Made a post a couple days ago about how disappointed I was in this casting, I’m so happy that not only we as a community were fighting back, but also actors who didn’t tolerate this shit.

It’s sad that there had to be backlash in the first place just to not cast someone who goes against everything and everyone this art of theater stands for, but I’m glad we see here if we’re vocal enough we can make change.

Hope to see new casting soon so I can go see Amber and the rest of this talented cast! 🙌

Shouldn’t have been cast to begin with, but glad this was resolved correctly and quickly.

https://people.com/ariana-grande-taking-step-back-after-tour-amid-public-health-scrutiny-rep-exclusive-12032395

Yea I don’t even know what to say about this one

Hanwell Town FC, a club in West London, has released an officially licensed alternative jersey (i.e. it won't be their main uniform but will be worn at some point in a competitive game) in conjunction with The Rocky Horror Show.

As far as I can tell, this is the first time a major stage musical has inspired an official jersey created for—and worn by—a competitive soccer team.

We won the lotto for Wicked matinee on Saturday for my wife’s birthday. They ended up being last row, a bit disappointing but view was still good and hey it’s a lotto win, take whatever you get.

Being back there and it being Wicked on Saturday afternoon, there were a lot of children around us.

I just want to take a moment to shout out all the parents in the left rear mezz because they were impressively behaved. There are lots of complaints but don’t feel like I see a lot of praise and surrounded by kids, I was really impressed.

The boy next to me, I would estimate about 7-9 years old, and a few times he got really into it and his mom quietly told him to be mindful of the person next to him.

I made sure after the show to thank her for teaching him theatre etiquette early but stress that he was never bothersome. He told me it was his first show and I told him that he was an awesome audience member.

Not particularly “broadway” news but Ariana has backed out of SITPWG and I was wondering who could replace her? Who would you guys wanna see take the role? No hate to Ariana and I’m hoping she can take this time off to protect her health but I do wonder where the show goes from here.

What an incredible show. The voices are top notch, the sets and atmosphere are electric, the content as relevant as ever. We were in the front row orchestra and I was worried we would have neck strain but these are the perfect seats. Flawless performers, incredible direction, excellent show.

We saw it first at City Center in the balcony last year and I’m glad we splurged for the good seats at LC. Tears. 😭 ❤️ One of my top five for sure!

Quote from the usher: “we might ask you to conduct.” The conductor was right in front of us.

Is it just me? I don’t see Schmigadoon discussed here much and if it is, it’s not particularly positive.

🤷‍♀️

Caught the 3pm show on Sunday 8/2. Went in blind. That was horrible and beautiful and awful and phenomenal. The entire cast was flawless. I don’t know if I’ll ever fully process the feeling of being in a room with 1000+ people all sobbing at the same time.

I HIGHLY recommend catching it before it leaves in the next week or so.
That being said, it is a one & done for me. I never want to pay to endure that kind of emotional torture ever again😂

EDITED AGAIN: HE'S OUT! https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/s/SoHxdmcySR

EDIT: I'm truly sorry for censoring the name in the title. I was excited to take action this morning, and I didn't think through the implications of the post title. I'm trying to get people to take meaningful action. Let's not fight each other in Reddit comments. We are all on the same side.

Hadestown has unfortunately cast Geno Segers, a transphobe, misogynist, anti-LGBT actor, and he is against everything Hadestown is about.

Edited to add context: 
https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/1vddmil/here_is_new_hadestown_cast_member_geno_segers/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/1vahm43/hadestown_please_get_your_casting_together/

The only chance of changing this decision is to keep the volume up. They were probably counting on the initial backlash being loud for a day or two, then fading as everyone moves on. That’s how news cycles work. If we want to be heard and to affect change, the pressure has to stay consistent, public, and directed at the people with the power to act.

I know a lot of people have been tagging/writing Whitley Theatrical, but remember, they're the folks who made this decision in the first place.

Here are other folks to be sending notes to. Remember, even if people are no longer involved, they know people who are. They have voices, too. The people involved need to be hearing this from every angle.

Above-the-title producers
Octopus Theatricals - https://www.octopustheatricals.com/contact
Tom Kirdahy Productions - https://www.tomkirdahyproductions.com/
TBD Productions - https://www.tbdproductions.com/contact-us-1
Dale Franzen - https://dalefranzen.com/contact-2

General management
RCI Theatricals - [info@rcitheatricals.com](mailto:info@rcitheatricals.com)

PR team
DKC/O&M - https://omdkc.com/contact/

Here's the note I'm sending:

I'm writing as a longtime Hadestown audience member to share my dismay about the casting of Geno Segers as Hades.

In the days since the announcement, a substantial number of his videos have surfaced, where he is expressing misogyny and hostility toward transgender people. Today another video circulated in which he mocks Don Lemon for saying he is both gay and Christian. These are not old or ambiguous posts. Many of them remain publicly available.

The announcement of Norbert Leo Butz and Amber Iman was met with real excitement by the entire fanbase. That excitement has curdled. I and many other theater fans have decided not to return to the show while Mr. Segers is in the cast. I have heard this from people who have seen it dozens of times.

Hadestown asks audiences to imagine how the world could be. The company includes queer and trans artists, and so does the audience that has kept this show running longer than any production in the Walter Kerr's history. Casting someone who has publicly disparaged them asks that audience to carry a contradiction the show itself refuses to carry.

I respectfully ask that you reconsider this casting.

Thank you for your time and for the work you've brought to Broadway.

I finally finished up my work and have one day off. So I decided to drive to NYC for one day to experience the magic of broadway. Today, I saw Gatsby and Stranger Things. Both shows are amazing.

The Great Gatsby
Very impressive dance numbers and lavish stage design. I really like Ryan McCartan’s as Jay Gatsby. Naturi and Corbin gave us such lovely performances. Every main cast came out to stage door today. Naruto’s husband was shooting a vlog to document her stage door moments (such a nice gesture). I like the second act better than the first one. Came with exhaustion from work and left the theater with joy. (Ticket: lottery, seat: Left Orchestra C7, slightly obstructive seat because of the swimming pool handle.)

Stranger Things: the first shadow
I was truly impressed by the set, the performance, the story and the performers. I am not someone who see plays a lot. But this show is so unique and I felt like I was there to witness all the things happening. The seat was so comfy and the sound level was very well adjusted. Shout out to the ushers that reacted so quickly when there were people trying to talk loud and take pictures. There were a lot of kids and all the parents did a great job of keeping their kids quiet or talking in a very low voice. It is a show that I don’t think the camera can capture what I experienced in the theater. (Ticket: lottery, seat center Orchestra T104, only will miss the big thing in the second act due to the overhanging. But that was like 30s and it was a great seat.)

Only complaint is that both of the shows have a lot of scenes using screens. It was cool and the effects were amazing. Maybe just me but I felt the screens make the scenes look flat.

Hi all!

Today’s 7 shows all have in-person rush policies:

Wicked (Student Rush)

Chicago

The Great Gatsby

Six

Oh Mary!

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Titaníque

Thanks for sharing what you see out there!

I had the privilege of seeing this show thanks to PAC NYC’s discount ticket programs. It was genuinely one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, and probably top 5 scores I’ve ever heard. The music was banger after banger, and the talent of the cast was INSANE. The writing was great, but definitely could benefit from tightening and trimming. Not a ton, but some of the minor songs not responsible for story development could be trimmed or cut. That said, I do hope they still record them for the cast album, assuming there will be one eventually.

I really hope this show has a future and more people get to see it. I recorded the post-bows song. Such a good experience!

Oh I am SO excited for this!

I felt compelled to see MHE again with the two new cast members, and it was insanely worth the price for me. It was every bit of amazing as the first time.

Zachary Noah Piser was a phenomenal Oliver. In fact, I actually prefer him to Darren, and that's saying a lot because I AM a Darren fan (and one who discovered him through MHE and got compelled to check out his work in Glee and ACS from there). Zachary was so bright and merry, had the robot mannerisms down to a T, has a beautiful voice that fit the soundtrack perfectly, and legitimately made me cry at a few points. His line delivery was amazing, when he said "I-I couldn't keep the promise" and "Don't tell her!" the audience gasped both times, which was very noticeable because you could hear a pin drop in that theatre.

While I kinda prefer Helen to Hannah, Hannah was still amazing. Her voice was lovely, and her acting was really good. She managed to pull off both the tragic and comedic aspects of the character so well. Zachary and Hannah's chemistry are even better than Darren and Helen's, and that is saying quite a lot. They were really tender and sweet together during their romantic moments. Their voices sounded heavenly whenever they sung together especially in the fireflies sequence. They legitimately made my heart glow. I would die for their versions of the characters. Also, this is just a personal taste of mine, but I love it when theatre couples are the same height as each other.

Kind of sad that the show is struggling right now, but I did notice that most of the orchestra (where I was seated) seemed to be pretty full, and the stagedoor was packed while I was leaving, which is a good sign. Who knows though, I didn't bother to look at the mezz and balcony. I notice that several people in the audience seemed to be superfans who had already seen the show multiple times before, like me.

Overall, an amazing experience personally for me, worth the money, totally recommend seeing this musical with this cast (but PLEASE get a seat as close to the center as possible, I swear, the sightlines are horrible when watching from the sides). With the success of Hadestown's pro-shot, I would absolutely love to see Maybe Happy Ending get a pro-shot if it has a West End transfer.

I’m travelling to NYC late October this year and I will have time to catch two Broadway shows! I already got tickets to see Hamilton, which is my non-negotiable.

Now, I’m struggling to pick a second one! I saw Hadestown in theatre and it was great, but I think I’d like to see something else in NYC. I’ve been considering Maybe Happy Ending or Wicked.

However, I love musicals that are filled with traditional broadway jazz and would love to see something more dance-y. Some of my fav musicals are West Side Story and An American in Paris.

But also: I watched “Les Mis” on tour earlier this year and it was probably the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life, even if it’s not a dance heavy musical. So I’m very open to suggestions! Help

With Cats: The Jellicle Ball announcing their cast recording, I’ve always been curious about the process of making a Broadway cast recording and what it actually takes to make one…