THE producers of “Lone Star Love” have pulled the plug on the $6.5 million show after clashing repeatedly with their star, Randy Quaid, and his wife and manager, Evi.
“Lone Star Love,” a retelling of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” set in the Wild West, was to have opened Dec. 3 at the Belasco Theatre. It will play its final performance Sept. 30 in Seattle, where it’s run nearly a month.
As The Post reported last week, the producers have been battling the Quaids over a myriad of issues – from Randy’s interpretation of his character to his costumes, hair color (magenta) and the size of the codpiece he wears (the producers want something that won’t block the other actors).
Lately, sources say, Quaid’s been changing his blocking and interpretations, playing a scene explosively sometimes, and underplaying it others.
“You never know what’s going on,” an insider says.
The Quaids can pretty much do what they want. A source says the producers, who include Ed Burke, Bob Boyett and Roger Berlind, were so desperate for a star that they “foolishly made a deal that gave these people so much power – power that no actor should ever have over a show.”
Once previews began in Seattle, the Quaids tried to transform “Lone Star Love” from a “sweet, delightful romp” into “a raunchy, dark, indie-type movie with lots of twisted sexual ideas,” a source says.
When the producers objected, sources say, the Quaids threatened legal action.
“Quite frankly, we did want to take it in a more surreal direction,” Evi Quaid told The Post yesterday. “This is Shakespeare. It’s not supposed to be whitewashed. It’s not supposed to be ‘The Little Mermaid,’ which is where Broadway seems to be going.”
Although the show received mixed reviews in Seattle, the critics generally praised Quaid’s performance.
“I don’t understand why they would object to what we’ve done when audiences and critics are clearly responding to it,” Evi says.
“Everybody’s afraid of Evi,” says a source, adding that the stage manager, after several angry calls, changed her name on his cellphone to “Do Not Answer.”
“What are they afraid of?” Evi responds. “Having a competent person on this show is very disturbing to them, I guess.”