It is pretty obvious that THE PIRATE QUEEN doesn't have much life left on it and we all saw this coming from miles away but this indeed was a very crass, distasteful, rude, arrogant thing to do. Then again, I am pretty sure he did it on purpose to create some buzz, get people talking about him and his show, and ultimately sell more tickets.
Apparently, according to Riedel, some cast members have yet to sign since the producers have failed to meet their demands. That's why people like Foster have yet to be officially announced.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"