Broadway Blooper #2: the sword fight at "I Hate Hamlet"

the sword fight at "I Hate Hamlet"--In May 1991, Paul Rudnick's play "I Hate Hamlet" was mounted on Broadway at the Walter Kerr. Nicole Williamson, a storied British Shakespearean actor and more storied drunk, hit his fellow actor Evan Handler in the back with a sword in an unscripted, violent move. Evan Handler left the stage, gave notice and walked out of the theater. He claimed that he was quitting, due to management allowing Williamson's abuse of the other actors. All this was documented in Alex Witchel's column in the New York Times, May 4, 1991.