Riedel on vultures circling ‘Great Comet’ — Page 2

RippedMan said: "I just get such an icky feeling from Oak. First, his bio in the Playbill says "I've done other things besides Hamilton." What a dick. Be PROUD that you're in one of the biggest shows of the past decade and beyond. That's just utterly infuriating.

I will say I was kind of taken aback when I was reading the Playbill. He should be so proud he was in Hamilton. I got to see Hamilton this summer and it is another completely amazing piece of theater. Why say something like that!



"

So Oak agreed with the show-saving situation at first, and then when the race loonies went loose on twitter he stopped reacting to the producers. The only thing that could have saved this situation is if Oak would have made a public statement a week ago, saying that he is "fully accepting of the situation, that it's a routine fact of Broadway life and that he will do all the publicity with Patinkin and most of all, that this, of course, has nothing to do with race. And kindly ask the people to stop saying that". But instead he had private get-togethers in dressing rooms with Casal and did not make a statement at all. Oak is to blame for this situation.

It seems that the race pressure rises above any sense of sanity for him.

Even if that means completely trashing the show.

Updated On: 8/4/17 at 08:53 AM

bisous3 said: "Oak could absolutely save this show by 1- agreeing to stay on through his original dates and 2- making a public statement absolving the management/producers/directors of any wrongdoing or racism. But here's the thing. There's pressure on him in a way to use this opportunity to bring attention to the racism/lack of diversity on Broadway in general. So he either doesn't do anything to help the show stay open or he faces a possible backlash from people who want him to take a stand. Not an easy position to be in."

I think you hit the nail on it's head here.

We are not dealing with sane human beings in this case. We are dealing with people who think only in race and everything else in life has to make place for that.

Even if that ruins the show.

When people are raised by, surrounded by, friends with people who think alike, they may start to believe that race is all there is in life and that everything evolves around that. They simply can not comprehend anything that goes beyond race. Showing here.

Updated On: 8/4/17 at 08:56 AM

Off topic: Any actor who screams at his director should be fired immediately.

bisous3 said: "Keep in mind, Oak is very young. He isn't even listening to his management at this point. What is very sad is there are many people with rent to pay and kids to feed that will be out of a job."

What's killing me is that race was used as a platform to raise a stir, but the cause of this is ego, not race. Looks like Oak was pissed off that a bigger star than him was taking his spot and played the race card to cause a stir. Sure you were in Hamilton, but honey, can you sell tickets?

schubox said: "bisous3 said: "Keep in mind, Oak is very young. He isn't even listening to his management at this point. What is very sad is there are many people with rent to pay and kids to feed that will be out of a job.



"
Very young? He'll be 30 in a couple of weeks



"



Really? Welp.... there goes that excuse...

Updated On: 8/4/17 at 09:13 AM

raddersons said: "Sidebar, I also don't appreciate this situation making me feel like I'm a Trump supporting, "down with snowflakes", anti-PC conservative. I am VERY liberal. But I don't think someone's ego should get roped in with actual racial issues on Broadway or the world at large -- that's just blurring the lines of actual issues and making racial issues seem less legitimate.



"

People have gone too far the other way. Virtue signaling and trying to be the most woke on twitter has lead to this outrage culture that causes **** like this

His birthday is August 16, 1987. He's basically 30

I don't believe they've only returned 20% of the investment. Some basic calculations prove that even with advertising/marketing accounted for, they've returned over 50% of the investment.

IdinaBellFoster said: "I don't believe they've only returned 20% of the investment. Some basic calculations prove that even with advertising/marketing accounted for, they've returned over 50% of the investment.



"

Is that just the Broadway numbers? Didn't someone yesterday say the producers rolled up all of the off-Broadway money in to this as well. Making the number higher to recoup

" Also... This article would explain the statement of the producers misunderstanding how he felt about the situation. If he played along until it went public. I don't know. Just thinking.



"



It also might not have occurred to him to view it the way others did until people like Cazal and Orivo posted those tweets. Who knows? But now he is kind of between a rock and a hard place.

At least, the producers should know that keeping a show that is not a mammoth like Hamilton or Dear Evan Hansen running at a weekly cost of 700k is an extremely risky business. While it's great that they are willing to take the risk, they should've had better plans for the show after JG's departure if they knew the business well enough or at least did enough research.