Actress Thora Birch loses her off-Broadway part

[December 15, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- A stake has been driven into Thora Birch's New York stage debut.

The 28-year-old actress best known for the films "American Beauty" and "Ghost World" has been dropped from an off-Broadway revival of "Dracula" at the Little Shubert Theater a few weeks before it is to open.

Birch had been slated to play the love interest of Count Dracula. Now her role will be filled by Emily Bridges, who is the daughter of Beau Bridges and who had been playing a smaller part.

Producers of the show didn't specify why Birch was released, but The New York Times reports that Jack Birch, her father and manager, objected to back rubs another cast member was giving his daughter.

The dropping of Birch has not changed the show's official opening, which is set for Jan. 5.

[Associated Press]

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