Rita Moreno’s cancellation on John Mulaney’s ‘Everybody’s Live’ explained

Rita Moreno was scheduled to appear on Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney on Wednesday, but she never made it to Los Angeles.

The West Side Story actress, 93, was booked to appear alongside Conan O’Brien and Ayo Edebiri on John Mulaney’s live Netflix talk show, but when it came time to introduce her, Mulaney announced that she wasn’t able to join his other guests, and instead introduced Tina Fey.

“Some of you are aware that we had Rita Moreno, the great Rita Moreno, booked on this episode, and I’m very sorry to say that she cannot be here tonight,” Mulaney said about two-thirds of the way through Wednesday’s episode. “We hope she’s doing okay. Rita, if you’re watching — I don’t know why you would be — but we hope you’re doing great, and we’re excited to see you on another episode soon.”

Fortunately, a representative for Moreno tells Entertainment Weekly that the Oscar-winning actress is doing well. “Happy to report nothing serious,” the rep says. “Rita came down with a bout of vertigo on Tuesday. And because she lives in Berkeley, CA, she couldn’t get on a plane down to LA.”

Moreno’s representative adds, “She is bummed. We heard today she’s on the mend.”

Mulaney briefly joked about the guest shake-up after introducing Fey. “Have you ever filled in for Rita Moreno before?” he asked.

“Once, in the movie West Side Story, but it goes by so quickly you can’t even tell it’s me,” the 30 Rock star quipped.”

“You were an infant,” Mulaney said. (Fey was actually born nine years after West Side Story‘s 1961 theatrical debut.)

Mulaney then thanked his fellow Saturday Night Live alum for filling in. “I am so grateful for you for being here and coming in,” he said. “I don’t see you often in Los Angeles, so thank you so much.”

Fey said she’d just arrived in L.A. “I just got off the plane a couple hours ago, and I’m here and I’m sleepy!” she explained. “And also, I keep thinking about how this is live, and sometimes I get violent nosebleeds, and I keep almost hoping I get one now. Wouldn’t that be incredible?”

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Mulaney and his trio of guests then continued discussing the episode’s primary topic, “Are dinosaurs put together correctly?” The ep featured a phone call from paleontologist Jack Horner, who served as a technical advisor on the Jurassic Park movies and partially inspired the character Alan Grant, as well as calls from Dinosaur Society founder Don Lessem and erotica author Chuck Tingle.

Everybody’s Live features as impressive a guest lineup as any contemporary talk show, with entertainers like Michael Keaton, Bill Hader, Quinta Brunson, Ben Stiller, Joan Baez, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Wanda Sykes, and Pete Davidson appearing on previous episodes. However, unlike other late-night series, the guests rarely discuss any recent or upcoming projects, instead focusing the conversation on the weekly topic of Mulaney’s choosing.

Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney streams live Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on Netflix.