Christopher Massimine - Pioneer Theatre/UofUtah Alleged Fraud

[ggersten]

Posted: 7/7/21 at 10:58am

There are those who embellish resumes or backgrounds, but Christopher Massimine, managing director of Pioneer Theatre at University of Utah, is alleged to be able to teach a master class. Seems that this story was first published on June 4 but was updated on July 6.

News Story on Massimine

 

American Theatre magazine has apologized on twitter for its involvement in at least one falsehood American Theatre Apology

Updated On: 7/7/21 at 10:58 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/7/21 at 11:41am

Reminds me of the guy who wrote "Woman in the Window" - AJ Flinn or something. Just a mastermind of lies and deception. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/7/21 at 5:06pm

How could ANYONE bieve one person could have done all those things by the age of 35?!

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/7/21 at 5:11pm

dramamama611 said: "How could ANYONE bieve one person could have done all those things by the age of 35?!"

Exactly. A huge fault lies with morons who hired him. Does no one check references or verify claims? The resume and website is a ringer. 

[FosseTharp]

Posted: 7/7/21 at 5:41pm

This story is truly bizarre. It reads like a frank Abignale Jr. esque fan fiction.

[morosco]

Posted: 7/7/21 at 11:53pm

Creepy man. Sad.

[morosco]

Posted: 7/8/21 at 12:02am

Looks like Broadway World also published the fabricated press release from the fictitious National Performing Arts Action Association without doing any fact checking.

BWW Feature: PTC's Chris Massimine Named National Performing Arts Action Association Humanitarian

EDIT: It appears now that Broadway World has now deleted that press release. Link doesn't work any more.

Updated On: 7/8/21 at 12:02 AM

[missthemountains]

Posted: 7/8/21 at 5:17pm

I've worked with him before, and he was honestly very sweet. This truly blows my mind.

[pmensky]

Posted: 7/8/21 at 6:10pm

Pioneer could fire him, but he could possibly sue for wrongful termination, since it was the Theatre’s and the search firm’s responsibility to vet him. Pioneer should definitely sue the search firm. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/8/21 at 7:33pm

They are within their right to fire him due to falsifying infornation.

[ddenoff2]

Posted: 7/8/21 at 8:03pm

worst of all geez he even stole MY line that yiddish is a combination of German and phlegm. But of course he ain’t got the timing. schmuck

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/8/21 at 8:22pm

This is wild. But also, he must be a Harold Hill-level talker if he can get hired for big jobs at Folksbiene (as a goy no less!) and Pioneer Theatre. Sounds like there was some financial shadiness with his work at both orgs, but he also shepherded that very good FIDDLER and sort of put Folksbiene back on the map.

The fact that he claimed to have worked in advertising, video games, TV, film, and theatre in the span of ~15 years should have been a massive red flag for anyone conducting a job search.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/9/21 at 12:17am

missthemountains said: "I've worked with him before, and he was honestly very sweet. This truly blows my mind."

Well most con artists are very charming and kind. It’s a part of how they disarm people.

 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 7/9/21 at 1:07am

It’s interesting this trope is always men.

[pmensky]

Posted: 7/9/21 at 1:51am

dramamama611 said: " They are within their right to fire him due to falsifying infornation."

Except they didn’t, and this story broke over a month ago.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/9/21 at 12:36pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "This is wild. But also, he must be a Harold Hill-level talker if he can get hired for big jobs at Folksbiene (as a goy no less!) and Pioneer Theatre. Sounds like there was some financial shadiness with his work at both orgs, but he also shepherded that very good FIDDLER and sort of putFolksbiene back on the map.

The fact that he claimed to have worked in advertising, video games, TV, film, and theatre in the span of ~15 years should have been a massive red flag for anyone conducting a job search."

Not only did he claim to work in all of those separate fields, he claimed to have excelled and achieved success that would be enviable for career veterans in ALL of them. I don't understand how he survived even a cursory amount of vetting.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/17/21 at 11:02am

Massimine has announced that he is resigning from Pioneer Theater Company, with the intention of seeking help for his mental health. He obviously needs help and I hope it works for him.

The NYT also does some digging on the story, but they don't really go into the whole video game/film situation, which might be the craziest part of this saga.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/16/theater/christopher-massimine-pioneer-theater.html

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/17/21 at 12:21pm

Not surprised, but fascinating. 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 8/17/21 at 2:20pm

Blaming his fraud on "untreated and at times an incorrectly treated mental health condition" is just so...lame. It's very possible he has some sort of disorder (i.e. compulsive lying, narcissism), but this sounds like, "Don't blame me, I'm really a victim here." You can have a mental health issue and still be an a**hole. The two are not mutually exclusive.

[Capers]

Posted: 8/18/21 at 9:32pm

My very favorite piece of gaming hyperbole - shall we call it Massmining? - was this "interview": 

https://www.veryaligaming.com/chris-massimine-interview/

I would be so embarassed in my next life if I realized I was like this in this one.

 

[arthyols]

Posted: 8/19/21 at 2:57pm

I am not sure if this is even true. The reason for that is that it's Fox News which is the most unreliable news source globally. Anyway, even if this is not true, other similar cases are. Some people are just bad, and they want to take advantage of others. The internet has made it easy for them because there are gullible people online that trust scammers. It's sad but true.
Still, companies like Covery and their chargeback prevention services make it a bit harder for the fraudsters. More companies should use services like those to stop the online scamming...
 

Updated On: 8/25/21 at 02:57 PM

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 8/19/21 at 3:13pm

This is hilariously awful situation. I'm curious who tipped off the local affiliation. And I gotta say, it's a pretty well-done piece, worthy of Dateline!

[SomeOtherMe]

Posted: 8/19/21 at 4:01pm

He took "fake it till you make it" a bit too seriously...

[Tom5]

Posted: 8/19/21 at 6:49pm

When he stayed overnight in the theater was he sleeping under his desk? Because he sounds like ace Penske material.

[copskid949]

Posted: 8/19/21 at 8:56pm

Capers said: "My very favorite piece of gaming hyperbole - shall we call it Massmining? - was this "interview":

https://www.veryaligaming.com/chris-massimine-interview/

I would be so embarassed in my next life if I realized I was like this in this one.

"

It’s almost like he was banking entirely on musical theater/video game audiences not having enough knowledge of the other medium to actually call him out on his bull. The details here are embarrassing.