Oak Speaks out on great comet controversy- Page 12

[Impossible2]

Posted: 4/29/20 at 5:47pm

Sutton Ross said: "People should really stop talking about things they knownothing about.

Station 19ranks as the No. 1 program in the Thursday 8 PM hour this season in total viewers and Adults 18-49. Its viewership is up +9% vs last season asStation 19is on track to to deliver its most-watched season ever. After 35 days of delayed viewing on linear and digital platforms,Station 19averages 13.5 million Total Viewers and a 3.71 rating in Adults 18-49 this season. And it was just renewed for a 4th season. Happy to all involved including Oak.

Be bitter weirdos, he couldn't care less "

The deplorables gotta watch something *shrug

 

[JennH]

Posted: 4/30/20 at 11:04am

CPannullo said: "pollster2 said: "I can safely say that after the Great Comet debacle, I won't support anything that has Rafael Casal, Cynthia Erivo, or Oak attached to it."

What did Cynthia Erivo do in this situation?"

She absolutely refused to listen to any rational reasoning about this. She wouldn't hear of any other thoughts that this one scenario just might not have been about race relations. Do I know that POC even in 2020 are still at a socioeconomic disadvantage? Yes. Can many similar incidents be tied to subconscious racial biases? OH YES. But this ONE incident wasn't about that, it was about Dave trying to save his show any way he could. He later apologized for those optics, but still stating that wasn't his intention to snub a POC actor for a white actor. ANYONE not selling tickets to that show at that point would have been snubbed to make way for Patinkin, no matter who they were.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 4/30/20 at 11:20am

I have to admit that I found it slightly amusing when Cynthia Erivo was cast as Harriet Tubman and there was a lot of internet outrage over that (I believe it was because she is British, if I remember correctly).

[JennH]

Posted: 4/30/20 at 11:39am

^^ Correct. I'll admit I was one of them, but considering what a coup the movie itself is, just by being the first major Hollywood film about her that we finally got in 20-friggin-19, still made me want to see it. I still haven't and that's another story, but I won't refuse to see it based on that. I still refuse to see Little Women for the same reason. It's been oversaturated for a while anyway, so I don't feel the need to see it apart from the casting issue. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 4/30/20 at 11:50am

JBroadway said: "Jarethan said: "I have to say that I am soooooo tired of this topic. The whole subject comes down to two things for me: (1) the producers were STUPID to think that, just because he was a member of the original cast of Hamilton, somehow that would help the box office when the show's hugehuge star left. What were they thinking? It wasn't exactly like Hercules Mulligan was a character that people left the theatre thinking about or praising the performance; and the reason at least half of the audience was attending every performance (at least at full price) was because of that huge star THEY WERE STUPID. (2) The Great Comet -- which i liked, not loved, but absolutely loved the physical production and absolutelylove the cast recording -- was never a show that was going to appeal to a huge audience...it was just too 'cerebral', for want to a better word. When the mega-star attraction left, the only waythey were going to survive was by either hiring another mega-star or figuring out a way to reduce the operating costs big-time. I may be wrong, but I seem to recall that the operating costs were high enough to require great business to eekout a long run. Given the material, that was NEVER going to happen."



Totally agree with you on your first point.

As for your second point - it contains its own rebuttal. You say it was "never going to happen" UNLESS they found big stars to sell tickets, but that's exactly what they did, and what they were trying to continue doing. As we allknow, star-casting was, in fact, their business strategy. And for a while, it worked, and if things hadn't gone awry, it might have continued to work. So I think the show very well could have recouped if their strategy hadn't been interrupted. It might have been a long, slow road, but it could have happened."

But they broke that strategy the second they hired him.  They never should

have done that (back to my first point).

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/30/20 at 12:05pm

Jarethan said: "But they broke that strategy the second they hired him."

 

No, they didn't.

You may be forgetting that Ingrid Michaelson was cast as Sonya during the same period of time that Oak was supposed to play Pierre. So they still had a name in the cast curing that time. Ingrid Michaelson joined the cast immediately after Groban left, and Mandy Patinkin was scheduled to come in immediately after Michaelson left. So based on that timing, it's clear that they were still sticking to the same strategy. And Oak was just another actor thrown into the mix to fill the role of Pierre while they used Sonya as the star-casting role. 

Maybe the marketing team thought they could take advantage of the situation and advertise Oak's Hamilton connection, but I don't think they hired him because they thought he would keep the show afloat. 
 

Updated On: 4/30/20 at 12:05 PM

[Impossible2]

Posted: 4/30/20 at 12:16pm

Oak was hired as a temporary 'fill in' not a replacement, while the next 'star' was prepping for the role. He was never meant to be a full-time Pierre. He showed up completely unprepared and broke his contract in doing so. He wouldn't take direction and wanted to 'change' the role to suit himself better which is not what they wanted. Instead of being fired he was offered a way out so HE didn't look bad which he agreed to and then threw it back in their faces the minute he saw an opportunity to bring the whole thing crashing down as revenge for his own lack of prep...the end.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 4/30/20 at 1:12pm

Impossible2 said: "Oak was hired as a temporary 'fill in'not a replacement, while the next 'star' was prepping for the role. He was never meant to be a full-time Pierre. He showed up completely unpreparedand broke his contract in doing so. He wouldn't take direction and wanted to 'change' the role to suit himself better which is not what they wanted.Instead of being fired he was offered a way out so HE didn't look bad which he agreed to and then threw it back in their faces the minute he saw an opportunity to bring the whole thing crashing down as revengefor his own lack of prep...the end."

To be fair, I believe he was originally hired to be the long-term replacement. Remember, they announced his hiring way back in January or February of that year, when they were still anticipating winning more than just the design Tony Awards and figured they could use those wins to boost sales instead of needing a huge name. But then the Tonys came and went and sales plummeted and they said "uh-oh, better find some names". Still changes nothing about what Oak did and how it was not at all unjust that they moved on from him, but I believe he was actually originally in their long term plans.

[Impossible2]

Posted: 4/30/20 at 1:25pm

Broadway61004 said: "Impossible2 said: "Oak was hired as a temporary 'fill in'not a replacement, while the next 'star' was prepping for the role. He was never meant to be a full-time Pierre. He showed up completely unpreparedand broke his contract in doing so. He wouldn't take direction and wanted to 'change' the role to suit himself better which is not what they wanted.Instead of being fired he was offered a way out so HE didn't look bad which he agreed to and then threw it back in their faces the minute he saw an opportunity to bring the whole thing crashing down as revengefor his own lack of prep...the end."

To be fair, I believe he was originally hired to be the long-term replacement. "

He wasn't, he was always a fill-in. Yes they were probably hoping they could cash in on his Hamilton fame and get a different kind of audience in while he was in it, but it was always a LTD time agreement which its probably why he didn't do all the prep he was supposed to do in the first place. x

[JoeyC3]

Posted: 4/30/20 at 4:05pm

It is A FACT that he came in unprepared for rehearsals. He didn't learn the material after he had 5 months to prepare. That is why his debut was pushed back...Unprofessional.

Trust me, I was in these rehearsals!!

Updated On: 4/30/20 at 04:05 PM

[JoeyC3]

Posted: 4/30/20 at 8:59pm

Very well said… Oak was unprofessional and unprepared from the start. He had months to prepare for the role he accepted and never even bothered to learn the lyrics, piano and accordion to most of the songs. The producers had to delay his start because he wasn't ready. I was personally part of many of the rehearsals (I was a member of the orchestra).  He was late and missed blocking so often that he was actually getting fined by equity. He even cancelled rehearsal once because he said he ate too many doughnuts!! 

When it was clear that Oak was unprofessional and unprepared, the producers began looking for his replacement. (They actually almost fired him before his first performance because of all the things mentioned above.) He then used the race card to justify his firing and caused a media backlash that destroyed the show.

#POISONOAK

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 12:52pm

The power of complaining about perceived injustices that can lead to dozens of people losing their jobs is being discussed on the DL forum, and Cynthia Erivo/Great Comet are being used as the key example.

They also mention that Justin Timberlake was to take over after Mandy Patinkin, but of course we all know what happened there. 

For any newcomers who weren’t aware of what happened with Great Comet, this thread is very informative. So skip back to page one and enjoy. 

[schubox]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 2:50pm

BorisTomashevsky said: "The power of complaining about perceived injustices that can lead to dozens of people losing their jobs is being discussed on the DL forum, and Cynthia Erivo/Great Comet are being used as the key example.

They also mention that Justin Timberlake was to take over after Mandy Patinkin, but of course we all know what happened there.

For any newcomers who weren’t aware of what happened with Great Comet, this thread is very informative. So skip back to page one and enjoy."

What's the DL forum? And is that Timberlake thing legit?

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 2:54pm

This is the first I'm ever hearing of Justin Timberlake in over 5 years of this happening, sounds fake as hell. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 3:11pm

From a post today on DataLounge. Perhaps it can be backed up by someone on BWW with inside knowledge. Maybe JoeyC3 if he’s still around.

I am of course interested in the “unprofessional Oak” stories mentioned below. If any are posted, I’ll share here. I am unfortunately not a member of DL (the “confirm your email” email never arrived no matter how much I try) and therefore can’t ask for more info, but posters there are very good about asking for details. 

“My sources are two actors who co-starred in the production back then, and very proud of the show and their work. They - like the other 200 members of the production - were shocked and confused when it shut down abruptly.

Timberlake was in talks with the producers in the Spring, towards the end of Groban's run. It was the worst kept secret on Broadway (the producers kept dropping 'a big name who will be making his Broadway debut'. Timberlake couldn't join in the summer, he was scheduled for the night after Labor Day, and 'Oak' was only hired as a 'placeholder' until Timberlake got there.

Oak knew all along the role was not his forever, only for those twelve weeks or so for the summer. His contract was not intended to be renewed, and he knew this. He was horrible in the role, and horrible with cast and crew (ask anyone associated with the show). The stories my two friends shared about him over that summer would blow your mind on how unprofessional he was. But by late July, he got the 'racism' talk started, and quickly got his friend Cynthia to join his cause. The rest is history.”

Updated On: 8/5/25 at 03:11 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 3:27pm

DataLounge is hardly a reputable source of info- people who complain about bitchiness and gossip here would have their faces melted off by what gets posted there- though the problems with Oak in Great Comet were backed up by reports at the time. 

This is also the first I've ever heard of Timberlake being in the mix so I'm taking that with an entire carton of salt. 

Updated On: 8/5/25 at 03:27 PM

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 3:35pm

I had heard at some point that Rainn Wilson was attached to follow Pantankin. I have never heard that Timberlake was involved. 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 3:38pm

It was not Justin Timberlake who was supposed to take over eventually, but Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office). However, I don't think he would have been a big enough name to make much of a difference in the ticket sales anyway.

[Huss417]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 3:47pm

BorisTomashevsky said: "The power of complaining about perceived injustices that can lead to dozens of people losing their jobs is being discussed on the DL forum, and Cynthia Erivo/Great Comet are being used as the key example.

They also mention that Justin Timberlake was to take over after Mandy Patinkin, but of course we all know what happened there.

For any newcomers who weren’t aware of what happened with Great Comet, this thread is very informative. So skip back to page one and enjoy."

Can't wait to see what thread you next resurrect from the dead.

 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 3:54pm

Huss417 said: "BorisTomashevsky said: "The power of complaining about perceived injustices that can lead to dozens of people losing their jobs is being discussed on the DL forum, and Cynthia Erivo/Great Comet are being used as the key example.

They also mention that Justin Timberlake was to take over after Mandy Patinkin, but of course we all know what happened there.

For any newcomers who weren’t aware of what happened with Great Comet, this thread is very informative. So skip back to page one and enjoy."

Can't wait to see what thread you next resurrect from the dead.
"

I think it’s entirely appropriate to draw attention to this clusterfu(k as an example of “everything old is new again” and is likely interesting for people who are newer to theatre and hear Great Comet referred to throughout the MHE situation. Plus, interesting information was brought up on DL so why not share that here? What have you contributed to the forum today aside from useless sarcasm?

And dear all, obviously I’m aware that onlince sources might not be accurate and I think you’ll find I wrote “Perhaps it can be backed up by someone on BWW with inside knowledge.” as a way of acknowledging that more verification might be useful. And just because you’ve never heard about it before doesn’t make it untrue. 

Updated On: 8/5/25 at 03:54 PM

[schubox]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 4:26pm

ChairinMain said: "I hadheard at some point that Rainn Wilson was attached to follow Pantankin. I have never heard that Timberlake was involved."

That I remember hearing 

[schubox]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 4:28pm

And I was as annoyed with Oke as anyone and was extremely frustrated with how this all went down, and I do think he acted unprofessionally in all sorts of ways, but I don't think he was by any stretch "horrible" in the role. I have a recording and thought his Dust and Ashes especially was quite incredible 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 5:17pm

Yes, all audience reports I read (as well as clips I watched) indicated that he was decent in the role. But yes, it is well known that he came into rehearsals unprepared, and to make matters worse was fighting with Rachel Chavkin and generally being unprofessional. That he came back to Broadway only a few years later in that high profile revival of A Doll's House was pretty surprising.

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 5:24pm

He’s flat as a pancake from the jump in this audio. 

https://youtu.be/StDwgSBs4fU?si=C3_JiOm95uhKDd_H

 

This comparison video makes me yearn for Mandy’s performance. It would have been the question people would have asked years later, “Did you see Mandy as Pierre?”. And the lucky ones would have been able to say they did. 

https://youtu.be/8KwDFWkpbZc?si=1b8D6OguXHPa3uy9

Updated On: 8/5/25 at 05:24 PM

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 8/5/25 at 5:39pm

BorisTomashevsky said: "The power of complaining about perceived injustices that can lead to dozens of people losing their jobs is being discussed on the DL forum, and Cynthia Erivo/Great Comet are being used as the key example.

They also mention that Justin Timberlake was to take over after Mandy Patinkin, but of course we all know what happened there.

For any newcomers who weren’t aware of what happened with Great Comet, this thread is very informative. So skip back to page one and enjoy."

This is what trolls do = resurrect a five year old dead thread in a totally lame attempt to add fuel to the fire of your constant trolling of the Maybe Happy Ending thread. Didn’t work. Sorry.