Paulson expose On Great Comet controversy — Page 5

poisonivy2 said: "Also the Hamilton OBC was an amazing array of talent but they were a marriage of convenience. I think I read about Leslie Odom Jr. and Lin Manuel Miranda having a rather ugly falling-out over Leslie's contract. So maybe Oak's expectations about what relationships with colleagues are supposed to be are very different from the expectations of the Great Comet "family." (I use that term because that's what they call themselves.)"

Eh, some of them. Leslie and Lin were always a relationship where it was clear they had huge respect for each other but were never close personally - there was also an interview where Leslie called Lin cliquey, though obviously in much nicer and professional language. But the three Schuyler Sisters all got close, for example, and their freestyling together was the inspiration for the changes to The Schuyler Sisters. Any time you have a cast of 20+ people you're going to have some that become best friends, some that are cool, and some that don't really get along. I was referring more to the energy the director brings, the overall tenor of the show. Hamilton was a vastly more relaxed, do whatever you want as long as you make magic happen on the stage environment. Comet, simply by virtue of their show, can't have that

Lots of people bailed on Frozen during the workshops because it was a hot awful mess. 

 

Oak didn't make any friends at Comet because he came incompletely unprepared and with a huge chip on his shoulder. He then had the nerve to ask the company to publicly speak out against Kagan in exchange for giving his "blessing" to Mandy. So yeah, no warm send-off for him. 

I doubt we'll be seeing much from Oak, which is more than deserved.  How long before he's begging to go back to Hamilton?  How long before he's doing dinner theatre in the catskins? 

Eliza2 said: "theater_tech said: "Ingrid seems to get along with the cast very well."

Exactly. There was a cute video of much of the cast gathered in Ingrid's dressing room before her last performance singing a version of her song "Everybody" with modified lyrics directed towards her "everybody everybody loves you lots, everybody everybody loves you Ingrid" etc.

I was also at that final performance for her and Oak. I wasn't expecting any speeches or anything special since it was the final performance for two actors who had only been with the show for a short time. But I was struck by the social media presence of the cast - I saw many posts with love and goodbyes for Ingrid, none for Oak. That spoke volumes."

Ingrid seemed to have jelled really well and really quickly for someone coming in to replace a beloved original cast member. I think there's a longer version floating around somewhere, but here's what Ingrid posted to her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BXyxJIUF57b/

I've also seen really cute videos of the karaoke party Ingrid hosted her last day that really made me love the cast even more. 

I think Oak got the standard "goodbye my gypsy lover" sendoff with Ingrid and an Instagram sendoff from Denée. Azudi also mentioned they had known each other for 12 years and spoke well of working with him. But nothing like what Ingrid got. Don't want to read too much into it, because everyone is different and all that, but I have to admit that I find the cast/Ingrid interactions adorable. 

Updated On: 8/30/17 at 01:10 PM

irishgator1 said: "I just remain baffled why Casal and Erivo are doubling down, rather than admitting they misspoke or jumped the gun in their condemnation. While it's clear that they are not the sole reason Comet is closing prematurely, their involvement and the resulting explosion certainly scared away any potential replacements who could've taken the show to a dignified end. A simple "We spoke before we had all the facts and we are so sorry for what impact this has had" would be the honorable and correct course of action."

Pride can be a very toxic entity. Both Erivo and Casal are immensely proud individuals. However, when your pride gets in the way of reason and decency, that is when it can become a major problem. I genuinely think it is very possible that Erivo and Casal do not believe they played any part in the show's premature closing.

I was at Comet in the banquettes a few days after Ingrid's run ended. She was there in the celebrity seats with Will Chase. It must have been her first time seeing the show after having been in it herself. The ensemble obviously adored her. They were clinking glasses with her, winking at her while they were dancing, etc. It was clear that they were thrilled to see her.

@bdn223 "It is somewhat hypocritical on here for everyone to argue that its Kagan's plan of relying on the Best Musical Tony to make the production financially viable. "  There is of course some hypocrisy in what's been posted, but let's zero in on what constitutes good and bad producing for a minute. Producing 101 says that you don't budget on the assumption that you are going to be a blockbuster hit. And yet when you drill through the numbers for Comet, it's obvious that that is what they did, because there was no other way to ever recoup in a timely manner. Inside or outside the theatre, it is basic management that you don't get ahead of your own numbers because of your own enthusiasm.

coreman009 said: "qolbinau said: "This unfortunate situation is a direct result of what our ultra-PC, 'post-truth' hysterical activism culture is doing to us. While always with good intentions, there appears to be a large fraction of our society who get so emotionally charged around issues towards race, gender and sexuality that they are blind to the truth (we aren't ALWAYS victims of our demographics in every situation, such as this one). While ironically ignoring the devastating way some of these demographics are treated in religious circles within Western countries and world-wide.

We are going too far, and we need to calm down before this madness continues.



"

YES YES YES. I'm as liberal as they come, but this ultra-PC stuff goes wayyyy too far. People whose intentions are more diversity end up alienating their own allies. This wasn't about race when a black actor replaced a white actor and it wasn't about race when the inverse happened. Some people make EVERYTHING about race and it hurts the cause."

I'm not inherently against PC (I, too, am very liberal), however it must be kept within reason. If more people had just taken a second to think before they started pointing fingers, this backlash never would've occurred. PC mixed with reason can make the world a better place. But if you take away reason and accountability, you end up with this:

'He does not seem like a good team player.'

Why on earth should he have been a 'good team player' in this situation.  No matter what, his reputation was going to take a big hit no matter how this played out, so what does he owe to either the producers or the production as a whole?  Unlike Brittain Ashford, who has had a a very long relationship with this piece and, I imagine, a sense of ownership and responsibility to the whole, Onaodowan was simply a replacement.  I won't defend his alleged lack of preparation (had I been give the role, I would have started working with a piano/accordion teacher immediately), nor will I defend any of the Twitter bullsh*t that happened.  But this idea that he should have played nice and just been an obedient, humble servant about the whole thing?  I say good for him for not taking that route.  He owed them absolutely nothing at that point.  

^with the audit I'd be surprised to see a tour come about. Hopefully we get regional sit down productions, though....

SonofRobbieJ said: "'No matter what, his reputation was going to take a big hit no matter how this played out, so what does he owe to either the producers or the production as a whole?"

Agreed he does not owe them anything, but they were paying him to not work. Listening to a producer isn't being a humble obedient servant, it's called doing your job. As soon as the twitter nonsense started if he had told people to back down, there would have been no controversy. His reputation would have never been tarnished in the first place. Mandy would have gone on, and the show wouldn't be closing this week. He made an agreement with the production team and cast, and stabbed them in the back -- and in the process, brought down a show and ruined his own career.

Anakela said: "From the NYT article, re: Patinkin.

"They also thought he could be persuaded to extend his run, juggling “Great Comet” and “Homeland” after Labor Day."

I don't watch Homeland, but I do know that it does not film in NY. Again, I don't watch, but - I was under the impression that Patinkin is the second lead of Homeland, after Danes? So how was he going to extend, and 'juggle' being in Comet with filming a show that he's a lead in that doesn't film in NY?"

 

The previous season of Homeland was entirely set in NYC.

Call_me_jorge , it would be foolish to expect a statement from the cast. Paulson even explains why in the article, although it shouldn't need explaining. Let's say even one of them publically comes out and tells Oak to go screw himself- the Bway twitter community will attack them (see: Joey Cassata). If they make false statements about how this was handled (remember, cast members aren't necessarily privy to private discussions with other actors), the industry will remember. And at this point, with everything that is being revealed about Oak, the cast members would be wise to not put their name on anything- that's why you see them being credited anonymously in the press.

Updated On: 8/30/17 at 02:58 PM