Producer blames actor canceled show in front of audience
by Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder
There is news coming out of London where an executive producer publicly blamed a canceled performance on an actor after they had called out sick, going as far as implying that the actor was lying about their illness.
This was done during a speech in front of the audience who had come to see The FInellis Musical at Wonderville in London. Video of the speech was captured by Aaron Cahill, who attended the show.
The show’s story is described as “At the height of his singing career, Tony and his manager Juergen take the fall for Mafia boss Mr. Big and spend 15 years in a Berlin prison to save their families. Upon their release, Tony returns home to find that his children hardly remember him, his wife Tina has divorced him, and his mansion is now a Bed & Breakfast. To stay close to his family and win them back, Tony becomes the janitor in Tina's BnB.”
The producer is Mark Janicello, who also wrote, directed, and is starring as Tony in the show. According to Jacnicello’s atrocious speech to the audience, one of the actors, Mike Sterling, who plays Juergen, had called out of the show due to vocal distress only an hour before call. Apparently this left the creative team little options to perform the show. Judging from the show’s website, there are no understudies.
Janicello further explains that they offered to make adjustments to the microphones and music to accomadate Sterling’s vocal problems. But refused thus leading to the cancellation of the performance.
But what makes Janicello’s speech all the more unprofessional is that he states that Sterling performed the show perfectly the night before and showed no evidence of vocal distress, thus seemingly implying that the actor was not being truthful about his situation.
An email apparently sent out later from the producers stated it was unclear if Sterling would be returning to the show at all.
While there may be some who might think this level of transparency surrounding the cancellation of a performance is refreshing, I think it’s extremely unprofessional, and whatever issues there might be backstage, what Janicello did to one of the actors in his show was uncalled for.
I don’t know the rules of the road in London theatre and how early an actor is required to call out of a show. But regardless, that doesn’t justify Janicello throwing his actor under the proverbial bus.
Furthermore, if Sterling is in serious vocal distress, the fact that Janicello tried to force him to perform is unacceptable as well. Actor safety should always come first on any show. If an actor is injured or sick, there are supposed to be protocols in place to keep everyone healthy and safe and for the shows to continue. The suggested accommodations that Janicello suggested could have worsened Sterling’s situation.
To add insult to injury, the night before, The Finellis Musical had its opening night and was promptly slaughtered by critics.
Critic Dulcie Godfrey said the show “fundamentally disappoints” and is “at best mundane and at worst cringe-worthy."
Ouch.
There seem to be some issues happening behind the scenes. But that does not justify what Mark Janicello did to one of his actors, co-stars, or employees.
He states in the video that in his 50 years of performing, he’s never seen this happen. Well Mark, in my 30 years of being in the theatre, I’ve never seen a producer stoop to this level.