Shia LaBeouf Quits Broadway Play Over 'Creative Differences' [VIDEO]
Shia Labeouf pulled out of his latest Broadway gig due to "creative differences," according to a news release out Wednesday.
The Transformers actor decided to part ways with the upcoming Broadway revival of Orphans just one month before the play is scheduled to preview performances, according to Los Angeles Times. The play is expected to open at the Schoenfeld Theater on April 7, with previews commencing on March 19. The production stars Alec Baldwin and Tom Sturridge, and is directed by Daniel Sullivan.
"Due to creative differences, the producers of 'Orphans' and Shia LaBeouf will be parting ways and he will not be continuing with the production," press representatives for the play said in a brief statement.
But according to New York Times, producers wanted to cut him loose after Sullivan "became worried" about the actor's "performance choices."
The producers' decision to replace LaBeouf was made on Tuesday night, more than a week after rehearsals began on Feb. 11. According to two theater executives familiar with the decision, Sullivan spoke with LaBeouf and the producers about his concerns. When the situation did not improve, the producers decided it was still early enough to replace him. The executives spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal private discussions.
On Wednesday, LaBeouf tweeted an audition video for Orphans and screenshot email exchanges between Baldwin, Sullivan and himself. In one email, he apologizes to Baldwin for "his part of a disagreeable situation."
Sullivan's response: "I'm too old for disagreeable situations. you're one hell of a great actor. Alec is who he is. you are who you are. you two are incompatible. i should have known it. this one will haunt me. you tried to warn me. you said you were a different breed. i didn't get it."
Another screenshot showed an email from Baldwin to LaBeouf where the 30 Rock star said, "I've been through this before. It's been a while. And perhaps some of the particulars are different. But it comes down to the fact that what we all do now is critical. Perhaps especially for you. When the change comes, how do we handle it, whether it be good or bad? What do we learn? I don't have an unkind word to say about you. You have my word."
Orphans, by Lyle Kessler, debuted in 1983 at the Matrix Theatre in Los Angeles.
LaBeouf's next movies include Robert Redford's The Company You Keep and Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac.
