BREAKING: Mandy Patinkin Withdraws from THE GREAT COMET — Page 11

I find everything about this upsetting, but most of all what seems like the death of the show.



As I've mentioned, we already had tickets during Mandy's run. WANTING to see Oak, my 16 year old son spent HIS money on additional tickets. I'm wondering if I'll be able get a refund on the "nobody" tix, seeing how I bought them well over a month ago. I don't have a reason to see it [again] just for the sake of it.

All this drama over a guy no one outside the theater community has heard of!! Boo hoo, OAK... cry me a river...

As a huge COMET fan I cannot tell you how annoyed I am right now... I'm sooo over CYNTHIA ERIVO and her arrogance

BroadwayBaby -- how do you know he didn't ask his friend to stop? Just because he didn't do it publicly doesn't mean he didn't do it. (and I realize he might NOT have, but I admit: I dont know, therefore I will not assume.)



Skimble -- wait, so sticking up for someone isn't necessary when its an unknown/non-famous person? Ridiculous -- those people need support MORE.



I understand why it was done, the true only unreasonable part is the people thinking they are righting a wrong. It wasn't a wrong, it was unfortunate.

I know this won't happen, but I feel like the only thing that could save the show at this point is if Oak makes a statement saying he appreciates Mandy's support but that he doesn't want to see the show close over this and that he has his blessing to come in and play the part.

again, that won't happen and would take an incredible gesture from Oak, but it might work

It is a business, a difficult one, but when you lost your job in this business it is different than a computer programmer who presumably can then apply for hundreds of possible openings.

The producers handled this (and a lot about this show) poorly.

The situation is multi-faceted and people are viewing it through their own lenses of what matters most to them ... diversity, fairness, ticket sales, celebrity, et al. That leads to vastly different interpretations of the same event (some clouded by confirmation bias), few of which tell the whole story. As the Quakers say, "Everyone holds a piece of the truth."

We do not learn from each other here (if that is of any interest) if we merely hop on and keep advocating our own position repeatedly. Learning requires balancing sharing our own take with genuine interest in and inquiring as to why others might see this differently from us.

Erivo (and anyone else for that matter) does not need to change being who she is on social media to conform to others’ expectations. She speaks her truth and that can have both positive and negative consequences.

Updated On: 7/29/17 at 07:24 AM

Except he DID make a statement, (not that it addressed the tweets). https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Okieriete-Oak-Onaodowan-Opens-Up-About-GREAT-COMET-Exit-I-Will-Not-Be-Returning-20170728



(But I do see your point.)

"The show’s producers and creative team were clearly blindsided by the turn of events. They had previously asked another performer, Brittain Ashford, to take a leave during the summer so she could be replaced by a well-known singer-songwriter, Ingrid Michaelson, and did not anticipate that replacing Mr. Onaodowan with Mr. Patinkin would be seen differently.

“So sorry to have missed the racial optics of it,” the show’s creator, Dave Malloy said on Twitter Friday. “We had to do same thing with dear beloved Brittain so in my head it was no different.”

The question is, why should black people be seen differently and not be treated like everyone else?

There is a HUGE list of nobodies being replaced by stars. That's been going on for decades and decades.

Everyone who brings race into this is racist.

Updated On: 7/29/17 at 08:17 AM

Jordan Catalano said: "The show signed its own closing notice by replacing the star who was keeping it open with someone who nobody knows, hoping just the fact he touched Hamilton was enough to get people to spend money on him. It's truly one of the stupidest casting decisions I've ever seen.



"

Agreed. Where was their common sense?

I'd think after this hoopla it will be very hard for Oak to find another job on Broadway in a leading role as producers may worry his name won't sell tickets and that if they try to replace him with a non-black actor before his contract ends, a similar incident may happen. Sort of like an unofficial blacklist.

Since great opportunities for actors of color are usually more limited, of course race is going to be one lens through which people view this situation. Doing so is not racist.

Dave28282 said The statistics say otherwise. The percentage of people of color in Broadway shows versus the percentage of the population is actually much bigger, as shown in another thread. There seem to be a lot of opportunities for people of color, more then for caucasians percentage wise.

With that said, choosing to see a case of someone being fired for reasons cleary aside from race, as a race thing is racist.



1. I am not sure this is the relevant percentage as it does not address what % of available roles on Broadway are available/going to actors of color? The general population is not the landscape being discussed.

2. I intentionally specified great opportunities, of which actors of color themselves are saying are harder for the to come by.

And if someone only sees this situation through the lens of race that is indeed a limiting perspective, but it does not in any way meet the definition of racism ... prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.

This is a thoughtful perspective from an All that Chat commenter.

I had thought they had escaped unscathed from their mishandling of Oak's arrival, but now I think that staying mum on the delay - as well as the delay itself - hurt them with public perception and is fueling the sentiment against them.

And it's not hard to see why this has rubbed many people the wrong way.

Viewed through a certain lens, they set Oak up for a spectacular failure when they marketed him as a star (while failing completely to do the advance PR work to make him a star), and then ensured that failure by compromising his entrance into the show,
and then very suddenly - and publicly - terminating his appearance in the show, bringing in his complete opposite to take over the part.

I can see why this became a dramatic story. I can see why many people view this as another example of how white America makes it difficult for Black men and to succeed in traditionally white realms. I'm sure it wasn't the Kagans' intention to moonlight Oak, but that was the result.

And they're still doing it. In their latest apology, they continue to put the blame on Oak, rather than themselves. They're sorry that Oak took all this the wrong way, rather than anything they did.

This is like a year ago, when many people saw Scott Rudin putting the blame on the pregnant lady for shutting down "Shuffle Along", but with larger repercussions.

I do have a lot of respect for Dave Malloy. He very quickly took the responsibility on himself, which must have been very hard to do.

Ultimately, two great artists find themselves humbled, and Rachel Chavkin and her company are watching their show turn into the very thing they built it to act against. This is the kind of producing that is damaging to the art and the artists, and I'm sure both Oak and Dave are thinking of all of the warning signs they ignored on their way to this public embarrassment. (At least Dave got his show on Broadway for 9 months.)

JBC3 said: " Viewed through a certain lens, they set Oak up for a spectacular failure when they marketed him as a star (while failing completely to do the advance PR work to make him a star), and then ensured that failure by compromising his entrance into the show, and then very suddenly - and publicly - terminating his appearance in the show, bringing in his complete opposite to take over the part."

I agree, giving him the part was the mistake. The producers realize this now too. They should not have to apologize to anyone except Oak, because he's the one out of work. The only thing they should have done is make a statement which said that unfortunately they made a mistake by casting him, he turned out to be not meeting their expectations, and that's it. Their apologies to anyone racist who feels betrayed is lunacy. They should be above that.


" I can see why this became a dramatic story. I can see why many people view this as another example of how white America makes it difficult for Black men and to succeed in traditionally white realms. I'm sure it wasn't the Kagans' intention to moonlight Oak, but that was the result."

I can see that too, seeing how crazy some people are but this should not be the producer's business. They should be above that.


" I do have a lot of respect for Dave Malloy. He very quickly took the responsibility on himself, which must have been very hard to do."

By doing what? Saying that the show's action is racist because they are not content with Oak? That really is a lame duck reaction. He would only get my respect if he would acknowledge that is sucks for oak, but that the show is above that discussion.