Not everyone is ready for a Scott Rudin comeback on Broadway, it seems.
There was unexpected drama at the Drama Desk Awards on Sunday night when the controversial producer’s name was mentioned from the stage by Nathan Lane — and there were boos from the crowd, multiple sources told P6H.
When Lane won for his lead role in the revival of “Death of a Salesman,” the star said in his speech, “This show would not have happened without Scott Rudin.”
“People booed,” a source told us of the 1,500-seat capacity Town Hall event, where the awards took place.
We hear quick-witted Lane played off the reaction by quipping, “Ah, his family’s here.”
Another insider told us: “The room grew tense,” after Lane praised Rudin during his speech, with audience members allegedly “heckling from the crowd.”
The source added: “Nathan clearly wanted to acknowledge the man who made the production happen, but the crowd reaction showed Broadway hasn’t moved on as quickly as some hoped.”
Rudin has been largely lying low since a 2021 Hollywood Reporter exposé by Tatiana Siegel, and a follow up in The New York Times that detailed multiple allegations of bullying, verbal abuse and other outrageous behavior towards staffers.
Rudin later said in a Times piece last year about the reports: “A lot of what was said was true. Some of what was said wasn’t true. But I didn’t feel there was any point in responding to all of it because what’s the point of parsing bad behavior? It was bad behavior. I own it.” He also told the Times, “I have a lot more self-control than I had four years ago. I learned I don’t matter that much, and I think that’s very healthy. I don’t want to let anybody down.”
On making a comeback, however, he said, “I’m going to try to come back and make some more good work, and people will feel how they feel. And if some people are really angry about it, they’ll have the right to be angry about it.”
It seems some people are still angry. Rudin did not attend the Drama Desk show, and sources tell us he won’t attend the Tonys, June 7, though “Death of a Salesman” is seen as a slam dunk to win.
Back in 2021, Rudin — a rare non-celeb member of the vaunted EGOT club with names like Steven Spielberg and Andrew Lloyd Webber — resigned from the Broadway League and stepped away from producing for years. (His past credits included high-profile plays and musicals including, “The Book of Mormon,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “The Music Man,” “The Ferryman” and “Hello, Dolly!” as well as films such as, “No Country For Old Men,” “Lady Bird,” “Uncut Gems,” “The Social Network” and more.)
He came back this season with a bang, earning two Tony nominations, prompting Variety to write this month in its predictions about the awards: “The single most uncomfortable question [for voters] has nothing to do with any performer,” citing Rudin’s return.
A source told us that after Lane mentioned Rudin from the stage to jeers at the Drama Desk Awards, “Backstage chatter only intensified as attendees debated whether Broadway is ready to fully welcome Rudin back.”
But another industry insider downplayed the controversy and called Rudin’s return, “inevitable.”
“He was booed slightly,” insisted the unfazed theater vet. “There were some jeers from the crowd in the balcony. It was all coming from the upper regions.” The source added of “Death of a Salesman,” “He made the show of the season, and I think his work will transcend other considerations.”
Another source suggested that the booing was instigated by a rival in the company of a competitive show.
Either way, a venerable Broadway diva put it this way: “Maybe it’ll insert a little drama [into the Tonys race]. Everything else is so f–king boring.”
The Rudin-produced revival of “Death of a Salesman” won four Drama Desk Awards, tying for the most recognized play of the night. It’s also up for nine Tonys, including best revival of a play, plus nominations for its leads (Lane, Laurie Metcalf and Christopher Abbott) and director, Joe Mantello.
Rudin is up for two Tonys: For the Arthur Miller revival and “Little Bear Ridge Road,” also starring Metcalf, who has defended Rudin publicly.
She said in a New Yorker profile last month surrounding their latest collaborations on Broadway, “He talked about his therapy, he apologized, he owned what he said, he reflected on it… He was in the process of rehabilitation. So I just think that, unless we think there is no possibility of real rehabilitation, then we shouldn’t ask people to try and do it.”
A source told us: “The question circulating from Midtown green rooms to uptown dinner parties is whether the Tonys become Scott Rudin’s redemption tour, or Broadway’s reminder that the industry still has a very long memory?”
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