Heston turned down the lead opposite Marilyn Monroe in "Let's Make Love" to appear in Benn W. Levy's play "The Tumbler", directed by Laurence Olivier. Called a "harrowingly pretentious verse drama" by "Time", the production went through a troubled out-of-town tryout period in Boston and closed after five performances on Broadway in February 1960. Heston, a great admirer of Olivier the actor, took on the play to work with him as a director. After the play flopped, Heston told columnist Joe Hyams, "I feel I am the only one who came out with a profit... I got out of it precisely what I went in for – a chance to work with Olivier. I learned from him in six weeks things I never would have learned otherwise. I think I've ended up a better actor."