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Joan Jett Bolts From 'Rocky Horror' Cast
05/27/2001 10:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Bruce Simon
(5/27/01, 10 a.m. ET) -- Joan Jett has ended her run as Columbia in the Broadway production of The Rocky Horror Show ahead of schedule. While her contract ran out May 1, Jett and the show's producers had agreed that she would stay on in the role until June 12. However, when news leaked that Jett was being replaced by Saturday Night Live castmember Ana Gasteyer, the rocker "became enraged" and "went ballistic" on the show's stage manager, according to the New York Post. The paper adds that friends have collected Jett's personal items and guitars from the dressing rooms, and that she hasn't been seen or heard from at the theater since.
Her manager, Kenny Laguna, explained that Jett's reported anger might stem from the fact that she "was going to leave in April, but they begged her to stay. She did them a solid by staying on, and then they turned around and told the press she was leaving. Joan has a very long fuse, but they lit it." He added that Jett's departure from Rocky Horror "was not handled in a classy manner."
Jett reportedly also skipped a cast rehearsal for the upcoming Tony Awards, with Rocky Horror producer Jordan Roth saying, "We assume that means she is not planning to appear on the Tonys. At this point, it would not be fair to the rest of the company or to Kristin Lee Kelly, who will be playing her part, if she suddenly decides she wants to be on the telecast." Laguna said he didn't know whether Jett would do the Tony Awards telecast, or whether she would return to the show.
The Tony Awards, which honor the year's best in live theater, will be handed out at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 3. TV coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET/PT on PBS, then switches over to CBS at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
-- Bruce Simon, New York
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