'Schitt's Creek' star Noah Reid replaces Armie Hammer for his Broadway debut

Toronto-native and the only person alive who can turn the song “Simply The Best” into a romantic anthem, Noah Reid, is heading to Broadway. The former Schitt’s Creek star, who played David Rose’s husband Patrick, has been cast in The Minutes, a play that was in previews on Broadway back in March 2020 before the pandemic shut down... well, everything.

Noah is taking on the role of Mr. Peel that originally was filled by Armie Hammer before the disgraced actor withdrew amidst sexual assault allegations. The rest of the original cast is returning to their roles, which includes Ian Barford, Blair Brown, Cliff Chamberlain, K. Todd Freeman, Danny McCarthy, Jessie Mueller, Sally Murphy, Austin Pendleton and Jeff Still. Playwright Tracy Letts also appears onstage.

Just because this is Noah’s Broadway debut doesn’t mean he’s not a battled-tested theatre actor. In Toronto, he has starred in Hamlet at the Tarragon Theatre, Annie Baker’s The Aliens and Strindberg’s Creditors at the Coal Mine Theatre. He’s also a successful recording artist, having released the album “Gemini” last year during the pandemic.

As for Armie Hammer, earlier this year he checked into rehab, accompanied by his estranged wife Elizabeth Chambers. The embattled actor was accused of several instances of rape, abuse, and harassment, including a fetish for cannibalism that was exposed when his social media DMs were publicly shared. “I am 100 per cent a cannibal. I want to eat you,” Hammer allegedly wrote.

A European woman who goes by the Instagram name House of Effie, revealed via her lawyer, famed women’s advocate Gloria Allred, that her relationship with Hammer resulted in a violent attack and rape.

“On April 24, 2017, Armie Hammer raped me for over four hours in Los Angeles, during which he repeatedly slammed my head against a wall. He also committed other acts of violence against me to which I did not consent. For example, he beat my feet with a crop so they would hurt whatever step I took for the next week,” she said.

“During those four hours, I tried to get away, but he wouldn’t let me. I thought he was going to kill me. He left with no concern for my well-being. I was completely in shock and I couldn’t believe someone I loved could do that to me,” Effie added.

That revelation resulted in the LAPD opening an investigation into the allegations against Hammer, and he was dropped by WME talent agency. He also walked away from his role in Shotgun Wedding opposite Jennifer Lopez, and the aforementioned play The Minutes.

The Minutes "takes a hard look at the inner workings of a city council meeting and the hypocrisy, greed and ambition that bubble to the surface when a newcomer to the small town of Big Cherry starts to ask the wrong questions." It's billed as Parks and Recreation meets The Twilight Zone and opens at Studio 54 on Broadway in spring 2022.

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