Substance-abuse play canceled

A benefit performance of a play about substance abuse, scheduled for Monday night at Culver City’s Kirk Douglas Theatre, was abruptly canceled when the playwright discovered the presentation was being underwritten by Smirnoff Vodka, the New York Post reported Tuesday.

According to the Post story, the performance of “Addictions,” by Tricia Walsh-Smith -- wife of Shubert Organization President Phil Smith -- was to benefit the Actors’ Fund of America’s Chemical Dependency Program. But Walsh-Smith, who wrote the play in memory of her brother, a longtime alcoholic who hanged himself, demanded that the event be canceled when she learned of the connection to the vodka company.

In an interview Tuesday, Actors’ Fund spokesperson Lynne Hoppe said the organization would not comment on the Post’s story but offered in a prepared statement: “We regret the misunderstanding with Tricia. We appreciate all of her efforts on our planned production of ‘Addiction’ and look forward to working with her again in the future.”

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Diane Haithman