Film star Randy Quaid was so convincing as Falstaff, that the amateur Seattle players he deigned to work with couldn't tell he was in character, according to an insider close to the production of Lone Star Love, the $6.5 million Old West-themed adaptation of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor originally intended to go to Broadway after its Northwest run last fall.

But 26 of Quaid's fellow players accused him of things like smacking another actor in the back of the head on stage, "sexually inappropriate" comments including references to an actress'"gynecological instruments," and improvising lines—the very type of shenanigans one might expect of the character Falstaff. The actor was banned by Actors Equity Association, the theater actors' union, from basically any role in any play in a major theater. The plug was subsequently pulled on the production, and Quaid now faces a $81,572 fine. But he's not taking it lying down, according to folks in the know.

Quaid, whose stage acting has previously been lauded as "rich" and whose role as a drunken crop-duster-turned-fighter pilot in Independence Day was also technically acting, said in a statement: "I am guilty of only one thing: giving a performance that elicited a response so deeply felt by the actors and producers with little experience of my creative process that they actually think I am Falstaff." Though the show was panned by some, Variety, for one, loved it, writing, "The actor has a kind off outsized presence and louche appeal that's undeniably fun to watch.... The rest of the cast seem to exist in another more traditional musical theater world; they're breathing the air of one planet, and Quaid's eating the air on another...."

In October 2007, a petition in support of Quaid went around and was signed by the cast refuting the claims of the 26. Randy's firebrand wife Evi confronted Actor's Equity at its Los Angeles office, which resulted in a restraining order. She insists she was roughed up during the confrontation.

Though it may never see the lights of Broadway, it seems the drama surrounding this one is far from over. Or as a source close to the production tells Radar, "These people are pussies. They're accusing him of being salacious on stage. Well, guess what? Falstaff is salacious!"

Actors Equity declined comment, and Quaid's representatives did not return calls for comment.

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