'Bug' Broadway show abruptly cancels preview performance due to illness
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NEW YORK — An upcoming Broadway production featuring Carrie Coon, known for her role in “The White Lotus,” has postponed a preview performance due to a health issue within the cast, sources reveal.

The preview of Tracy Letts’ play “Bug,” initially scheduled for Wednesday, January 7, was meant to precede its official opening on Thursday, as noted on the production’s website.

During the intermission at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, matinee attendees were informed that the show would not resume, citing “unforeseen circumstances,” according to a report from Deadline.

Details surrounding the specific illness or affected individual remain undisclosed; however, Deadline also reported that the premiere scheduled for 6 p.m. is still expected to proceed as planned.

This production marks Broadway’s introduction to the Steppenwolf Theater Company’s praised 2021 rendition, which explores an “unexpected and intense romance between a lonely waitress, played by Carrie Coon, and a mysterious drifter, portrayed by Namir Smallwood,” as described by the Manhattan Theatre Club.

The club calls the show a “sexy psychological thriller.”

Prior to Broadway, the show debuted in 1996 in London and was later produced off-Broadway in 2004, according to PEOPLE. It was also turned into a movie in 2006 with Michael Shannon, Ashley Judd and Harry Connick Jr.

Letts is known for his work on “Ford v. Ferrari,” “Ladybird” and, most recently, “A House of Dynamite.” He and Coon married in 2013. 

Deadline reported that the cast is expected to remain the same. It will feature Carrie Coon as Agnes White; Namir Smallwood as Peter Evans; Randall Arney as Dr. Sweet; Jennifer Engstrom as R.C.; and Steve Key as Jerry Goss. 

Creative credits go to Tracy Letts as the playwright; David Cromer as the director; Takeshi Kata for Scenic Design; Sarah Laux for Costume Design; Heather Gilbert for Lighting Design; Josh Schmidt for Sound Design, J. Jared Janas for Hair & Makeup Design; Gigi Buffington for Dialect & Vocal Coach; Marcus Watson as the Intimacy Coordinator & Fight Director; JC Clementz for Casting; Zoë Adams as the Associate Director; Christine D. Freeburg as the Production Stage Manager; and Amanda Michaels as the Stage Manager. 

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