WONDERLAND producer cites actors as fault

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 12:27am

Pretty despicable. Kate Shindle, on Twitter, had this to say:

@kateshindle: THIS IS DISGUSTING. @wonderlandbway owes Janet Dacal an apology. yes, blame the actors who worked their balls off. MAD.

http://www.tampabay.com/features/performingarts/judy-lisi-tells-of-far-reaching-disappointment-caused-by-wonderland-flop/1174041

Say what you will about Janet Decal's performance. To blame it on her "falling in love", "losing sight", etc. etc.... just shameful!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 12:29am

It sounds like she's still coming out of it with the better deal. And, as always, Kate Shindle is a really thoughtful human being. I like her so much.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 12:29am

Darren Ritchie, @42deeznuts, has this to say:

"@WonderlandBway has closed and it had nothing to do with me or Janet it had everything to do with that the show was..."

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 12:36am

Kate Shindle really is a gem. One of the kindest souls... And say what you will about Janet - but she'd been with the show for ages and poured her heart and soul into it. Another very sweet person.

And hey. She nabbed Darren Ritchie. Phew. Not too shabby. Those pants!

Anyway...

[philly03]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 12:44am

Another thread on it:
https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1034203&dt=26&boardid=1

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 12:51am

Whoa. I totally spaced and missed that. Sorry, guys. I checked too, but it's been a long day. My eyes might've been glazed over.

Sadly, I still don't have an edit link (why is that?), so let's just let this one fall into obscurity...

[julesboogie]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 2:04am

That was disgusting and unnecessary! Producers should be given media training, or at the very least employ a personal filter. The show bombed because the material sucked. Weather Dacal was genius and unhappy in the role or not, the show would have still bombed. Gimme a break and just accept that maybe your producing prowess/ eye to spot a winning piece may not be as sharp as you think.

[Dennis-in-ct]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 2:12am

The actor's worked their buts off and gave great performances. We saw it and liked it. Don't blame the actors

[Porter2]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 1:01pm

I honestly can't see how someone could blame the actors; they were the only good part of that train wreck. They can say that Janet was miscast (which I would partly agree with), but blaming the fact that the show flopped on her is just bullpoop. (Yes, I bought the book and lyrics to The Book of Mormon, so "bullpoop" is now my favorite phrase.)

[Anastasia_Beaverhausen]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 2:00pm

I'm sorry, did the producers see this show? It was crap. Bad book, BAD score. The actors had nothing to do with it.

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 2:04pm

Actors can only work with the material they're handed. To blame an actor for a show failing is simply ridiculous. Both Kate and Darren are wonderful people and give their all to any performance. The producers should be ashamed of themselves for their absurd comments!

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 2:32pm

It just proves more and more how the majority of Broadway producers today are just check writers and fund raisers. They have no fathom of talent, no appreciation of talent, and no clue about the shows they are "working" on. They have wealth and a loud voice.

Nothing else. Not even the good sense to invest their energy and bucks in something other than Wonderland.

They got what they deserved. And with comments like this, it's clear they haven't learned a damn thing and will probably be dumb enough to do it again.

[philly03]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 2:49pm

^^ This was Judy's first time producing a Broadway musical, as part of her "Broadway Genesis Project." I think it speaks a lot that they managed to get their first project to Broadway.

Judy was actively involved with the show's development, since 2007, so I think you're going a little overboard.

Judy was there for many of the first previews, made a speech at opening night (and was here during that last week of previews), saw the show in Houston a few times, and of course was there for the Tampa performances.

She also stood behind Dacal throughout the entire run, even when people were questioning "Why a Cuban Alice??" I don't think her comments were appropriate here, but she was involved with the show for years.

[MusicalComedyMan]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 3:16pm

Being involved with the show for years doesn't mean she had a clue what she was doing. I think the fact that she was working on the show for years proves she didn't. Aside from the original creative team that doesn't have a good track record, she (they) brought in show doctors that also don't have a good track record. The producers couldn't have made more mistakes then they did. Because they're aren't producers and had no clue what they were doing. Anyone with 10 million bucks can get a show on Bway!

[Okayfine]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 3:26pm

Wow, what an unprofessional, uncalled for thing to do. Leave the catty comments about the actors to wannabes who post on theatre boards. I'll own that. To wit: Ducal was w/o charm, but she wasn't the reason the show failed. It failed because it was ALL w/o charm (Darren's pants notwithstanding).

It was very generous of a previous poster to say they need lessons in media relations. They need lessons in how to conduct themselves as human beings & theatre professionals.

[rougeduck]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 3:42pm

Can someone give Kate Shindle a wonderful leading role already? Like, she really is the most likable.stunning actress on broadway and she is most definitely bankable.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 6:07pm

Just lost a ton of money. This is call lashing out or venting.

[best12bars]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 6:36pm

The thing is, these producers must have some sort of passion for theatre, misguided though it may be. If they didn't, they could have just as easily lost their millions in the stock market or investing in a "cute" card shop on a small-town main street.

A love of theatre with expendable income does not a producer make.

Yes, we live in an era when "anyone with 10 million dollars" can get a show on Broadway. That doesn't make them smart, savvy, or artistic.

I'm not saying that this is anything new, but there used to be a difference between a producer and an investor. Investors or "angels" would put up the money, and they might, MIGHT make a stupid suggestion or two along the way, during production. They were not the Hal Princes and David Merricks, however. They were dumb rich people with checkbooks and a love of theatre (or at least chorus girls).

They are a necessary part of of Broadway, though. Without them, nothing would be on the boards. But the big mistake was confusing them for Hal Prince and David Merrick, or allowing them to make any sort of on-hands producerly decisions.

They may be there for the duration of the creative process, but merely putting in time doesn't mean you know anything or have any worthy insight. That's another American "entitlement" on display ... "I've worked here ten years, so I should be the one to get the raise and the promotion, and I"m the one who knows what's going on!"

No, you don't. You know what's going on only if your smart, not if you've been hanging around for years. In the theatre world, you can't be a producer simply by osmosis. It's a rare person who can facilitate and guide a production. Someone who understands the "show" and the "business." They are not the director or the creative team. But they put the right people in the room together to get the job done, and if something isn't working, they fix it. The "talent" of a producer, other than hiring the right people and raising money, is knowing HOW to fix it when things go wrong ... and something almost always does. That separates the real producers from the checkbook writers. Producers used to keep the "angels" at bay. They used to keep the money people satisfied that the work would be done and their investment was in good hands, but they also kept them far away as possible from the actual production process.

Not anymore. It's a different game now. Everyone with money and a love for theatre thinks they're Hal Prince.

And these kind of comments only expose them for who they really are.

Updated On: 7/6/11 at 06:36 PM

[Soliantu]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 7:47pm

wow, that is really ridiculous

[philly03]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 7:56pm

Lisi is a rather interesting woman, she is formerly a Catholic nun, and after that she studied at Juilliard and the Metropolitan Opera from what I know, and also has a doctrine in theatre. She took TBPAC out of debt as well. She previously took the Shubert Performing Arts Center in New Haven out of debt as well. (The Straz's loss according to the article was covered anyway)

Not to mention TBPAC/Straz is the largest Performing Arts Complex south of the Kennedy Center. Hey - they tried, they took their time to get to Broadway (well a year and a half) and managed to have 3 productions under their belt before it hit Broadway.

[My Name in Lights]

Posted: 7/6/11 at 10:25pm

Yes, the character of Alice was miscast, but the story was badly written. You can blame the bad writing, bad producing, bad story, etc. I looked forward to it and then I saw it; it was a bad show, plain and simple. No one person caused its demise.

It's nice to hear that a real love story happened backstage because I didn't believe it onstage, not the way it was written.

[PitPro2004]

Posted: 7/7/11 at 12:33pm

"It just proves more and more how the majority of Broadway producers today are just check writers and fund raisers. They have no fathom of talent, no appreciation of talent, and no clue about the shows they are "working" on. They have wealth and a loud voice."


Best words I've read in a long time...

[cabaretman24]

Posted: 7/8/11 at 12:16am

OMG I saw the show twice and it was total crap bad bad book with only 3 or 4 good songs. Don't blame the performers because you decided to put your money in a bad show.

[groucho797]

Posted: 7/8/11 at 2:11am

Eh, saw it with a friend and we both hated it. Then I got a call from him saying "maybe you should listen to the cast recording." So I did - and was frankly startled at how much I liked some of the music. Sure, the show was diva-heavy, and B'way shows strictly for tweeny girls tend to fail - and the score was fairly heavily cliche'd.... well, come to think of it, I'm glad the cast recording outlived the show. But it was tacky of the producer to lash out.

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 7/8/11 at 3:30pm

At no time did it ever cross my mind that the actors were the downfall of this show. If anything I think they deserve credit for being as enthusiastic and energetic as they were!

While there possibly could have been a few good tunes in the show...it was just poor and the jokes were one sad groan after another.

The Producers are just trying to soothe themselves with blame on someone other then their poor decision to invest in such a show.