Profile for PaulWom

HogansHero, where is your source that he was fired from an email? And what "damages" do you speak of? He was being paid in full for the rest of his contract 

Damn, when Hamilton cast members start coming out of the woodwork https://twitter.com/AntLeeMe123/status/916784061972144128

Katrina Yaukey and Bradley King have just tweeted their support of her as well

HogansHero WOW that is some impressive spinning. I applaud you.

So Sumayya's word cannot be trusted? Why do you assume that it is she who is misled and not you? She is a member of the cast. Nick belton is a cast member. Joey Cassata is a drummer in the show. Are you involved w the show/know what really happened ?

Thanks, BwayWorld! https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/THE-GREAT-COMETs-Sumayya-Ali-Shares-Thoughts-on-Shows-Untimely-Closing-Diversity-and-Controversy-20171007

Side bar: it'll be interesting to see whether her beautiful post gets a lot of attention. I think it speaks to what you said, GeorgeandDot, about how awful it is that the perspective of women of color is not really considered valuable in society, even in our own Broadway community. 

uncageg, to clarify- as I said in the post- she hasn't actually tweeted. That was a joke...  the joke being that it is totally believable that she WOULD tweet that

Update: Cynthia tweets

"I'm sorry that you, a cast member, have been misled, but I have the facts."

 

... not really, but is that too far-fetched?

Here is her post:

 

So I cannot BELIEVE articles are still being published about the closing of our show, The Great Comet. At this point, I feel obligated to add my voice to the discussion. Here it goes.....

SEEKING TRUTH AND THE AFTERLIFE OF THE GREAT COMET

I don't believe in death in its literal sense. Things are not always as they appear. A flower may appear dead; but we may still benefit from its fragrance in perfumes and potpourri or from the medicinal properties of its herbs. In its 'death;' it may bring us healing and more life. Humans pass out of this realm; but the organs may still give life to others and the spirit transcends.  Like this, I believe the post Broadway afterlife of Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 is urgent and essential medicine for the world. It is necessary to wash the legacy of our show with the truth because so many false narratives continue to contaminate our sacred space. It is equally as important to learn from the circumstances that lead to the premature closing of our beloved show. I pray that not only The Great Comet has an afterlife on a massive scale; but that the controversy that surrounded it becomes an impetus for self reflection, forward movement and open, honest conversations about race, casting and growth in America. 

We are living in a crucial time in a country where racial tensions are high, mass shootings are gaining a sense of normalcy and civil liberties are in jeopardy. Risk is essential to changing the status quo. We must do everything in our power to change attitudes and shift beliefs that will lead to the changing of our laws. Unlike most Broadway musicals, The Great Comet was not created with the intention of making a lot of money on Broadway (although it definitely had the potential to.) Its creation led to an opening of the heart and subsequently shifting of the cognitive frame and changing of the status quo in a little non profit theatre called Ars Nova. In this world created by Dave Malloy, Rachel Chavkin, and Mimi Lien, actors and audience are able to sit together in the stillness of the dark, open their hearts and reflect upon light. Intimate, sacred moments between strangers are created and it is easy to see the face of humanity in everyone in the room. Characters of different races are of the same family. Lines are blurred, barriers are broken and genuine relationships are created. This show shifts the cognitive frame of race through having an Asian Russian Princess or a Black Russian princess with a white cousin. It normalizes strong powerful women making lionhearted decisions on their own and actors and audiences are given the chance to look at each other and see themselves and truth within each other.  This is spiritual and social medicine that our world desperately needs. 

Amidst the casting controversy, our cast took the high road. As a whole, we chose not to metastasize the toxicity on social media by engaging in the discourse. We waited hopefully for the whole truth to come out; but it didn't. I have no desire to shame anyone or expose anyone's faults. The saint and sinner live within all of us and we are all in this life journey trying to find our way. However, I cannot allow our show to continue to be plagued with confusion and falsehood. We as a whole have taken the high road and have chosen not to expose the faults of others; but that doesn't always work out for the best. Look where the high road took Hillary Clinton.  Planned trickery, blackmail and manipulation led to our controversy. Our cast, creative team, and producers were blindsided. I feel it's important to acknowledge this because Howard Kagan was used as a scapegoat in this particular incident. He was a victim of lies and his name deserves to be cleared. In these days of arts funding cuts, We need more people to take risks with Avant garde new works. Mandy Patinkin was also a victim of this fake controversy and we ALL lost big time in not seeing him take on the role. It is my ardent prayer that there is a sit down in LA or a West End production that stars Mandy Patinkin as Pierre. 

I pray that our premature closing was not in vane. I pray that this situation will reveal the ills of society so we may cure ourselves. In regard to the Great Comet, we must question and analyze the  irresponsible, false, manipulative use of social media that fed off of the heightened racial tension of our country; yet we must also acknowledge the reality of racism as a disease deeply embedded in the fabric of America. We must investigate the sexist lens that would have the audacity to label our show racist or question the value of black actors when the original, barrier breaking, titular,  leading lady of the show is black. To question the show's diversity is to make her and all of her accomplishments invisible. The fact that the temporary contract of one male actor that ended a couple of weeks early could negate the forward movement, awards and Tony Award nomination of Denee Benton is unfathomable- not to mention the seven additional cast members of African descent, three Asian Americans and five Latinos. To question the diversity and casting of the show is to assume we are all invisible. As a person/actor of color, it is very frustrating to see our struggle trivialized. We must become complex, deep thinkers. We must listen to each other and we must always seek out and fight for truth. If we as a community learn to examine race and its impediments in theatre and America as a whole- if we begin to think deeply with nuance, if we begin to see with spiritual eyes and listen with the ears of the heart- if we follow through with the uncomfortable dialogue; our premature closing will have been worth it. So in our death; please receive our organs to give life to social activism.  We give our spirit to the ingenuity of the future productions of The Great Comet and our heart will forever belong to the best fans a cast and crew could ever imagine. If you have the time, please watch the video below to understand our ineffable, unique bond. Ars longa, vita brevis. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U3sBmznvoZQ&feature=youtu.be

Gelsey Bell as well https://twitter.com/gelseybell/status/916693956829859842

"Planned trickery, blackmail, and manipulation led to our controversy"

 I hope we hear more about this

UPDATE: Dave Malloy has retweeted it. https://twitter.com/dave_malloy/status/916688305705676800

HogansHero, how do you respond to Sumayya Ali's recently posted letter- which says, among other things, that "planned trickery, blackmail, and manipulation led to our controversy." ?

https://twitter.com/SumayyaSings/status/916645870082428929

I felt like this deserves its own thread , because it's such a necessary, beautiful, and eye opening read that deserves to be shared (especially from the perspective of an actress of color, who questions the sexism in what went down).

https://twitter.com/SumayyaSings/status/916645870082428929

I just fail to understand why she would intentionally give herself and her crew a potential headache, especially when casting somebody who isn't even a name. 

Honestly, this feels like such a slap in the face to every actor on Comet, especially the ones who don't have jobs right now. If he becomes famous off of this tv show, then he'll come back to Bway... I already have a headache. 

Excited about Doss, but extremely disappointed that Oak's actions and attention-seeking apparently face no consequences whatsoever. Debating over whether to watch this.. oh well.

http://deadline.com/2017/10/greys-anatomy-spinoff-grey-damon-okieriete-onaodowan-danielle-savre-barrett-doss-cast-shondaland-series-1202183494/

http://deadline.com/2017/10/greys-anatomy-spinoff-grey-damon-okieriete-onaodowan-danielle-savre-barrett-doss-cast-shondaland-series-1202183494/

So he faces absolutely no consequences at all for his actions. Wonderful.

http://deadline.com/2017/10/greys-anatomy-spinoff-grey-damon-okieriete-onaodowan-danielle-savre-barrett-doss-cast-shondaland-series-1202183494/

So he faces absolutely no consequences at all for his actions. Wonderful.