Michael Riedel Can’t Get Enough of Pal Joey
I just can’t resist posting another gossipy article from Michael Riedel’s NY Post column Broadway Matinee (Thursday, December 17). I just have to wonder, how in the world is he privy to someone else’s e-mail unless he has a) hacked into their computer; b) made it all up; or c) been leaked the information by someone desperate for publicity.
UNFRIENDLY WORDS OVER ‘PAL’
POST LEAK LEADS TO E-MAIL BATTLE
ON the eve of the opening of the troubled revival of “Pal Joey,” a war of words has broken out between the head of the Roundabout Theatre Company and the head of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, which controls the rights to the show.
In a series of blistering e-mails, Todd Haimes, who’s shepherded the Roundabout for nearly 20 years, accused Ted Chapin, who oversees the Richard Rodgers estate, of badmouthing the production to - who else? - The Post!
“Do you want to blow up the theater?” Haimes asked Chapin, rather theatrically, in one e-mail.
What triggered the exchange was my column last week about the recent dismissal of the show’s star, Christian Hoff.
Hoff suffered a minor foot injury last month. He intended to return to the show but was told: Sorry, Charlie, we’ve replaced you with your understudy, Matthew Risch.
“Pal Joey” sources said the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization had been unhappy with Hoff - a charge that Chapin, in last week’s column, denied.
For the record, Chapin didn’t badmouth the production when I spoke to him. I found plenty of other people to do that.
But Haimes, sources say, was furious that Chapin spoke about the dismissal, especially to a “theater gossip columnist.”
(I rise above the insult. Besides, if the shoe fits . . . )
Yesterday, Chapin laughed off the clash, adding that R&H is very happy with the production.
“I sent the creative team notes congratulating them on the fine work they’ve done,” he said.
Haimes, who’s legendary on Broadway for popping off in e-mails, seems to have calmed down. He sent Chapin a note saying that despite their differences, he, too, was happy with the show.
