Maria Friedman
New York : A statement regarding the report earlier today that Maria Friedman was in the hospital has been released.
The statement reads, "as part of her ongoing treatment for stage 1 breast cancer, underwent exploratory surgery on Monday, December 12th. It was an outpatient procedure and she was never admitted to the hospital. Because her course of treatment is still being determined, the date of Maria's return to the production is not set; but it is hoped she will re-join the show as early as this weekend."
The New York Daily News reported earlier that Maria Friedman was back in the hospital, and that she "underwent an undisclosed procedure related to the cancer yesterday and is expected to miss several performances."
She rejoined the cast of The Woman in White on November 10th, just a week after her original surgery for breast cancer. When Friedman announced her leave, producer Bob Boyett said in a statement, "Maria is our star, our friend and the beloved anchor of this company. We wish her and her family well over the next several weeks and we look forward to welcoming her back for her first Broadway opening night."
The Woman in White is currently playing the Marquis Theater. Friedman's understudy, Lisa Brescia, will once agin fill in during her absence.
The rest of the cast includes Michael Ball as Count Fosco, Ron Bohmer as Sir Percival Glyde, Walter Charles as Mr. Farlie, Angela Christian as Anne Catherick, Jill Paice as Laura Fairlie and Adam Brazier as Walter Hartright. The musical features music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by David Zippel and book by Charlotte Jones. The creative team includes direction by Trevor Nunn, set and costume design by William Dudley, and lighting by Paul Pyant. In the show, a dashing young man, employed as the art tutor to two devoted sisters, who is stranded at a remote railway cutting. Out of the darkness looms a woman, a mysterious figure dressed in white, desperate to share a chilling secret. He and the sisters soon find themselves trapped in a web of betrayal and greed, the victims of a seemingly flawless crime. Together they will need all their resourcefulness and courage to outwit a hugely charismatic and ingenious villain, 'Count Fosco'. As the plot twists and turns, low villainy vies with high romance in a world where nothing is as it first appears and where it is impossible to know who to trust. For The Woman in White tickets visit www.ticketsnow.com .
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