Struck By Lyme Disease, Parker Posey Withdraws From Off-B'way Production

NEW YORK — Parker Posey has withdrawn from a lead role in the upcoming Playwrights Horizons' production of "This" after developing Lyme disease.

Artistic director Tim Sanford says the play by Melissa James Gibson will open Dec. 13 as scheduled at the off-Broadway theater. Previews begin Nov. 6. A replacement for Posey will be announced shortly.

"This" concerns the tribulations of a poet who happens to be a single mother, struggling with her love life and the well-meaning attention of good friends.

The 40-year-old Posey is an indie film favorite. She has appeared in such movies as "Waiting for Guffman" and "Best in Show."

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On the Net:

http://www.playwrightshorizons.org/index2.asp

Comments

[Les Plum]

I sincerely hope she finds competent medical treatment quickly and is rapidly on the road to a complete recovery.
When my novel about Lyme Disease, The Poison Plum, is finally made into a major motion picture, perhaps she could play the part of Susan Collins, the novel's heroine and protagonist.

[skunky93]

I really like Parker. She's refreshing and different. I hope she get's help and feels better!

[brahdog]

sending you vibrations of healing, girl

[iamjoneskeepupwithme]

i. love. parker.

be well, ms. posey!

[klandish]

She is the one of the true originals with an intellect and sensibility so advanced and at times so disconcerting I have to wince and laugh with delight at her uninhibited creativity. She's a spontaneous genius that works as close to her subconscious as any performer currently engaged with the popular mediums. Love you Parker, get well.

[JGatsby]

I completely agree. She is a truly great talent. On the one hand you have movie stars like Jennifer Aniston or Julia Roberts who couldn't act their way out of a paper bag and then you have a real actress like Parker. She is best known for her comedy in things like Best in Show but she has also done some amazing serious work in films by Hal Hartley for example.

[redsongia]

She's awesome. I hope she feels better.

Letterman had Lyme's disease a few months ago, incidentally. I'm glad this disease is being better and more quickly diagnosed these days.

[Blenvid]

I love Parker Posey. So many good performances, and what a talent.

Best in Show - "that’s not a bee. It’s just a bear in a bee costume." LOL

Waiting for Guffman - "What New York really is, is it's an island, with lots of people, lots of different people... I hope to maybe meet some guys, some Italian guys, and maybe watch some TV. " LOL

Day Trippers - "Don't walk toward the light Mom." LOL

Get well soon Ms. Posey, and give me a buzz if your single. LOL

[bluewolf]

she was madly entertaining in Scream 3. good vibes=== parker

[johnliva]

If there's an online forum about Lyme disease, there's dozens of crazies ready to share their hypochondria with the world. The fact is, late disseminated Lyme disease is curable, which I can attest to personally. It's not easy, as a first oral antibiotic course may not be successful, but cure rates are pretty high. Ms. Posey will be fine, folks.

[NWMonkeyGirl]

The fact is there are no 'facts' about chronic lyme disease, so please stop spreading misinformation.

That's great that you feel better, but there are many many chronic sufferers who need serious help, especially if they were misdiagnosed for years.

The cure rates is not high, so unless you actually know that facts please stop misleading everyone.

[johnliva]

"The cure rates is not high"...That's the real lie, my friend. Of course, if we started defining chronic Lyme disease as an indistinct, vague set of symptoms marked by depression and fatigue, than perhaps I'm wrong. However, there are a host of maladies in the modern world that cause these problems.

[lukebenward]

What a stupid name. I mean, seriously!

[yellowdoggie]

Yours? Hers? The play's? The disease's? Please specify. I'm intrigued.

[skunky93]

it's stupider to comment on it

[NWMonkeyGirl]

Ms. Posey,

I hope you've got a good LLMD. I have been in treatment for over a year for lyme and two co-infections. It's a rough road.

Best wishes for a complete recovery.

[Hagar7]

Lyme disease is insane; I have a friend who caught it in college, didn't get it diagnosed until years after the fact, and twenty years later suffers from a compromised immune system, colitis, and a host of other debilitating ailments. Best wishes for a safe and speedy recovery to PP.

[johnliva]

Ummm, are you sure it's the Lyme disease that is related to your friend's ailments? That's a very bold assumption you are making...

[leawood]

It doesn't appear to be "a bold assumption", the writer said the friend had it diagnosed.

[HarrietteTheSpy]

I've got news for you, there is so much people don't understand about this "disease" and even "lime literate" doctors are in the dark as well. Feel free to do research on your own - it is out there, you may have to dig and consult alternative if even progressive sites/doctors... I have to get back to work but like many "diseases" there is SO much beyond what traditional medicine knows at this point.... and I would not be sadly surprised if many ailments are incorrectly diagnosed that trace back to Lyme....... peace - hts

[skunky93]

man u must hate going to the doctor! I can't imagine how u react to the doctor's when they diagnose you!

[kstuff]

16 doctors could not give me a diagnosis. My life was falling apart due to crippling fatigue, memory loss, confusion, forgetting how to do basic things, like turn on my car. I was slowly dying and no one could tell me why. Finally researched my symptoms on the internet and went to Columbia University's lyme clinic for confirmation of my self diagnosis. I

t's been pure hell. Insurance companies do not want to pay for expensive IV treatment. CIGNA cut me off and I deteriorated rapidly. Lost my home and nearly lost my marriage to this disease. Now paying for my own IV treatment with help from friends and family. CIGNA would have rather seen me die, it would have been cheaper for them.

Moral of the story....if you get an unusual bug bite, don't ignore it. If you're afraid that your doctor will laugh at you for a bug bite visit, find a new doctor. Your life my depend on it.

[HarrietteTheSpy]

Sorry you are suffering. Please look ALSO into some alternative cutting edge therapies, I know of someone completely cured by these models - but of course mainstream medicine does not readily accept ther. Please see for yourself and blessing to you FOR A FULL AND SPEEDY HEALING and your family--hts

[AlexNYC]

Sorry to hear all you have gone through. Not being properly diagnosed with lyme disease can be dibilitating. I know someone who went through years of misdiagnosis as well. Hope you are finally gettign better now. Health Insurance companies suck.

[MikeDu]

Lyme disease is bad. Lyme disease with crappy health coverage is worse. Considering the infection rate if you so much as walk your dog in the back yard you could have it and not know it (yet).

[NWMonkeyGirl]

Every time I see people frolicking in the tall grass near our home, I get the chills. Lyme disease is very bad and difficult to treat.

It took ten+ years to get my diagnosis and I'm sure you can guess just how cooperative my insurance company is...

[Tamoomoo]

I had Lyme from '92-'96, and have since been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, with Lyme not showing up on any kind of test at this time. I can tell everyone here that you don't always notice a bulls-eye rash. Lyme is a gradual sickness that slowly causes you to lose normal functioning. For some, it causes arthritis. For others, neurological problems. For me, I had a 2nd degree heart block which almost required a pacemaker installed in me - at 17 years old!!! And I would sleep 20 out of 24 hours a day. My health was absolutely RUINED by this disease, and there is no complete cure for advanced stages of it. People don't take it as seriously as it should be.

My thoughts and prayers go to Ms. Posey. She's one of my favorite actresses and I am so sad to hear she is suffering from this too.

[Bigredhunk]

How awful. I read that somewhere once, that most people who get Lyme disease never knew they'd been bitten. How did they finally figure out your problems were Lyme disease-related? A blood test? What a scary disease this is! My aunt got it twice. She lets her cats outside, and they bring the deer ticks into the house.

I hope your fibromyalgia doesn't cause you too much pain.

[klandish]

Prays and love. Wishing you the well.