Lindsay Lohan was reportedly less than stellar in her stage debut, one of the most anticipated in recent memory. The Hollywood actress wasn't entirely off-book, and flubbed a couple of lines, according to audience members at the first preview performance of the much-talked-about new revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow at London's Playhouse Theatre.
Lohan also was said to have elicited giggles when she spoke her line "I know what it is to be bad, I've been bad."
Nonetheless she drew warm applause at the end, raising hope for the rest of the run. First previews are often shaky. Some audience members, believing Lohan just needs to shake off the shakes, sent messages to the Twitterverse like "Little bit nervous at the beginning but then totally embraced it!" and "hiding behind 1st preview nerves is a great performance."
Speed-the-Plow co-stars Richard Schiff and Nigel Lindsay as Hollywood producers tangling with Karen, a smart, interfering temporary secretary (Lohan), a role played on Broadway by Madonna.
Lindsay Posner, an old Mamet hand, directs. Prior to Lohan's debut, Posner told the Independent that Mamet's plays pose challenges for screen actors.
The director told the paper's Emily Jupp that "he became increasingly confident over that time that she [Lohan] would be 'perfect' for the part, not in spite of but because of her difficult history and her relationship with the Hollywood system. 'She has sexual charisma, a feistiness and a complex vulnerability combined. It's a difficult part to play and she has had experiences, both very bad and very good... Karen is someone who has been burned very badly by the Hollywood system.'"
As to whether Lindsay Lohan will in the end be burned, or celebrated, by the "West End system," we'll have to wait for opening night, the reviews, and the ongoing reactions of audiences. The official opening is October 2 and the run continues through November 29.
