NEW YORK, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- It seems Mary Tyler Moore isn't a quick study as an actress, at least not as quick as playwright Neil Simon would have liked.
Moore walked out on the Manhattan Theater Club's Off-Broadway production of Simon's "Rose's Dilemma" before the curtain went up on a preview performance last week and has been replaced by her understudy, Patricia Hodges. Moore's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said the former TV star was devastated when she received a letter from Simon reproaching her for flubbing lines.
Sources close to the play said Moore had been receiving promptings through an ear microphone even after the show went into previews Nov. 20. The formal opening date for the comedy, Simon's 27th play, is Dec. 18. Said Buxbaum: "Mary has been working tirelessly for months, and now she feels pushed out of this production."
Ironically, Moore was cast as a celebrated writer, down on her luck, and looking to write something "big" to turn faltering career around.
