Oak Speaks out on great comet controversy — Page 8

Mary Page Nance and other great Comet cast members cultivated diversity last night at ghost quartets dress rehearsal

Updated On: 10/5/17 at 04:02 PM

I'm back.

A. I am Eric. Not the other guy.

B. Mandy is wayyyyyy more unprofessional than Oak. He quit a network TV show by merely not showing up. Probably the most unprofessional thing an actor can do. He also missed a ton of performances of The Wild Party and was very hard to work with when he did show up.

C. I am more famous than most people on Broadway. I'm not bragging. Just the way it is. My work is seen everyday all over the world and I am recognized often in public because of it. Am I star? No. Am I entitled to a role on Broadway or anywhere for that matter? No. Do most people know who I am? No. There is so much content out there that it is hard for anyone to achieve across the board fame. And I'm certainly not famous on board where most people only care about Broadway though I have been in the chorus of a Broadway show once. I'm more famous than Andy Karl in say, Wales but Andy Karl is more famous than me among regular theatergoers. If you don't know who I am, it's because you haven't watched Bones but millions of people have and to those people, I'm very famous. But the whole reason I brought it up wasn't to brag but actually quite the opposite, to say I'm not entitled to work because I was on a network TV show.

Updated On: 10/5/17 at 09:03 PM

dramamama611 said: "One tv show hardly makes one "famous". His IMDB list is pretty short, and unimpressive. I have never heard is name, never watched the one show. Even looking at his pix, I've never seen him before. He could walk through Manhattan (and likely LA) with very few people noticing him. There aren't very many actors that just get to play whatever roles they "ask for"."

Go to IMDB Pro. Check out my STARMeter rating. Then compare to your favorite Broadway actors. Not bragging. Just stating facts.

haterobics said: "adamgreer said: "In that case, I stand corrected. I still don't consider him to be all that famous, and his arrogance (" I, personally, am more famous than most people on Broadway" ) is even more of a turn-off."

Anyone on a TV show as a series regular is pretty much more famous than most people on Broadway. That's not a wild boast.

But to quote that bit, without including the reason why he had to post that "...but I'm not entitled to their roles if I ask to play them." seems to remove his context for saying it regarding the Mandy situation."

Exactly

hmph said: "Good Christ. It’s just getting embarrassing, Speed."

Ok. I'll stop. Peace.

Nick Belton weighs in with a comment on Mary Page's post

"Thank you. I think our friend has yet to shake his reputation. Or maybe it’s just his own guilt eating away that causes him to continuously run his mouth even after the damage has been done, further perpetuating his own BS."

I'm so here for the Comet cast finally telling the truth and spilling the tea

Updated On: 10/5/17 at 10:37 PM

He probably felt safe to say what he had to say because he knows no Broadway or even off-Broadway producer in their right mind will ever cast him in the foreseeable future. He's hoping playing this angle in a nationally-published magazine and being named in this feature will get his name out there where he can have enough of a following from new people who may read this to take his acting career elsewhere.

I sense someone convinced him or he's deluded enough to come to this conclusion on his own, that he really will come off as the next Kaepernick and can make a career out of being a social justice advocate. However, whoever advised him that this was the direction to go has bad judgment as I think it really nailed the coffin on the one viable avenue he could have taken his career, and in order to be a Kaepernick, he has to actually believe in a higher cause and not just be vexed about something that happened to him personally. Absent that sincerity and the facts to make his case legitimate, he has nothing of substance to allow him to make a career out of that. Plus, outside the few days people spoke about Great Comet's race controversy, nobody outside this board and the Broadway community who was affected by this really cares.

He better hope his friend Rafael can continue get funding for his projects and will continually cast him in perpetuity just so he can still get paid to act.

Side note, not only was that article and his quotes incredibly annoying to read, but the accompanying picture with his whole smug face looking like he had something really important and insightful to say about this just turns me off. I know this part is petty as hell, but I can't help it.

Updated On: 10/5/17 at 11:45 PM

I have to say, it was so strange to see people cheering Mandy bowing out when it all went down, even after Dave let it be known that he was urgently needed to save their finances. A couple of the cast members mentioned a rehearsal with him and (possibly the only one they had with him?) and it sounded amazing.

I was reading the comments on the Forbes article and one of them said "[Oak] emailed members of the cast details of Patinkins hiring before he should have, divulging parts of the contract that were not supposed to be made public." Anyone know what that's about?

ScottyDoesn'tKnow2 said: I sense someone convinced him or he's deluded enough to come to this conclusion on his own, that he really will come off as the next Kaepernick and can make a career out of being a social justice advocate. However, whoever advised him that this was the direction to go has bad judgment as I think it really nailed the coffin on the one viable avenue he could have taken his career, and in order to be a Kaepernick, he has to actually believe in a higher cause and not just be vexed about something that happened to him personally. Absent that sincerity and the facts to make his case legitimate, he has nothing of substance to allow him to make a career out of that."

I think you hit the nail on it's head here. Because exploiting that victim role is what he did in The Great Comet, what he is still doing right now and probably always has done. It's his limited worldview. A lack of ability to reason. I have said it before, this is a big part of the core of the problem.

I don't think he can ever change this because he doesn't know better/has never learned how to reason outside of it. This attitude therefore apparently works "addictive" in a way because it gives him a certain kind of power. Playing this card so you will be seen as a "hero" and anyone who disagrees with that is racist of course. He is the noble victim.

If people like this do not learn how to reason and behave in a healthy way, there will never be equality. And they are responsible.

Because in this situation he was treated as a human. He chose to react in color. And is now still exploiting that.

Updated On: 10/6/17 at 06:03 AM

Well I have seen some very tragic posters on this board over the years,but speed takes the cake.. dude get some new meds

Celia speaks out

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ5Ns-Fl0Yn/

One of the things I'd like to hear about is what Cynthia said to the cast.. didn't the NYTimes article say she was brought in?