It’s official: ‘Great Comet’ will close Sept. 3
“Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” the acclaimed Broadway musical engulfed in a racial firestorm, will close Sept. 3, The Post has learned. The cast and crew were told shortly before the curtain went up on Tuesday night’s performance.
The closing is a direct result of the social-media backlash following the announcement that Mandy Patinkin would replace a black actor in one of the title roles.
The “Homeland” star withdrew after several prominent actors of color tweeted their fury that he was replacing Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan as Pierre. The Web site Broadway Black took up the charge, writing, “it raises questions about how Black actors are valued and treated within Broadway.”
But sources say that the charges of racism were unfair and ultimately destructive. They say that after Patinkin declined, producers scrambled to line up another star, to no avail.
“We were told by the major talent agencies that no one wanted to touch the show because of the controversy,” a production source says.
Last week, the atmosphere backstage grew desperate. Sources say cast members begged Onaodowan to make a public statement saying race was not the issue. They also pleaded with him to call Patinkin and ask him to reconsider.
‘We were told by the major talent agencies that no one wanted to touch the show because of the controversy.’
Production sources say Onaodowan initially agreed to step aside and make joint public appearances with Patinkin, but stopped talking to the producers after the backlash hit.
His run was rocky from the start. The former “Hamilton” cast member was offered the role of Pierre in January with the understanding he’d come to rehearsals knowing the piano and accordion parts he plays in the show. But several sources say he showed up unprepared musically, and without having learned his lines. His debut was postponed a week.
His press representative didn’t return e-mails seeking comment.
Onaodowan clashed during rehearsals with director Rachel Chavkin. He wanted the role altered to suit his needs, but sources say she insisted he play it as written, reminding him repeatedly that he was a “replacement.”
To make sure he was onboard with their decision to bring in Patinkin, the producers told him he could rejoin the show in the future. But after what sources describe as a “heated” phone call with Chavkin, he believed she didn’t want him back.
Chavkin told The Post: “I don’t intend to comment on what was clearly an unfortunate misunderstanding between people I respect a great deal.”
Onaodowan’s final performance will be Aug. 13. His standby, Scott Stangland, will take over until Aug. 20, when Dave Malloy, the show’s creator and the original Pierre, closes out the run.
Malloy isn’t too popular with backers of the show, who will lose all but 20 percent of their $14 million investment.
In a tweet justifying Patinkin’s hiring, Malloy wrote, “The show was in desperate shape; sales … were catastrophically low.”
That tweet “killed us,” says an investor. “Who’s going to buy ticket sales to a show that’s falling apart? We could never regain momentum.”