12 Years a Slave star and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o is really a diva who is completely overshadowing her co-stars of the Broadway-bound play Eclipsed with her backstage antics.
Theater
actresses Pascale Armand, Akosua Busia, Zainab Jah, and Saycon Sengbloh
were all initially excited to work with Hollywood's breakout star, but
now the four women can barely stand to share the stage with her, theatre
sources reveal.
Theatre
maverick Stephen C. Byrd, who is executive producer of the play's
Broadway run, was adamant that Nyong'o be cast in the show after
learning she was turned down for the role while an undergrad at Yale
School of Drama.
'Stephen
paid her top-dollar to be in this production. He's head over heels to
have her in the show and has made it clear to everyone, whatever Lupita
wants, she gets.
'He's
assured her that this is her show and he'll move mountains to please
her,' a source told Daily Mail Online, before adding: 'And she's milking
that!'
A
story of four women during the Civil War of Liberia circa 2003 confined
to slave-like quarters in a rural compound by a warlord rebel leader;
Nyong'o's co-stars thought the ladies should build chemistry by having
lunch off-site together during rehearsals for the show this past summer.
'She declined
all invitations to go out to lunch with her cast members and keeps to
herself in the shared dressing room quarters while the ladies went out.
'She
even tried to get her own separate dressing room at The Public Theater,
but the venue didn't have the space for it,' the source explained.
'If
Stephen could have done it, he would've. I'm surprised he didn't get a
trailer for her like she was on a film set outside the venue.'
Eclipsed
had its opening night performance on October 15th, which attracted
celebrities such as Stevie Wonder, Oscar winner Common, singer Deborah
Cox, Orange is the New Black star Danielle Brooks and Tony Award winner
Adriane Lenox
An intimate party at The Public followed the opening.
Because
the soiree was held in the intimate venue, the cast was told they were
not allowed to bring family and friends due to limited space.
'That didn't stop Lupita! She had a full entourage trailing her every move.
Her
co-stars were offended because they couldn't share the moment with
their loved ones and Lupita had enough people to start an NBA team,' the
source said.
Though
the 12 Years a Slave star comes across as Hollywood's darling and
America's sweetheart in public, her Eclipsed co-stars feel she's an 'ice
princess' and a 'manipulative b****' behind the scenes.
'She
doesn't speak to anyone when she's not on stage and in character. She
has security backstage because she claims she has a stalker.
'She
only wants to do press interviews alone, despite the show being an
ensemble piece. She's done everything she can to alienate herself from
her co-stars,' said the source.
Regardless,
Eclipsed is playing to a sold-out run at The Public and it has already
been announced that the show will move to Broadway in February 2016.
Only
Nyong'o has been confirmed for the Broadway transfer and Byrd has told
her she can decide which of her co-stars she would like to take along,
souces claim.
'Now the fate of these actresses is in the hands of a woman who barely speaks to them.
'They
are all walking on eggshells and are all appalled that just a few years
ago, the director wouldn't even cast her in the show and now she's
determining who's joining her in her Broadway debut,' added the source.
Eclipsed
star Sengbloh is fed up with the backstage tension and has decided to
exit the production before the show's run at The Public is scheduled to
end and has not given a reason.
Read more: dailymail
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