Jen Paz & Eric Kunze reprise roles in Miss Saigon — Page 3

eatlasagna, in James Blackman's (the guy about the new season) defense, he is funny, it's his shtick and this is the first time the season was announced.

The show uses the FCLO sets all the time, and this is their best set. I love the wings and the pink Cadillac. All and all a great show.

PROUD SUBSCRIBER 9 YEARS!

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oh i thought the guy was funny and i laughed... probably one of the better people i've had to sit through at regional theaters... his comments about fiddler on the roof was hilarious... but when a show has a start time of 2pm and it's already 2:15pm and some guy has been talking for that full time, a part me just wants it to stop already... take about 5 minutes to talk about what you want to talk about... that's fine with me... absolutely no offense to the guy.... i was just annoyed having to sit through it for 15 minutes and then AGAIN right before the entre'act started...

and what??? am i not allowed to be critical of my favorite show... i know damn well these people haven't seen the show before and it's their first time seeing it... and by the fact that the theater gave the show a standing ovation (i gave it one as well and it was well deserved)... i've seen about three regional productions of miss saigon and a high school one... and i've never hated the productin.... i just think the directors just don't get the show half the time... and that's what bugs me... and if i were a theater snob then i would refuse to see any regional show.... i drove my ass two hours to see it because i support all theater.... i don't have to be some profesesional actor/singer/critic in order to have my opinions validated... like i said... this is my favorite show so i'm always going to be critical of it no matter what incarnation... i'm sure everyone has a show out there they will scrutinize because they love it so much and if it's done wrong the get upset... but in the end they still love it becuase it's a great show... this production did some things that i loved that are better than the original broadway production that i thought were ingenius...

am i theater snob??? i think sometimes i can be but i'd like to think that i'm not... i think we're all like that... we're all snobby about that ONE thing in life that we think we know better than everyone else or want to believe we're an expert in... whether it be a favorite food dish, restaurant, tv show, sports team or whatever... mine just happens to be MISS SAIGON... not theater in general... but just this show...

AND as for my comment about OKLAHOMA... you can love the show all you want... i certainly don't hate it... but it just saddens me that alot of theater companies don't want to do new shows... like they do the same things over and over again... like here in san diego.... as much as i LOVE Into the Woods... i would rather much see ANOTHER production done... there are so many shows that i've never seen that i hate it when the same shows get done time and time again.... so it was more disappointment more than anything (that and I wanted the show to start already so anything at that point annoyed me in general

that is all... everyone enjoy your day

ah...so you're NOT a professional critic/actor/singer.

No one could even pass 5th grade English with those ellipses.

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Observer - Lizzie has a real issue with formal grammar. If you don't adhere to the rules of the road, she'll certainly have something to say about it. Plus, she's wrong about 5th grade and ellipses. Having just graduated my fifth grade son, I know that his language arts teacher was thrilled with the use of elipses even if not exactly correct. Most schools are going for thinking over strict compliance in these modern days. The kids eventually pick up rules, but if thinking is squelched early on, it may never recover. Now just to pi__ Lizzie off -- I have to throw in the dashes!

Updated On: 5/25/08 at 12:29 PM

eastoflasagna

Oops!

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Updated On: 6/10/08 at 12:12 AM

NDR
A specific negotiation would have to be done in order for an Equity performer to be allowed to tour in a non-union production while maintaining equity status. It would be a guest artist type of situation and would be extremely rare.
When a union performer chooses to perform in a non-union production without getting clearance from the union, they turn their back on 40,000 members who stand in solidarity in order to maintain fair working conditions and appropriate pay and benefits. They also turn their back on a century of struggle by thousands upon thousands of people who came before them.
Sorry to get on a soapbox, but this stuff is important. Being in a union is not only about your job an livelihood, but about everyone elses. When one member breaks ranks (especially in such a high profile way)I believe it should be next to impossible to re-join. I fully support the disciplinary action taken against members who violate these incredibly important bi-laws of The Equity rulebook.

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eatlasagna, if you have issues with a particular person/organization, try sending him/them a private personal message. As it is, your public comments sounded condescending and denigrating to this particular group of subscribers and theatergoers.

Yes it has been resolved. But the union would completely lose any of its bargaining power, credibility, and legitimacy, if the actions of Artists such as Paz and others is looked upon as acceptable.
Sure, being out of work sucks, but the Union doesn't exist to "Pay your rent" it is there to protect you. She chose to leave and paid a heavy price to get back in. When a high profile actor breaks ranks to work on a high profile non-union tour, it absolutely invalidates Equity's validity.
Tom- as an Equity actor, you have to remember that it is the solidarity of thousands of performers who came before you who fought to get you things like mandatory rest periods, bonded contracts, health insurance, vacation pay, fair pay, properly run auditions, free tax preparation, and myriads of other rights and benefits that are too numerous to mention here. If all of us in the union (curently 40,000 strong) were to decide that we will settle for less than what is guaranteed by the equity contract, how many of those benefits that I just mentioned do you think would be thrown out the window? When you decide to take your equity card you are making statement that you are not only concerned with your own career and working conditions, but also that you are concerned with all your fellow members. It is that support that she turned her back on.
Also, let me be clear-It is absolutely appropriate for anyone to leave the union. However, If you do something as egregious as what Jen Paz did, you shouldn't expect to be able to just re-join when you decide that it is advantageous to you and you alone.

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Wait, what was egregious about what Jen did? She FORMALLY LEFT THE UNION. Wanna know what's egregious? Before I got into the union, I worked with union actors who DIDN'T leave the union, but took roles in non-union shows anyway. THAT'S egregious.

Jen was likely one of the many Asian actors who was tapped for Miss Saigon, then ignored by the rest of the theatre world as inappropriate for other roles solely because of her race, and is reduced to accepting every Kim job offered her just to continue in her chosen career. I know what that feels like. We might all be amazingly talented, but the bottom line is that we're beholden to how people perceive us when they look at us, rather than how we really are and what we can do, and this is especially true in the theatre the majority of the time.

Jen didn't violate anything by formally leaving the union. Don't judge her as if she did. Don't lump her in with those that do.

And by the way, I absolutely agree that the union is important for all of the reasons stated. For anyone who isn't in a union, I can't even tell you how enormous the difference is with regard to working conditions, as well as the liberties that management takes with the actors time and health. Like night and day.