The ‘Tyrannical and Abusive’ Garth Drabinsky, and His Attempted Return to Broadway with ‘Paradise Square’ - Part 4
Who is Garth Drabinsky, what is Paradise Square, and why should anyone care?
The latter is being heralded as the first new musical to reopen Broadway. It has been described as “one of the most anticipated stage musicals to make it to Broadway since the pandemic began”, and as “set to rival Hamilton’s Broadway success”. It is hurtling along to open in Chicago in a matter of days on November 2nd, before shifting onto Broadway early next year in February.
The former is the attached producer of this show – a convicted felon from Canada, a lauded ex-producing mogul, and a creator of hostile working environments. He, correspondingly, has been described as a “seductive and relentless psychopath”, or as actress Rebecca Caine put it, “Scott Rudin but maple syrup flavoured”. A criminal lawsuit in 1998 characterized that “Drabinsky’s management style was tyrannical and abusive”. It is furthermore well-established that he has historically created and maintained producing environments where he, as reported by The Globe and Mail, “intimidated staff through profanity, abuse, and derision, either directly or by direction of other senior employees who adopted the same approach”.
In short – Garth Drabinsky’s return is a threat, and a direct contradiction to the progressive forward motion to be found currently as some of the world’s most notable theatrical environments emerge from unprecedented periods of dormancy. Cries like “#bringbackbetter” are elsewhere typifying the dominant mentality being striven for in hoping to create safer and more diverse workplaces for returning inhabitants. And, even further, tangible actions and consequences are in fact materializing in response to other publicly raised inequities.
Actors are leaving rather than returning to shows in outrage at current theatrical climates, like with Karen Olivo. Investigations via Actors’ Equity are being triggered into working conditions, like with Nora Schell and Jagged Little Pill. Corrupt or abusive white men who have conventionally yielded power in destructive ways are being removed from their positions of leadership, like with Ethan McSweeney or Scott Rudin.
Drabinsky’s imminent re-emergence on Broadway thus places him at the center of a culture in which he no longer belongs, and positions him as a direct danger to the safety of his employees if this is allowed to happen.
So far nowhere else has it been fully explored why.
Click here for Part 1. Click here for Part 2. Click here for Part 3.
Part 4: In Closing
The summary of the points to be aware of are thus as follows –
Garth Drabinsky is a historically convicted felon.
Garth Drabinsky is a historically known tyrant who creates unsafe working environments.
Garth Drabinsky has demonstrated A) a lack of evidence of remorse for his indiscretions, B) modern malpractices of finance, and C) sustained proof of the same historic tyrannical, angered, and fear-inducing approaches to work.
Paradise Square is heralded as new, but is in fact deceptively old and weighed down by a long entwinement around Drabinsky’s own sordid past, as well as racially antiquated founding material, and years of convoluted gestation through its discordant creative team.
Paradise Square is heralded as exciting with much potential for making a large cultural impact in tackling big issues, but there is lacking confidence based on Drabinsky’s previous associated works, or early versions of this work, that it will have the tools or competence needed to produce a nuanced examination of these topics.
The current theatrical climate in search of genuine progression, equity, and safety is outwardly incompatible with Drabinsky’s practices and behaviors, or with these inauthentic, improperly considered, or “showboating” manners of storytelling.
The aim of bringing public discourse to such topics is not to enact vengeance for failures of the past. The aim is to raise awareness and create spaces for discourse so as to possibly prevent them from happening again in the future.
So far, no notable discussion has concretized around Garth Drabinsky and his project. Paradise Square hurtles towards its imminent premiere in Chicago in a mere number of days, while the position of its disreputable producer at its helm has not yet been much questioned to any remotely substantial-end. Even in very recent interviews with the Chicago radio station WGN in October of the Chicago Tribune more recently, none of these matters are broached. Instead, he is heralded on as “the great Garth Drabinsky”, praised for being a “special guest”, and called “legendary”. What will it take before the world stops looking away?
It should be finally highlighted that opportunities on Broadway are finite and second chances for those exhibiting or having previously exhibited evil or intensely problematic behaviors are not mandatory. There are, in fact, other options.
A New York Times piece last summer by Michael Paulson entitled “Black Plays Are Knocking on Broadway’s Door. Will It Open?” features musings from many notable voices following Paulson’s opening declarative of “Calls for diversity grow louder”. Among them is playwright Jocelyn Bioh. “I don’t know how to solve the diversity issue on Broadway,” Bioh said, “other than calling attention to it, and cultivating a generation of producers who are not afraid.”
This seems reasonable. Perhaps her requirement could be modified slightly: there should be a generation of producers who are neither afraid, but nor do they inspire fear.
Garth Drabinsky does not fit that bill.
If THIS is the man – a known abusive tyrant, volatile felon, and remorseless manipulator who is still demonstrating dangerously unscrupulous financial, behavioral and creative practices – who is Broadway’s literal first choice to reopen the very first new work in the world’s most prominent theatre scene, we are in trouble.