BREAKING: Mandy Patinkin Withdraws from THE GREAT COMET — Page 14

Brave Sir Robin2 said: "I've said it before and I'll say it again: John Legend as Pierre.



"

YES PLEASE.

Me thinks everybody talks too much !

CallMeAl2 said: "So what's the lesson here? Once a role is played by a black actor a white actor can't be cast?



Not being snarky: When's the last time Eponine was played by a white actress?

Samantha Barks, in the movie that grossed over 441 million USD?

BroadwayConcierge said: "trpguyy said: "Unfortunately, the "star" that they're rumored to be courting will do nothing but result in a collective "huh?""

It's gonna be Laura Benanti as Pierre, isn't it?"

And Mandy Patinkin as Eliza.

Dave28282 said: "theatreguy12 said: " But all it took was one person to suggest it and it flamed a spark into something huge. I'm sure the producers wish they had just been up front from the beginning."



They were. The show was financially struggling, and they saud: "We are in trouble, we want Patinkin, we need a name to bring in money, we still pay Oak and Oak is very welcome to return."

The fact that the world starts hyperventilating about this business decision as if it has something to do with race and that the producers even apologize for not taking race into consideration is beyond every form of common sense.

If anything, this reaction of the producers is to calm the herd, or they somehow feel they made a mistake by actually casting him, being influenced by his color somehow and being misled by peer pressure and wrong expectations. They obviously must have expected something by casting him.

"

Agreed.

I am not touching the racial dynamics of this, because I don't feel like getting called names by strangers on the internet. But I will say this: I hope with all my heart this doesn't result in the show closing. Of all the shows this season, this is the LAST one that deserves to be slapped with an ignominious ending. The show itself definitely isn't for everyone, but it's one of the most innovative (and, yes, diverse) shows in many years. I personally found it to be visually stunning and very moving. If there's a way to move forward, I hope they find it and quickly, because everyone deserves better.

All righty then. If that's the case it's time to put this to bed. They were upfront about it from the beginning. Some outsider came in and ignited a firestorm by insisting it's race-related without knowing the first detail about it him or herself.

It's time they turn their attention back on him or her and demand an apology for bringing an issue into it that had nothing to do with it.

Too many people are victims of racism on this planet the last thing we need is someone throwing the word around just to show how progressive they are. We've seen enough of that over the last few years. Accusations made, proven untrue, but people's reputations hurt by it even so. And nothing ever done to rectify the situation. Or make apologies toward them.

And who gets hurt? Those who are accused of being racist but aren't. And those who truly are victims of racism but see it minimized because the term is used so much now that people don't believe them.

These boys and girls who are crying wolf really need to stop and think about it before they comment. If you truly are standing up for what's right and wrong when it comes to race relations, that's great. But make sure you know what's going on before rushing to judgement.

Dave28282 said: "theatreguy12 said: " But all it took was one person to suggest it and it flamed a spark into something huge. I'm sure the producers wish they had just been up front from the beginning."



They were. The show was financially struggling, and they said: "We are in trouble, we want Patinkin, we need a name to bring in money, we still pay Oak and Oak is very welcome to return."

The fact that the world starts hyperventilating about this business decision as if it has something to do with race and that the producers even apologize for not taking race into consideration is beyond every form of common sense.

If anything, this reaction of the producers is to calm the herd, or they somehow feel they made a mistake by actually casting him, being influenced by his color somehow and being misled by peer pressure and wrong expectations. They obviously must have expected something by casting him.





"

Updated On: 7/29/17 at 04:48 PM

JayElle said: "Agree with Dave 28282. Many mistakes made here. Creator Dave Malloy and producers said low ticket sales following Josh's departure forced their hand to sideline Brittain and Oak. No one blinked an eye for Brittain b/c she performed for the year. But how smart was it to expect Oak to follow 2 seasoned performers--Josh/Mandy. It signals that they think Oak is the temp between better performers. Might've been smarter to bring in Mandy in Sept as a bridge to someone else since Oak only committed thru Labor Day.

I don't see race. The understudy is white to Denee who is black. Where's that outrage? The producers gambled on stars b/c of Hamilton's popularity when they should've focused on the show. Ham still gets long wait lines b/c the show itself can withstand understudies and multiple cast replacements. Wicked, Bk/Mormon, Phantom, hold on b/c of the show itself.

Creator Dave Malloy said that TGC is "weird" and needs a strong lead to carry it. Perhaps that's the underlying problem. Fix the show and the all the leads will have followers.

Unquestionably POC have a harder row to hoe, and opportunities fewer. But this show, like Ham, has diversity. All the outraged tweets that it was racism missed the point that Oak's withdrawal now means everyone is unemployed. And that's unfortunate for all, including patrons.

So, Oak, come on back. Surely all this press will bring in patrons, and you can rock the roof off.





"

Mandy could only do the time he committed to, then he goes back to shooting Homeland. I'm sure if he had September open they would have let Oak finish his run and announced Mandy to replace him to get he advance up

I saw Oak last night. From all the comments I did not expect to like him but I thought he was wonderful in the part! As was the whole cast. It was a wonderful experience & a marvel of a musical!

Updated On: 7/29/17 at 05:45 PM

haterobics said: "VotePeron said: "Wrong.

Oak was being paid."

When I've been laid off at a job and paid out for the next two weeks, I still felt like I was out of work.



"

He was hired for 9 weeks and he's being paid for 9 weeks. Very different from being laid off with two weeks severance pay.

schubox said: "Interesting take

http://nypost.com/2017/07/29/dont-cheer-mandy-patinkin-leaving-great-comet-just-yet/"

I don't like Reidel, but this is the truth. The producers were just doing their jobs. They have a duty to make back their money for their investors. They're not there to swaddle their actors. They're there to make money. Acting is a tough, cut throat, brutal profession and you need thick skin to make it. Of course it's unfortunate news for Oak, but the out pouring of "support" for him was hurtful to the rest of the cast and even to his own career. It was selfish of him to make this a big deal. He needed to suck it up and take this news like a professional. It's a shame that Patinkin got scared away since he was probably the show's last chance. I can't imagine any other stars wanting to touch this show with a ten foot pole. Hopefully it'll pull through, but it's very unlikely that it'll even make it to the fall.