Mother Courage at CSC — Page 5

I'm trying to think, neon, but I don't believe I've ever seen Brecht done well. The only possible exception was the Broadway debut of Meryl Streep and HAPPY END. But I didn't understand what they were trying to do.

I assume you mean you loved Streep in MOTHER COURAGE, iltt. I am so jealous because I didn't get to see it!

"I don't believe I've ever seen Brecht done well."

Gaveston, the one production of a Brecht play that stands out for me high above the others was the Lincoln Center production of THREEPENNY OPERA back in... '76, was it? Raul Julia in his prime. I thought it was riveting. Of course, I was younger then. (I was good at climbing trees.)

Updated On: 12/31/15 at 12:34 PM

There's a LOT of information missing about this situation.... But a couple things are worth mentioning.

1. Tonya co-directed this show....... Co-direction is ALWAYS a trick bag, especially when you're also the star. To me, thats a no-go, but whatever. She also spearheaded the adapting of the script and the production design. She and Brian had ample time, or should have in pre-production discussions, to work out the kinks and get on the same page, and decide what story they were telling!!!! When you're co-directing yourself, you have to TRUST your director, your partner. It shouldn't be an excuse for you to not listen or take notes from him - because (and let's be real here), you should've just directed it yourself and played the role, so that you could make the show what you wanted it to be.....

2. Tonya missed LOTS of rehearsal. You can't co-direcet, be the star, AND miss rehearsal, AND previews, because you're sick.... and by sick I mean filming "Gotham". #Messy You're doing too much.....

3. Let's just discuss tact. You have every right to express your feelings and stand in your truth. But who releases a statement like this and STILL has to do the show? You just spit in the face of every actor in that company, but you still have 3 more shows to do with these people. That's not a team player. How many times did she say "I" in this statement? Where's the "we"? Ma'am. you should've found a one-woman show to do.... Or you should've directed it yourself. You knew WAY before last week that this show was going in a direction that you didn't approve of. You didn't do your job weeks ago and now you come off looking like a Hero.....

This was a train wreck to begin with.... God bless whomever has to clean up this mess.

"However, there is a reason Brecht set the play where he did: he wanted the audience to watch with detachment- using their brains and not their emotions, to understand that war is most disastrous for the poor. His audience would not care whether the Finns or the Poles won the war- the outcome was irrelevant and showed how pointless all war truly is. What is important is the way ordinary people suffer whilst the General still enjoys roast capon for dinner."

Well, I certainly felt detached. I didn't engage with any intellectual questions about the plight of the poor or the cost of war though. It simultaneously felt like too much was happening and nothing was happening. There were all of these separate threads with her children and the "mistress" character and the cook and I didn't care much about any of them. As for the part about the general's dinner, I think that scene in particular was hampered by the uneven acting. The discussion here has made me want to revisit Brecht though. Maybe I should just read it?

Sorry but she is completely out of line for walking out on the show. They had weeks and weeks to get on the same page. She knows it's a clunker and she's jumping ship. She is so damn unprofessional and now trying to play the 'hard done by actor' card whilst throwing everyone under the bus. As a director and writer myself I would never hire this woman.

LaneBryant said: "HogansHero - My "source" is my fiancé who is a cast member."

Your fiancé needs to find a new line of work if he is actually in that.

LaneBryant said: "HogansHero - My "source" is my fiancé who is a cast member."

And your fiancé is apparently engaged to a nasty gossip.

Tonya Pinkins may have had an active role in the the bad conception of this production, but you are 100% OUT-OF-BOUNDS using the phrase "co-director" as if that were actually the case.

PalJoey - Ummmmm you should find a corner and have a seat, quickly. Your ignorance is comical. I'm not pulling lies out of the air. There are 2 sides to this story. There are other people involved in this show besides Tonya and Brian who have been to hell and back in the past couple of weeks. This show pays rent for cast members and crew members alike who feared their employment was in jeopardy WEEKS ago when this foolishness started. My man LOVED Tonya and was so excited to work on this show. On the 1st day of rehearsal she INTRODUCED HERSELF as "co-director" and assumed that role and shared responsibilities - that is fact, young sir. He's not a nasty gossip, he's an actor whose been put into a terrible position along with the others.

Find somewhere else to run your mouth about something you know nothing of. Thanks

I don't say he was a nasty gossip. I said he was engaged to one.

Lanebryant, she is not the co-director; you lied. no good reason to listen to anything else you have to say.

I've worked with some great actors in my life. Being a problem is what I call working. Is it always pleasant? No. Is the result rewarding? Yes.

It's the management consultant in me, but I hope when all this passes there is some serious debrief that is less about blame and more about learning from the experience so that it never happens again.

In my work with clients outside of the theatre world, these types of situations often are a complex web of miscues, misunderstandings, and missed opportunities to realign different perspectives during a creative process.