A prominent Broadway producer and Lloyd’s of London have fought in court for four years over whether Audra McDonald’s 2015 pregnancy, which was cited as the cause for closing the musical she was starring in, qualified as an “accident” or “illness” for insurance purposes. In a filing last week, the parties agreed to drop the case. The production, “Shuffle Along, or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed,” and Lloyd’s, the insurance company, filed a one-paragraph stipulation in New York State Supreme Court, declaring the case “discontinued.”Neither the show’s lead producer, Scott Rudin, nor Lloyd’s would comment. A spokeswoman for McDonald said the actress had not been informed of the development and had nothing to say. The case began in 2016, when the production filed suit against Lloyd’s, asserting that McDonald’s unexpected pregnancy, at age 45, forced an “abandonment” of the musical, which closed at a loss.

Source: New York Times October 21, 2020 19:18 UTC