Nikki Snelson no longer attached to The CW's VALENTINE — Page 2

Anakela, I'm assuming she meant the CW contract. You can't be in an AEA show, not even in rehearsal, without a contract.

As upsetting as this is, this sort of thing happens all the time. She needs to remember how great she is, and how completely talented and appealing, and that this will not be her only shot. At all.

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Thanks Rath- that makes a lot more sense. And

She needs to remember how great she is, and how completely talented and appealing, and that this will not be her only shot. At all.

I just wanted to see that part again. :)

As sad as it is to see a talented performer like Nikki Snelson miss out on a great oppertunity like a national television series, the situation is a simple one: she signed a contract with A CHORUS LINE, went ahead in search of another project anyway while still obligated under the terms of that contract, and expected she'd be let out of her binding commitment to the tour to persue it.

I'm not trying to play devil's advocate, but what type of message would John Breglio be sending to future employees if he let someone blatantly break the deal they'd signed to pursue a "better" project? As someone else says, it goes both ways: if the producers tried to fire Snelson and replace her against the terms of her contract, I think people would feel a completely different way.

Snelson wouldn't be in this position in the first place if she'd consulted the production team for the tour prior to even auditioning for the television show, since they'd probably have made it clear to her then that they wouldn't allow it.

What caused her to think that breaking her contract was okay is beyond me, but it just seems to be an unfortunate situation all around.

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Hey Everyone, thank you for supporting Nikki! I am someone who is very close to this situation and I wanted to provide some additional details. First and foremost, Nikki does NOT have a signed Contract with ACL. For whatever reason, it had fallen through the cracks and was never taken care of. Nikki was contacted by a CW Producer in regards to this opportunity. ACL was made aware of the opportunity and they agreed to discuss working with her on this opportunity. Nikki was not asking to be released from her "contract". She was asking for a few days off a week to tape the television show. In addition, she offered to stay beyond her ACL "contract" to make up the time she would be taking off. For whatever reason, ACL then made a decision not to work with Nikki or the CW to try and work this out. I cannot imagine why a producer would not want to help out one of his stars. If the television show is a success and she extends her contract with ACL...that would give ACL more publicity and the opportunity to make even more money. I am a business woman that deals with contracts on a daily basis and from my point of view...ACL just cut off their nose to spite their face. They could have had it all...a television star on tour with ACL...but now they have a very sad and unhappy star.... In business I run into people everyday that seem to be so successful, but somehow are just so stupid! I really don't think ACL thought this through....

And on the road without a contract at that.

Really, genius doesn't begin to cover it.

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I'm only making an appearance because Rathnait has decided to come back from long and refreshing absence to add her support to Snelson (surprise) but I don't believe for one second she's been doing the role on tour without a contract for this long. I say this as someone who's negotiated numerous contracts and that simply would not have happened. Sounds like spin to me. but hey, Rathnait loves her, so she'll be fine!

Perhaps the break has done us both some good. We're agreeing for the first time in our (combined) long histories on this board. I'm sorry but I cannot stress enough that that would have never happened.

Something isn't adding up. If she was working without a contract, what would stop her from walking away?

Updated On: 5/2/09 at 02:17 PM

Anyone who knows Nikki, even in passing, knows that she tells it like it is and is not one to lie. If she says the contract isn't signed then my bet is that it's not.

As for the whole thing with the CW...talk to any actor. They are always auditioning for new roles regardless of whether or not they're currently working on a show. Even when there is no "out" in their contract they find a way to make it work. I'm not in the business and even I know that, I see it happen all the time. I'm not saying she was entitled to leave...but I am saying it was a rotten thing for that producer to do. How often does an opportunity like that come along? I know she's amazing and I'm sure she would be difficult to replace on tour...but you would think he'd be happy for her and want her to have the opportunity.

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There's also the issue of paying the understudy x amount of days a week. I know nothing about Broadway contracts but it sounds completely wrong that she's been performing the role all this time without anything legal and binding.

Updated On: 5/2/09 at 02:25 PM

Fromage, her Facebook status, as Anakela reporter earlier said "the contract wasn't signed" or something like that.