Jan Maxwell Abruptly Exits Entertaining Mr. Sloane

Jan Maxwell has left the cast of the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Off-Broadway production of Joe Orton’s Entertaining Mr. Sloane and has been replaced in the role of Kath by Barbara Sims.

According to a statement released by the Roundabout, Maxwell gave three weeks’ notice to the production last week. She was asked to reconsider her decision to quit and to stay on for the remaining two weeks of the subscription run, but she declined. The Roundabout then decided that she could leave the production immediately and bought out the remainder of her contract. The show, directed by Scott Ellis, will end its limited run on May 21.

In an article that appears in today’s New York Post, Michael Riedel reports that Maxwell’s decision to leave the show was caused by ongoing difficulties with co-star Alec Baldwin. According to the article, Maxwell was concerned about her physical safety and mental health in view of Baldwin’s volatile behavior, which included putting his first through a wall because he was unhappy about insufficient air conditioning in the theater and changing the blocking of a scene so that Maxwell couldn’t close a door upon her exit.

Baldwin, who spoke to Riedel, admitted that those incidents did occur but said that he also asked Maxwell to stay on. He added that she “she has been unhappy” from the beginning of the production for reasons “only her doctor knows.” According to the Roundabout’s statement, “Mr. Baldwin has been totally professional in all dealings with the company and management throught the engagement of Entertaining Mr. Sloane, and we are delighted to have him in the show.”

On Monday, Maxwell was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance as Kath.