THE GREAT COMET Announces September Broadway Closing; Final Performers for Role of 'Pierre' — Page 4

kids, the show was gonna close 9/3 had Mandy done the show without incident. There was no path forward. So wail all you want and blame whosoever you want but no one lost a penny except the investors.

Think Oak and Casal are the only ones who risk adverse career consequences? Au contraire.

If I'm a producer, I'm now reluctant to cast *any* African-Americans in a Broadway show, for fear that the role will then be perceived as permanently limited solely to Black artists. Knowing that no actor stays in a role forever, even if I have my eye set on a Black actor who I think would be perfect for a role, I'd be reluctant to cast him/her, for fear that when the time comes to cast a replacement, I will be severely limited in my choices.

Nobody wants these headaches or controversies; the easiest way to deal with them when they arise is to bolt, just as Patinkin did. When you have significant money at risk, the last thing you want is for the PC police to tell you who you can and cannot cast. So you avoid the controversy altogether by avoiding casting Black actors about whom misfits might make a stink.

Great advancement for the cause of diversity, Oak, Casal, and Erivo.

The bitter irony, of course, is that the casting of such shows as Aladdin and Great Comet, the existence of such shows as Hamilton and On Your Feet, and the distribution of Tony Awards (particularly in 2016) prove that at least in the modern day, Broadway is extraordinarily committed to diversity -- certainly moreso than Hollywood. And yet its well-intentioned, truly colorblind movers and shakers are brought down by frenetic fanatics for whom equality and diversity doesn't mean color-blindness, but the establishment of sacrosanct, Black-only roles that are off-limits to white folks.

The effect of this fanaticism and, yes, racism is to hurt the very cause they purport to espouse.

Utterly and completely ridiculous.

From a member of the ensemble:

https://www.facebook.com/celiameirubin/posts/10154835561222960
"To those in the forefront or the periphery of the recent events, whose actions propelled the show to close sooner than it would have, and certainly under more negative circumstances than it would have, I wonder if you ultimately got what you wanted. And I wonder that if you did, whether getting it at the expense of an entire building of people's hearts and livelihoods feels worth it."

HogansHero said: "kids, the show was gonna close 9/3 had Mandy done the show without incident. There was no path forward. So wail all you want and blame whosoever you want but no one lost a penny except the investors.



"

There is absolutely no way you could possibly know that. Just like, on the other side, no one could know if the show had any chance with Mandy. It is pretty obvious that all of the scandal surrounding Oak had, at a minimum, a negative impact on the perception of the show. And very well could have cost the show money.

Now it's officially #notmytonys. Alternative white way. Make Broadway great again.

Deedee23 said: "This is truly heartbreaking. I don't want to contribute to the blame game or anything, but I hope that the next time Casal buys ice cream, someone knocks it to the ground.



"

Actual LOL on this very sad day.

Sondheimite said, "Hope Oak's happy with all the new POC actors out of work. "

Amen.

People can say you can't blame Rafael Casal, et al, for the closing, but I sure as sh*t blame them for how this situation got so out of hand, and how ugly and gross people were toward such a beautiful show. The show didn't need to close with such nastiness spewed by so many theater people who should know better. It boggles the mind how quickly the hive mind can take over.

I guess my main question is who the f*ck is Rafael Casal and why did so many people give a sh*t about his opinion? Jesus.

Updated On: 8/8/17 at 09:08 PM

everythingtaboo said: "Ironically, it's Rafael Casal's birthday today. Hope he sends a round over to The Great Comet for putting them into early unemployment."

I hope that someone knocks his birthday cake to the ground.

Liza's Headband said, "You ran way longer than I expected considering you're an overrated bore."

I get it Liza. I told folks the show requires upfront studying as the first song says. But for all the times I saw it, I felt like the performers were my friends and/or children. I developed a fondness for them as I did for the OBC at Ham. It was fun and a memory I can add to my bucket list (that I'm gonna start.)

Why is it an "error" to replace a virtual unknown, who has not succeeded in driving an adequate number of sales, with a mega-watt Broadway star with a much larger fanbase?

I wouldn't be so quick to say that people who got a quirky, avant-garde show that required a full-remodeling of a Broadway house (done at their expense) to run on Broadway for a year, and who attracted serious stars to perform (Groban, Patinkin) committed "error after error from the word go."

DramaMamma said, "Fitting for my family, to see Scott as that's who we saw it with at the start at the ART."

Was Scott good relative to Dave and Oak?

"Bibliot said: "From a member of the ensemble:

https://www.facebook.com/celiameirubin/posts/10154835561222960
"To those in the forefront or the periphery of the recent events, whose actions propelled the show to close sooner than it would have, and certainly under more negative circumstances than it would have, I wonder if you ultimately got what you wanted. And I wonder that if you did, whether getting it at the expense of an entire building of people's hearts and livelihoods feels worth it."

"

Huh. Maybe I'm projecting onto this, but doesn't the reference to people in the "forefront" and "periphery" sound like it could be a direct insinuation of Casal and Oak?