BREAKING: Mandy Patinkin Withdraws from THE GREAT COMET — Page 7

GeorgeandDot said: "The more I hear the more convinced I am that Oak's ego may have been too big to understand that he needed to leave in order for the show to stay afloat. I really think that Oak may have personally sunk this show prematurely.



Yes! Let's totally blame the performer who signed a contract to lead a Broadway show and was kicked out like trash for this. Totally his fault.

I just have a question. Is there any hope this show makes it past Labor Day? It really was such an amazing piece, and it's so unfortunate that all this has happened.

I don't see how it could be Oak'a fault although the comment the show made that they didn't know how Oak would feel about the casting does make me wonder what kind of role he had in this controversy. Just leads me to wonder 1. Why did the say this? 2. How did they not know how he felt or would feel - did they ask him? 3. Is it really about how Oak felt or is it the public backlash? It just seems odd to me that they have called him out as being part of this controversy when he has remained rather passive?

froote said: "Cynthia was barely a box office draw for her Tony winning role, never mind this.



"

Is this true? I actually recall some slower sales when she was absent but I can't remember for sure. I doubt she is a box office draw as a generalisation but it did seem like the reputation she gained for her work in that show helped the show's sales.

GeorgeandDot said: "If by "kicked out like trash" you mean "bought out of his contract for probably thousands, so that he can go home and recline on his solid gold throne purchased with his Hamilton royalties" then yes



"

Right, actors don't need to work. They just need to reap their profits while sleeping at home without getting fired. As long as you're compensated, who cares about a career?

I understand why people thought the move was unfair to Oak in many ways. Idiots like you blaming it on him.

I wish I could be in the audience at the show tonight.

He was respectfully bought out of his contract (something that happens all the time btw) and instead of graciously understanding what was best for the show, he vicariously started a twitter war. Sounds pretty unprofessional to me.

Argh. Argh. Argh. I've never seen Mandy live and I was looking at buying tickets because I already happen to be in NYC...saw the show with Groban and loved it. I was considering it anyway because I enjoyed the show itself (I couldn't even name a Groban song) but this announcement was pushing me towards committing.

It would have been terrible PR to announce that Mandy was coming in to save the show, but it was pretty obvious that's what it was, to anyone who pays attention to this kind of thing. And now the show will probably close early because of "optics," not for any actual concrete evidence of racism but because of a poorly perceived business decision that probably would have boosted the show for at least a few more weeks and kept the cast and crew employed a little while longer.

I do find it hard to believe though that Mandy didn't realize he would be replacing another actor. I mean, he obviously would have known why he was asked to do it, and the announcement was so sudden...three weeks before he was to start. Oak and the rest of the cast must have known the dire situation the show was in too, and they already saw an actress get replaced for the same reason. None of this should have been a surprise to them but obviously I don't know how it was handled behind the scenes.

Updated On: 7/28/17 at 07:33 PM

Maybe I'm looking at this wrong, but it seems to me like people were riled up at Patinkin's hiring in the first place because people wanted to see Oak, and they didn't want to see him because of his race. They wanted to see him because the word of mouth about him was good, and he already has been in 1 hit show before. However, it seems that the Comet producers perceived the backlash as their fans playing the race card, and so this happened.



Nobody is at fault here except Howard Kagan.

I hope Dave Malloy has some other projects in the work. I doubt it would be feasible at any theater on Broadway, but I'd love to see Beardo get more publicity. Regardless, I wish Malloy the best in his future.

But Kagan? I hope he never has another job on Broadway again.

I'm coming out of a very long BWW hiatus to say how sad I am that this is happening. The Comet is more precious to me than any other show, and it would absolutely break my heart to see it end this way.

That said, I have to think they had something up their sleeve for the fall, since Mandy wasn't going to be in for that long anyway. There might still be hope for some other, more long-term celebrity replacement.

VotePeron said: "No offense to him, but Oak's "opinion" on Mandy means N O T H I N G. Again, Oak is an employee who signed a contract and wasn't even being let out of it - he was going to be paid!

I'm not saying this wasn't handled correctly, but I am saying that we have got to STOP putting the weight of this disaster on whether or not Oak was ok with it. If shows only ever followed suit with what actors were and were not ok with, it would be calamity. "

The only people focusing on Oak's opinion on Mandy are the Kagans/GC PR team. His statement was as gracious as possible under the circumstances and said only kind things about Mandy.

willrolandsframes said: "Maybe I'm looking at this wrong, but it seems to me like people were riled up at Patinkin's hiring in the first place because people wanted to see Oak, and they didn't want to see him because of his race. They wanted to see him because the word of mouth about him was good, and he already has been in 1 hit show before. However, it seems that the Comet producers perceived the backlash as their fans playing the race card, and so this happened.


Nope, there was race-based criticism, particularly from the Broadway community. They were very vocal on Twitter. Maybe go read all the coverage?

everythingtaboo said: "But hey, I hope Cynthia Erivo and that Rafael guy can breathe easy knowing the social media outrage they sparked will definitely close one of the most diverse shows on Broadway in a matter of weeks. "

Right on the money.