Faye Dunaway was an absolute disaster onstage before getting canned from a play producers hoped to take to Broadway -- and now we know why she won't be part of the production, "Tea at Five," if it gets there.
TMZ has obtained show reports from "Tea at Five" and they spell out exactly how the Oscar-winning actress bombed in her starring role. Let's just say the opening performances in Boston -- gotta work your way up to Broadway -- went about as bad as possible.
According to the reports, Faye brazenly asked for lines in front of a live audience, stopped the show to complain about lighting, and railed on backstage staff from the moment she walked into the theater.
It's pretty incredible ... the show reports say Faye used an ear piece to get lines fed to her, but still managed to screw 'em up!
And, get this ... the reports also say Faye exclaimed, "Where am I? Line?" As for why she was flubbing so badly -- she asked someone sitting in the front row to take a hat off their knee because it was distracting her. Stupid hat!
Faye was ultimately canned from the production, which is no longer Broadway-bound. Not yet. Instead, it's going to London's West End next year. No word on Faye's replacement.
To be fair, she actually got a favorable review from one Boston publication. Officially, the Hollywood legend was fired for allegedly slapping crew members and throwing objects at them -- NOT for forgetting her lines.
We reached out to Faye's team for comment ... so far, radio silence.