Marc Shaiman responds to Michael John La Chiusa — Page 11

The Times' take on the feud:

"Not content with the exposure the Internet might bring, Mr. Shaiman then sent the "open letter" to colleagues like the director Joe Mantello, the playwright Terrence McNally, the producer Margo Lion and the librettist Thomas Meehan (not to mention at least one journalist).

"Let's be real: I sent that e-mail out and posted it hoping to stir up a reaction," said Mr. Shaiman, speaking from Amagansett, on Long Island. "I was surprised - and this is so ironic, because I'm known as a loose cannon among the people I work with - that he would go so on record to badmouth so many of the people working alongside of him, all with the same goals. And then he places it down in his article in such a scholarly fashion, to make it seem that this is fact. I'm not sure that he ever says 'In my opinion' or 'Just not my cup of tea.' "

Mr. LaChiusa, who is in Los Angeles rehearsing a production of "The Wild Party," responded to a request for an interview with a prepared statement: "I'm sorry I'm not able to speak as I'm in rehearsal. I'm pleased the essay served its purpose, which was to generate discussion."

Mr. LaChiusa has been a steady presence on Broadway and Off Broadway stages since emerging as a talent in the 1990's. He has two new musicals scheduled for the coming season: "See What I Wanna See" at the Public Theater this fall, and "The House of Bernarda Alba" at Lincoln Center Theater in early 2006. Nevertheless, his musically challenging shows, which draw on sources ranging from Euripides to Arthur Schnitzler, have often generated mixed reviews and disappointing box office receipts.

Those among Mr. Shaiman and Mr. LaChiusa's colleagues who agreed to comment on the spat expressed surprise at Mr. LaChiusa's public attack. "It's almost an unwritten thing that you don't knock other people," said Mr. Meehan, who collaborated on the books for "The Producers" and "Hairspray." "It's a tough business. Everybody who's anybody in the theater has had failures, up to and including Stephen Sondheim."

Ms. Lion, who produced "Hairspray," said, "What makes my blood boil is the notion that 'Hairspray' was some kind of contrivance and that the impulse behind it and dedication to creating it was somehow lesser than things that may be more - I don't even want to use the word serious - that have a more limited audience, to be honest."

David Yazbek, whose musical "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" was one of the shows deemed as "faux" in the essay, saw significance in the soapboxes chosen by the combatants for their respective arguments. "Can you pick a more pretentious vehicle for an article than Opera News?" he said, laughing. "Then, on the other hand, you have Shaiman posting to the bulletin boards where everybody loves him because he's condescended to go on."

Mr. Yazbek added that the situation brought to mind not any past theatrical skirmishes, but "Sullivan's Travels," Preston Sturges's classic 1941 movie about a Hollywood director of comedies who wants to create a film with a social conscience. "Maybe LaChiusa wants to make 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' and maybe Shaiman wants to do 'Ants in Your Pants of 1938,' " he said. "You know what? As long as it's good, I'll take either one."


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/11/theater/newsandfeatures/11spat.html?

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