The first preview of Into the Woods at the Delacorte Theater got a mixed response, none more controversial than a tweet by actress and singer Morgan James (Godspell, Wonderland, The Addams Family):
@morganajames wow so much for this community being supportive of one another
— Steven Copp (@StevenCopp)
@morganajames I’m sorry but as an aspiring actress, I would NEVER tweet about someone’s performance like that. Rude and unprofessional.
— Rachel Leishman (@radicalxxrachel) July 25, 2012
Really don’t like seeing Broadway actors trashing other shows on twitter. Have a little tact. We’re all in this together.
— Matt Doyle (@MattfDoyle) July 25, 2012
@morganajames Really? It’s a first preview. Methinks you’ll regret this after the backlash already developing (BWW, ATC, @MattFDoyle, etc).
— Brian DeVito (@bdevit) July 25, 2012
@morganajames The community is about support, not snobbery. You’ve just lost a follower and a fan. Have a feeling I won’t be the first.
— Brian DeVito (@bdevit) July 25, 2012
@morganajames it disgusts me to see performers judging art.Theatre is already judged by so many.WE are the ones who need to SUPPORT
— Scott Alan (@ScottAlanNet) July 25, 2012
@morganajames just imagine one of your peers tweeting the same words about a show you were in after seeing the first preview & you’ll get it
— Emily Faye Oakley (@emilyfayeoakley) July 25, 2012
There were many more along the same lines (dozens more on theater message boards), although most stopped mentioning the actress by name. James defended herself but also deleted her Tweet from her Twitter timeline.
And note: supporting my theatre community–which I DO–does not mean I have to *like* everything.
— morgan james (@morganajames) July 25, 2012
Soon, though, the attack on the attack was itself attacked.
I respect @morganajames‘ honesty with her tweet. She doesnt have to like everything she sees & she doesn’t have to hide her feelings.
— Walter Free (@WalterFree) July 25, 2012
In what I consider a deep irony, Howlround, the intellectual theater site, held an hour-long Twitter chat earlier in the day to address the question: Why aren’t more theater practitioners theater critics?
The subject had been introduced in an essay by director Sherri Kronfeld and then addressed in a blog post entitled Doers vs. Watchers by Rob Weinert-Kendt of American Theatre Magazine
I think we might have at least a partial answer to Howlround’s question.
Morning update:
G’morning twitterverse… S’pose I should apologize for offending so many people.Did not mean to make so many people angry 🙁
— morgan james (@morganajames) July 25, 2012
You didn’t make a personal attack on anyone, you just said what you thought. You shouldn’t be apologising to hypocrites.
— Harry Zing (@CTStheatreblog) July 25, 2012
Richard Amelius(@RichardAmelius):
When Sondheim had an opinion re: Porgy & Bess’s trajectory he wasn’t shy about it. Artists are protective of what they love!
Evening update (24 hours later):
5 thoughts on “Into The Woods First Preview: Attack on ‘Attack’ by Morgan James”