If Snelson hadn't signed a contract (which is practically impossible,) there wouldn't BE a situation: she'd just walk away and do the show with no legal commitment to A CHORUS LINE or need for their permission to balance projects. Breglio would have no power to "kill" any oppertunity for her, since she would have no legal obligation to him or his show.
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. What was so rotten of Breglio? Expecting his star to stay loyal to the show she herself commited to? You're right, a network telvision sitcom is quite the oppertunity for any actor, but Snelson made the decision to forsake such oppertunities when she signed on to A CHORUS LINE, plain and simple.
You can say all day long that she made a conscience effort to juggle both projects and still maintain her role in the tour, but the bottom line is that she agreed to doing to the television show before she had permission to do so from the producers (as is evident by her name appearing in press releases about the show,) whether they were in the process of "trying to work something out" or not and regardless of any contract or lack thereof.
She can't have her cake and eat it too. Sure she's dissapointed, but to try and paint the producers of the show as the enemy when she herself tried to pull something pretty shady (as talented and nice as she can be) is downright shameful.
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.