Troubled star Lindsay Lohan has made her stage debut in West End play Speed-the-Plow, although her performance did not go entirely smoothly.
Lindsay Lohan, 28, forgot her lines once during the second act of the play but she was helped by a prompt.
The actress plays the role of secretary Karen in David Mamet’s Hollywood satire, a role that was originated by Madonna on Broadway in 1988.
But one prominent critic described the Lohan as being “out of her league”.
During the curtain call, Lindsay Lohan let off a giant party popper that showered the front of the stalls with gold confetti.
Lindsay Lohan appears alongside West Wing star Richard Schiff and stage actor Nigel Lindsay who play Hollywood hotshots – Bobby Gould and Charlie Fox – who want to pitch a movie idea to the head of the film studio.
Their plan goes awry when Karen suggests a different idea for a film based on a book she was asked to read.
Thursday’s opening night at the Playhouse Theatre in London followed a week of previews and newspaper speculation about Lindsay Lohan’s performance.
The actress developed a reputation for being unreliable after her early career as a child star descended into alcohol abuse and a series of arrests.
After Thursday’s opening night, The Stage‘s critic Mark Shenton said the West End was not there to “nurture the egos of minor Hollywood actors”.
“There are really qualified actors to play this part and she’s not qualified. She was so out of her league. We are talking about the wrong Lindsay here. It’s Nigel Lindsay we should be talking about. He is a serious actor.”
Ahead of opening night, Speed-the-Plow‘s director Lindsay Posner told Whatsonstage.com that Lindsay Lohan’s involvement in the play was not an example of “stunt casting”.
“If I’d wanted to do stunt casting I would have cast a supermodel or Paris Hilton. I’ve always believed that Lindsay Lohan is a proper actress. In the movies I’ve seen her in, despite her troubles in life, I’ve always thought she was supremely talented.
“And when she came into the rehearsed readings it was manifestly clear that she hasn’t lost that talent. Although for obvious reasons I was taking a risk, I felt I was casting a really good actress for the part.”
Speed-the-Plow runs at the Playhouse Theatre until November 29.
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