Butz, Lage, Macy to Replace Piven in Speed-the-Plow

Norbert Leo Butz and William H. Macy will play the role of “Bobby Gould” in the Broadway revival of David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, following the abrupt departure of leading actor Jeremy Piven.

According to a press statement by the play’s producers, Piven’s medical representatives have told them that the actor “is seriously ill and is unable to fulfill his contractual obligation to Speed-the-Plow. Consequently, he has left the production ten weeks early.”

Butz will assume the role December 23-January 11, while Macy will play Gould January 13-February 22. The role is currently being portrayed by understudy Jordan Lage, through December 21.

The production, directed by Neil Pepe, stars Raul Esparza as Charlie Fox and Elisabeth Moss as Karen. It is scheduled to conclude its limited run on February 22.

Piven last appeared on the New York stage in Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig, and is best known for his Emmy Award-winning work on HBO’s Entourage. Butz won a Tony for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and most recently appeared on Broadway in Is He Dead?. Lage received a Drama Desk Award as part of the ensemble for the Broadway revival of Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross. Macy is a co-founder of the Atlantic Theater Company, where his credits as actor and director include American Buffalo, The Joy of Going Somewhere Definite, Three Sisters, and Boy’s Life. He received an Oscar nomination for Fargo and won two Emmy Awards for starring in and co-writing the telefilm Door to Door.