Odessa Texas Troubles - Anyone Know What's Going On?

Does anyone have the skinny on this strange situation?

https://www.broadwayworld.com/blogs/viewblog.cfm?blogid=979

so did and friedman back out when she found out that the other actors in the production were not professional actors???

how old is georges?

Recent article in Odessa's local paper

I know someone who was supposed to work on Sweeney at the Ector, an associate of Betty Buckley's. Betty is apparently threatening legal action against the theatre because they terminated her contract. This may be where the financial problems were started.

I don't know the real truth, but it seems likely that Betty did what Betty does, the show got scrapped, the young producer was throw back when Betty came at him with a lawsuit, and didn't have the money to buy out of it. I can't believe Betty would back out of the show herself, not after all the press associated with it.

Poor dear. Blacklisted in the industry at 20 as an unreliable producer. He needs to get the hell out of Odessa, go get a BFA somewhere, change his name and start over.

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All I know is that I feel bad for the guy(or anyone who has to livein Odessa for that matter.). Not only has he ruined his future, he lives in Odessa.

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I doubt he's ruined his future...I think this whole thing will blow over in a few years (if not less). I think he'll be forgiven due to his tender age.

That said, assuming he didn't have all the funding there when he promised it, it wasn't a very smart thing to do.

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And taking on Betty Buckley et al is something that causes agita for "producers" three times his age.

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My point exactly, ap. Someone is gonna snatch this boy up.

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i just really don't understand at all how this worked. i mean, let alone doing both sweeney todd AND gypsy in one season. each of them on their own is a lot for a company to handle, and to try and do both in one season with the 4 afore-mentioned stars... how?

Maybe he's Garth Drabinsky's nephew (and may end up with the same fate).

Is it just me or does this whole situation SCREAM out to be told in a book, play, musical .... ? A 20 year old theatre queen in desolate, going nowhere, Odessa Texas comes up with an idea to bring Broadway to him since he can't get to it. This miniature Max Bialystock/Harold Hill/Corky Sinclair somehow talks fast enough and convinces several of the biggest Broadway and West End stars in the world to come down to Odessa to perform. He's got no professional actors in his company, so he talks his aunt and other locals to be part of it. Contracts are signed, press releases go out, but midway through Act II it all falls apart because he can't raise the money. The shows are cancelled and his family, friends and neighbors are crushed because they so wanted to see THEATRE, real theatre in their lives in that otherwise depressing community. And they all hate him and some have lost a lot of money because of his bumbling. What is he to do?

How does it end? Does he get the towns folk to rally around him and put on their own show that will be JUST as good -- if not BETTER -- as that fancy "big city" show he promised? Does he call up Bernadette, have a heartfelt conversation with her causing her to have a change of heart and fly down and get all "perky" for them and give them the concert of their lives? Or does he flee to Canada like Garth Drabinsky evading the federal authorities, change his identity and later open a flower shop in Alberta with his lover Kevin? So many possibilities .............

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I doubt he's ruined his future...I think this whole thing will blow over in a few years (if not less).

Perhaps you may be right. Unfortunately, for a *long* time, anything that gets written about him will include this little fiasco. Journalists/papers will throw this up time and time again.

It's going to take him having a great deal of successful productions (and professional business dealings) to start gaining the trust of many and slowly bury this.