Valerie Harper assured fans that she was fine after being rushed to hospital on July 29, but she will bow out of the Ogunquit Playhouse's production of "Nice Work If You Can Get It" in Maine. Veteran actress Brenda Vaccaro will take over her role of Millicent Winter through the play's run, ending on Aug. 15.
"Valerie is feeling great right now and we want her to continue to rest and to enjoy her family. After discussing with them, we decided that we wanted to relieve her of any pressure of having to return to the show, which only runs for two more weeks," Executive Artistic Director Bradford Kenney said in a statement. "With Valerie's blessing, the Ogunquit Playhouse is thrilled to announce that Brenda Vaccaro, star of film, television and stage, has arrived in Ogunquit to take over the role of Millicent Winter."
Vaccaro will make her debut on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Harper cleared up conflicting reports on Friday that said she had fallen into a coma after she was found unconscious backstage. The "Mary Tyler Moore" star has been battling terminal brain cancer since 2013 but blamed "strong medication" as the reason for her recent hospital emergency.
"As always, thank you for your amazing support. I am happy to report I am not, nor have I been, in a coma. As anyone who has taken strong medication knows, it doesn't always agree with you, even with me as this experience proves. I am confronting these hurdles with my usual enthusiasm and love of life," she wrote on her Facebook on July 31.
Despite the health scare, the 75-year-old actress was able to look on the bright side.
"But I must confess that the highlight of this ordeal came when I was escorted by two handsome young men and a pilot, in a medevac helicopter, as the full moon lit the sky. Talk about movie magic," Harper wrote.
Harper collapsed backstage on July 29 and was rushed to the hospital but just "as a precaution," Kenney confirmed on the theater's Facebook page.
