Was she asked about Jackson during an interview? A very touchy and difficult question to have to quickly reply. The foot went into the mouth as her response continued. Some days you should just stay in bed.
Well, I'm glad to see Nottage publicly showed her support for Robson and Safechuck. I still don't see why we need this needs to proceed but I am also willing to keep an open mind if someone as gifted as Nottage is going to write it with the nuanced and truth it deserves.
And for the record,I am not against dramatizing Michael's story, or if the boys gave their permission, their own story. I just don't see how a musical is going to work if they are really going to go there. But who knows, maybe it will.
Stephen75 said: "Well, I'm glad to see Nottage publicly showed her support for Robson and Safechuck. I still don't see why we need this needs to proceed but I am also willing to keep an open mind if someone as gifted as Nottage is going to write it with the nuanced and truth it deserves.
And for the record,I am not against dramatizing Michael's story, or if the boys gave their permission, their own story. I just don't see how a musical is going to work if they are really going to go there. But who knows, maybe it will."
Lynn Nottage is doing wonders with the book. Hearing directly from creative team members on what the workshops were shaping up to be, Don't Stop... will finally be breaking the mold of the standard jukebox due to the way Nottage is writing it. Not a typical bio musical whatsoever. No idea what will come of it since Leaving Neverland dropped, but I was quite excited about this production from word of mouth prior to this controversy (and I am never excited about a jukebox)
Nottage and Wheeldon have given a... not great interview with the Times, in which they hedge on saying whether they believe that Jackson was a pedophile, but do say their musical will help you understand him as a person.
Reading that article is just painful. It would appear Nottage and Wheeldon are in an untenable position if they do publicly address the molestation charges or not. They can't say anything that would alarm the family without risking them shutting the whole project down. They can't say anything that would offend Safechuck and Robson or the many folks who have seen the documentary (me included) who utterly believe their accusations. They seem to be implying that Jackson's brilliance as an artist excuses all the darker sides to his life, which seems a very flimsy platform to stand on.
I can't imagine what a firestorm they'll be in if this show ever opens.
It has been my hope that the Bway community does not rally around their friends working on the show and allow a show to glorify him.
And the creatives' line about not being the judge and jury for him is fine, sure, but does his estate really need more money? Is there a single reason this must be done other than greed?
Agreed. That article was infuriating. It has been my hope that the Bway community does not rally around their friends working on the show and allow a show to glorify him.
And the creatives' line about not being the judge and jury for him is fine, sure, but does his estate really need more money? Is there a single reason this must be done other than greed?
The interview was brutal. I think Nottage will ultimately walk away and this thing will launch outside the US in some form.
A lover of theater for decades. Teacher by day. Family man by night. See more theater than most, oftentimes a hesitant plus one.
I admire Nottage for trying to present Jackson in a nuanced way, but this is just too much to take on, I think. If she were writing a play, movie or television script on Jackson, go for it. But it feels nearly impossible to make a musical about child sexual abuse, from the perspective of the abuser, for audiences which will overwhelmingly be there to support the abuser.