Judy McLane Exits North Carolina Theatre Production of Wit
(© David Gordon)
Judy McLane, best known for her 11-year run on Broadway in Mamma Mia!, has withdrawn from the North Carolina Theatre production of Wit, set to open tomorrow, April 29, at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. According to press materials, she exits the production due to personal reasons. She will be replaced Kate Goehring, who takes over the lead role of Vivian Bearing, Ph.D.
Goehring's previous North Carolina stage credits include Wit at Triad Stage, Radiunt Abundunt, Underneath the Lintel, The Glass Menagerie, The Blonde, The Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead, and The Little Foxes. She has also been seen in the National Tour of Angels in America and appeared in a number of off-Broadway and regional performances including Heartbreak House (Intiman), Orpheus Descending, Dancing at Lughnasa (Arena), How I Learned to Drive, Lost in Yonkers (AZ Theater Company), Collected Stories (A Contemporary Theater), Machinal, St. Joan, and The Syringa Tree (KC Repertory).
Directed by Kate Galvin, the cast of Wit also features Tony winner Daisy Eagan (The Secret Garden) as Susie Monahan, R.N., B.S.N.; Jo Ann Cunningham (The King and I) as E.M. Ashford, D.Phil; Dirk Lumbard (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) as Harvey Kelekian, M.D. and Mr. Bearing; and Logan James Hall as Jason Posner, M.D., along with Jess Barbour, Matthew Hager, Christopher J. Helton, and Maggie Lea.
The one-act play, which earned the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1999, follows Vivan Bearing, a brilliant professor who becomes a student of life as she undergoes experimental treatment for cancer. The 2012 Broadway production starred Cynthia Nixon, who earned a Tony nomination for her performance.
The North Carolina Theatre production will run from April 29-May 8.
