryan said yes – in a quick minute – to join our company and take on the role of ‘Sister Aloysius,’” said director Scott Ellis.
“We deeply appreciate Isabel Keating, who remarkably stepped in with a day of rehearsal and allowed us to get the production up on its feet during this first week of performances.”
The Doubt revival is now set to open on March 7, just a week delayed from its original scheduled opening night. But it’s still a dramatic, last-minute upheaval for the production. Daly, a longtime familiar veteran of stage and screen, had long been promoted as one of the show’s headlining stars.
While theater actors miss shows for health reasons pretty frequently (especially during the covid era) it’s rare for a show to lose its leading lady so close to opening.
Many have wished Tyne Daly good health and a full recovery.
Doubt won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 2005. Set in a Catholic school in 1964, the plot revolves around a nun who accuses a parish priest of inappropriate relations with a young student. It was made into a 2008 film, starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
It’s sad to hear that the great Tyne Daly had to drop out of Doubt so suddenly — we are wishing her the best and a full recovery ❤️
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