The star's exit is only the latest bump on the play's long road to New York. Six Dance Lessons was first seen in a production at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles that co-starred Uta Hagen and David Hyde Pierce. At one point, Hagen and Pierce were announced for a 2002 Broadway production, but those plans were ruined when Hagen suffered a stroke.

A new staging with McClanahan and Mark Hamill played at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Florida earlier this year; that production had originally been scheduled for a Broadway run beginning in September 2003. According to the producers, a new opening date and star will be announced shortly. Hamill is slated to continue with the show.