A STRANGE LOOP On Broadway - Reviews & News Thread — Page 36

yyys said: "Ok they changed the tweet to say sunday matinee..."



I guess they're hoping Spivey is able to do tonight's show.

Broadway understudies posted on Twitter that Zachary will be on for Thought 2, I don’t think this is correct.

Y'all might want to check out L Morgan Lee's Instagram story...

If Zachary's on for James Jackson Jr. then she's supposedly back today, but that does not sound like a happy camper.

Updated On: 1/8/23 at 01:36 PM

jkcohen626 said: "Y'all might want to check out L Morgan Lee's Instagram story..."

Just in case someone doesn't have Instagram or doesn't want to leave this site, this is what L Morgan Lee wrote: "Our industry is quick to judge and place blame and expectations on actors. We would benefit as a community to ask: What kind of work environment, treatment, and circumstances might cause an actor to respond in certain ways? Are actors not expected to take steps to protect themselves in these situations? The business KNOWS the public has a tendency to shame/blame actors, threatening their reputation and image... This perpetuates behavior and decision making that can put actors in inexcusable and unnecessarily stressful positions that may comprise the health of their minds and bodies. And because actors also know of this tendency, they say nothing. They take the public blows if it means they can get a moment to rest and recover/restore. We can all do better"

Multiple other cast members (including Jason Veasey and Antwayn Hopper) have also reposted this message.

Updated On: 1/8/23 at 01:55 PM

Curious if anyone caught the matinee and has a report? Also, no word on tonight's show if Jackson is performing again.

At first I took that as they were canceling, but they're still selling tickets for tonight. I guess Veasey is back and either Jackson is going on again or Spivey is also back.

MarilynMonroeSmash said: "Just got an email from Telecharge that the show is cancelled for tonight. Bummer I really wanted to see MRJ perform"

Odd they're canceling after sticking it out for the last 3 shows.

Have not been following this dumpster fire closely, but everyone seems to be coming off pretty horribly. OF COURSE illnesses must be taken seriously, but so must financial commitments to audiences.

It doesn't sound like the producers understaffed here, there are plenty of covers for these roles, no? So if there is some bug going through the cast, why are they acting pissy about being asked to perform? If Spivey isnt up to the role full-time, why hasn't he been replaced? And if the producers have assembled a team of performers this dramatic/messy, thats ultimately on them- and they should be canceling these shows, not asking for $200/pop to see a concert reading (performed by a bitter, hostile cast).

And for the life of me, I'll never understand why any of these actors don't understand that cryptic, vague, seething messages DO NOTHING for them or the case they are trying to make. I don't doubt that a production team could discount their legitimate health concerns or just mistreat the talent, but they've done nothing to convince me of that, and have only given the impression that they are difficult and dramatic as ____.

It's been mentioned many times before, but the producers should have realized early on in the run that Spivey couldn't handle 8 shows a week and hired an alternate ASAP.



It does feel a little too late for the cast to be sounding the alarm on the bad management & producing from the show. I did watch the curtain call from the matinee(out on IG) and everyone was fairly timid outside of Jackson. Imagine being in a Tony & Pulizter winning show and actually being happy that the show is closing.

i should clarify: we have very stringent COVID protocols in place, and there tons of debate to be had over whether 10 day absences make sense or not. And surely if actors are sick they shouldnt be pressured into performing, I want to make that clear (because I can already hear the faux outrage at what im saying here).

But if people have COVID, the producers need to take that loss and cancel the shows. Is that what these actors are upset about? Who knows? Surely that has nothing to do with Spivey's being unable to handle this role. Was he never offered a 6-show-week option?

But cutting through it, I remember a year ago when Waitress was wiped out by Covid. The cast seemed gutted; if there was an option to perform, the impression I got was that they would have jumped at it. Here, having clicked through these social media posts, the impression I get is that theyre *annoyed* that these shows are being put on? For the audiences that paid for them? And in this climate where everyone (understandably) is bothered by how hard it is to get audiences into this show's seats in the first place?

What A Mess.

It’s one of many issues for sure