Barrett Doss, Oak Onaodowan cast in ShondaLand Drama- Page 3

[Speed]

Posted: 10/6/17 at 10:13pm

theater_tech said: "sephyr said: "I think it's all so amazing how people are wishing him bad in his career because he spoke about a situation HE was in with a show that has unfortunately closed and gone. Blaming him for Comet closing is nonsensical and just reductive now, especially with the way things were handled with the situation as a whole. Maybe if actors of color (all minorities included)felt things were better in castingit wouldn't have ended like this, but unfortunately when you survey the whole they are not. If they were what he said (and others said for him) would not have mattered but this situation spoke to a larger issue, a much larger issue that needs to be addressed.

I wish Oak nothing but the best, he's always been absolutely amazing and down to earth since I met him and he is very talented which he has shown in Rocky, in Hamilton, and in Comet. To discredit his talent is not fair and it's not right."

I'm so tired of reading this defense.

Once again, we are not blaming Oak forComet's closing. We understand that Broadway is business, and, hey, if you can't get your seats filled, your show is doomed.

We are, however, criticizing Oak's response to this whole ****show, from agreeing that it has something to do with race (it's not),bringing it up again after all is laid to rest, to showing just blatant disrespect to his fellow, former cast and crew. His talent has nothing to do with this.

No, Oak did not cause theCometship to sink, but he was pretty damn happy to be watching it from afar on a lifeboat."

Did he say he was happy?

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 10/6/17 at 10:30pm

Boo Oak sux.  Bones sux.  Shonda sux.  Booooooooo.  Boooooooo.  A plague on both your houses.

MANDY REIGNS SUPREME ONCE AGAIN

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 10/6/17 at 10:42pm

The Great Comet closed on September 3, 2017 fundamentally because of the Oak controversy. It is extremely fair to say that with Oak out of the picture, the show's closing date would not have been September 3. So to say it's "nonsensical" to cite him as a chief blame for Comet's closing is overly defensive.

[10086sunset]

Posted: 10/6/17 at 11:22pm

The role must have called for someone who could play the accordion. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 10/6/17 at 11:37pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "The Great Cometclosed on September 3, 2017 fundamentally because of the Oak controversy. It is extremely fair to say that with Oakout of the picture, the show's closing date would not have been September 3.So to say it's"nonsensical" to cite him as a chief blame forComet's closing is overly defensive."

People can blame him for anything that strikes their fancy, just as others can blame others. 

Here is what we know:

1. He was fired, and in a classless, tactless way.

2. People who are fired owe nothing to anyone: not their co-workers, not their employer and certainly not those criticizing him most of whom come off as the typical self-entitled set that frequents this place.

3. Everyone is entitled to their own conscientiously held beliefs, whether they are popular or not, and whether there is fallout from those beliefs or not. Sometimes, there will be consequences. The sit-ins and boycotts of the civil rights movement had "victims." 

4. White people telling black people how to act is not cool.

Let's suppose that Oak is solely responsible for the show closing on 9/3. That does not change any of the above. To those of you who can't let this go: take a step back, think about what you are exercised about, this about what you are saying, think about what wishing Oak ill means. Be ashamed of yourselves. 

[sephyr]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 12:30am

HogansHero said: "BroadwayConcierge said: "The Great Cometclosed on September 3, 2017 fundamentally because of the Oak controversy. It is extremely fair to say that with Oakout of the picture, the show's closing date would not have been September 3.So to say it's"nonsensical" to cite him as a chief blame forComet's closing is overly defensive."

People can blame him for anything that strikes their fancy, just as others can blame others.

Here is what we know:

1. He was fired, and in a classless, tactless way.

2. People who are fired owe nothing to anyone:not their co-workers, not their employer and certainly notthose criticizing him most of whom come off as the typical self-entitled set that frequents this place.

3. Everyone is entitled to their own conscientiously held beliefs, whether they are popular or not, and whether there is fallout from those beliefs or not. Sometimes, there will be consequences. The sit-ins and boycotts of the civil rights movement had "victims."

4. White people telling black people how to act is not cool.

Let's suppose that Oak is solely responsible for the show closing on 9/3. That does not change any of the above. To those of you who can't let this go: take a step back, think about what you are exercised about, this about what you are saying, think about what wishing Oak ill means. Be ashamed of yourselves."

I certainly agree with all of the above!! I deeply regretted the show closing, seriously. I loved it when I saw it and thought it was a fine ensemble. But let's put ourselves in Oak's shoes for a second shall we. I saw him in Union Square following the time casting was announced and we talked about how excited he was to step in the role. He worked extremely hard to learn the instruments, to do well for this role....If I were in his shoes I don't think I would have been personally as nice and dignified as he was in his responses. 

The show would have closed any way. They were already low on advanced ticket sales right? so after Mandy dropped out due to finding out what happened and Oak wouldn't keep up his run (which I totally don't blame him for - who did he owe to continue when he was "replaced", who else was going to play the role besides Dave Malloy? Who else [that's a DRAW] was prepared to take on the role and the months of prep in such a short time? It was going to close regardless. So blaming Oak doesn't really stand in the context of all of that. And that's not being defensive, that's the facts of the situation.

[Margo319]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 1:11am

Awesome casting.  It's gross people actually rooted for Oak to "never work again".  Talk about being horrible people.

I look forward to it and I love that Shonda hires so many Broadway actors.  YESSSSS!

[schubox]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 4:01am

HogansHero said: "
4. White people telling black people how to act is not cool.."

What does race have to do with it? Is it cool for white people to tell other white people how to act? What about a black person telling a white person how to act, is that cool?

[Speed]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 5:15am

HogansHero said: "BroadwayConcierge said: "The Great Cometclosed on September 3, 2017 fundamentally because of the Oak controversy. It is extremely fair to say that with Oakout of the picture, the show's closing date would not have been September 3.So to say it's"nonsensical" to cite him as a chief blame forComet's closing is overly defensive."

People can blame him for anything that strikes their fancy, just as others can blame others.

Here is what we know:

1. He was fired, and in a classless, tactless way.

2. People who are fired owe nothing to anyone:not their co-workers, not their employer and certainly notthose criticizing him most of whom come off as the typical self-entitled set that frequents this place.

3. Everyone is entitled to their own conscientiously held beliefs, whether they are popular or not, and whether there is fallout from those beliefs or not. Sometimes, there will be consequences. The sit-ins and boycotts of the civil rights movement had "victims."

4. White people telling black people how to act is not cool.

Let's suppose that Oak is solely responsible for the show closing on 9/3. That does not change any of the above. To those of you who can't let this go: take a step back, think about what you are exercised about, this about what you are saying, think about what wishing Oak ill means. Be ashamed of yourselves."

Amen to all of this

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 8:42am

"4. White people telling black people how to act is not cool.

Let's suppose that Oak is solely responsible for the show closing on 9/3. That does not change any of the above. To those of you who can't let this go: take a step back, think about what you are exercised about, this about what you are saying, think about what wishing Oak ill means. Be ashamed of yourselves. "

This! 

Altthough that reaction is no surprise coming from BroadwayConcierge.

And it's laughable to think his "hate" club is big is pretty laughable. Most people will have never even heard of the Great Comet controversy. And if this show is a hit I have no doubt he'll be back on broadway. Because then he would sell tickets.

Updated On: 10/7/17 at 08:42 AM

[Evans2]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 8:43am

HogansHero said: " 4. White people telling black people how to act is not cool."



Hogan, any person, white or black telling another person how to act is not cool. 

 

Updated On: 10/7/17 at 08:43 AM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 9:31am

I take the point about anyone telling another person how to act. What I was referencing, of course, was that black people being told "their place" is a part of black history in America. There are a lot of people here who told Oak that he will be punished if he is uppity, that he should be grateful, where he is supposed to sit on the bus, etc. Wanna say he wasn't prepared? Say it. Wanna say he wasn't good? Say it. Wanna say he owes anyone anything? You're feeding an unhealthy dynamic. 

[carnzee]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 11:06am

HogansHero said: " Wanna say he wasn't prepared? Say it. Wanna say he wasn't good? Say it. Wanna say he owes anyone anything? You're feeding an unhealthy dynamic."

I don't know why it's unhealthy or inappropriate to say that someone who had to have their start-date pushed back a week because they didn't learn their part is "unprepared." Were it not for that, he would have my sympathy. And yes, I realize that the blame for the show's closing lies with Kagan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 11:26am

Evans2 said: "HogansHero said: "4. White people telling black people how to act is not cool."


Hogan, I'm a black person myself and I don't think anyone is telling a black person how to act.  They're telling a narcissistic egomaniac who selfishly tried to destroy the reputation of his place on employment how to act.

Anyways, if you still stand on Oak's side, you're standing against the cast of The Great Comet as well as the many facts that they have told us.  You're just coming at this from an uninformed point of view.  No he was not single handedly responsible for the show closing, but did he chase away the last chance that the show had and caused the show to close amidst a messy, brutal controversy? Yes.  Did he then pop up out of the wood work a month later to reopen the wound and compare himself to Kaepernick and his creative team to Donald Trump? Yes.  Did he proceed to paint himself as a martyr and take up a misogynistic point of view about his costar Denee Benton?  Yes.  Does all of this make him a terrible person who should never work again? Yes.

By the way, the big difference between him and Mandy is that Mandy is a great talent who clearly suffers from some sort of extreme anxiety disorder that causes him to make poor choices, while Oak is a mediocre talent with a huge narcissistic ego.  Big difference.

 

[PaulWom]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 11:30am

HogansHero, how do you respond to Sumayya Ali's recently posted letter- which says, among other things, that "planned trickery, blackmail, and manipulation led to our controversy." ?

https://twitter.com/SumayyaSings/status/916645870082428929

Updated On: 10/7/17 at 11:30 AM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 12:35pm

carnzee said: "I don't know why it's unhealthy or inappropriate to say that someone who had to have their start-date pushed back a week because they didn't learn their part is "unprepared." "

Considering that I did not say otherwise, I'm not sure what you are trying to say here. Maybe you misread.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 12:38pm

Are you... are you actually kidding me? In what conceivable way did I "tell" a black person what "to do"? I introduced my point of view to the conversation and actually, for real, get called a racist?

Christ. It's moments like this that I despise these boards.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 12:38pm

Did you read what Sumayya Ali, a cast member of the show, had to say?  She suggests that there was trickery and blackmail involved and attempts to ruin the Kagans.  She paints Oak in a very negative, very truthful light.  Maybe you should educate yourself on this controversy a bit more.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 12:46pm

@George Your being black is irrelevant: so is Clarence Thomas and Ben Carson et al. I am not on anyone's side, but you obviously are and that makes having an intelligent discussion about this with you impossible.

@Paul I respect her post and her point of view. I read the "planned trickery, blackmail, and manipulation" with a grain of salt: if she wants to put some meat on the bones, I'm happy to find out more, but on the surface I don't see any of this. Oak was fired, not for cause. Oak chose to use the situation in a way that some folks agree with and some don't. That is his right. It's easy to judge other people's actions, especially when viewed from the comfort of a majority perspective.

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 1:38pm

Did you just compare me to Ben Carson?  Step the hell down.  Seriously.

Actually I'm as liberal as can be, which is why I took particular offense to the part of his interview where he compares himself to Kaepernick.  Let's see, one fought for his own fragile ego and one fought for the systematic oppression and murder of PoC.  Hmm.  I would hardly call that an acceptable comparison.

Also, not supporting Oak does not make you a racist or a conservative or a Nazi or whatever.  It means that you stand with the cast, crew, and creatives of this show who were hurt by Oak's reckless actions.  People of every side should be able, at this point, to see that what Oak did was wrong.  I have personally heard from members of the cast and crew that there was trickery and snakey, petty behavior from Oak after he was bought out of his contract and promised a place in the show in the winter.  He initially agreed and pretended that there wasn't a problem, but then there was a sudden twitter war and Oak locked himself away in the dressing room and wouldn't let the producers or creatives speak to him.  The cast begged for him to speak up and give Mandy his blessing on social media, but he refused.  This was all after he skipped his accordion classes for two months, causing them to have to postpone his opening (a problem that he deflected onto the producers and creative team).  His behavior was despicable and now he starts back in with his sexist bullsh*t about Denee Benton and WoC.

I hope Shonda kills his character off in the first season.

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 1:43pm

sephyr said: "He worked extremely hard to learn the instruments, to do well for this role."

This is false.

[carnzee]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 2:57pm

HogansHero said: "@George Your being black is irrelevant: so is Clarence Thomas and Ben Carson et al. I am not on anyone's side, 

Keep kidding yourself. 

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 3:11pm

I like how Hogan says that it's not ok to tell a black person how to act and then immediately turns around and tells a black person how to act.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 3:14pm

GeorgeandDot said: "Did you just compare me to Ben Carson? Step the hell down. Seriously."

Haha. No I did not. I simply said that your own race doesn't correlate to bona fides to speak for that race. Which I assume you don't disagree with. Much of the rest of what you say is tainted with your evident hatred of Oak which, as I said, makes intelligent discussion impossible.


"Also, not supporting Oak does not make you a racist or a conservative or a Nazi or whatever."

No it does not and I would never say that it did ipso faco.  Which of course also doesn't mean that there are racist etc posts in the various threads. 

There needn't be sides in everything. Oak was not fired because he was not prepared, or because people did not like him. He was fired so that a man of my race could replace a man of yours. That does not have to be the reason he was fired but it is a fact, and folks get to make of it what they will, and that's what's transpired here. 

Analytically, as I said, he was fired and not for cause. At that point, he has no obligation to anyone and guess what he also has the right to change his mind if that is what happened here. I don't know what "secrets" you have been told, by whom or how that has shaped your agenda. Ditto for the elusive references to same in the tweet. I'm not sure I see how any of those things fit into the analysis, but I am here ready to listen (i.e. read). And if you are someone else can show me something nefarious, I'll be the first to call it what it is. 

 

[GeorgeandDot]

Posted: 10/7/17 at 3:19pm

You're seriously annoying.  Are you a bot?  Because I feel like I'm arguing with a bot.

Oak was in the wrong.  What he did was wrong.  It was a sh*tty, selfish thing to do.  Period.