Josh Grisetti and Rob McClure have something to say about San Fran

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 9/23/17 at 10:08pm

Kate Shindles comment about the hair supervisor being stabbed in the head really got to me, I hope they’re alright. Why are tours still going there??? https://www.facebook.com/joshgrisetti/posts/10154661349956230

Updated On: 9/23/17 at 10:08 PM

[n.holden]

Posted: 9/24/17 at 1:00am

It is a little crazy. We've had people angrily yelling at us and cornering me and my family. Sad that so much neglect had gone to that part of the city. The strategic following he mentioned is chilling. Maybe more tours should go to the Curran Theater which is in a different area? 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 9/24/17 at 1:41am

I mean I'm sure SHN wouldn't prefer it this way, but they can't do much about it. They've already lost the Curran, and operating out of only the Orpheum would severely limit their options. They'd probably lose a lot of business. The tenderloin is not ideal for business either, of course, but at least people are still seeing the shows at the Golden Gate. 

[StephieElise]

Posted: 9/24/17 at 8:38am

I saw Hedwig at the Golden Gate and was honestly terrified walking around that neighbourhood; I think it would put me off seeing shows there if I were a local. I kind of wish I had taken photos of how seedy it looked rather than just the typical pretty shots of the bridge and Ghiradelli sundaes. 

We have our fair share of homelessness and drug problems here in Melbourne and I've traveled to cities including LA, New York and Honolulu and nowhere else have I seen homeless people and drug addicts as prevalent and as aggressive as in downtown San Francisco. We were staying at the Hilton in Union Square and were kept awake at night by the fighting on the street 10 floors below.

[ARTc3]

Posted: 9/24/17 at 4:38pm

Seriously?

I currently live in San Francisco (ex New Yorker). In fact, I actually live in a very upscale neighborhood just a few blocks from the above mentioned Golden Gate and Orpheum theaters.

It is true that the Tenderloin is a 'rough' neighborhood by San Francisco's very high standards, but for someone who's never been to this gorgeous city, reading the above they would imagine a situation far different from the truth.

It wasn't too long ago that many people would have been terrified walking across 42 Street in Manhattan. Tthe Tenderloin is not nearly as bad as Times Square was.

San Francisco has a very open policy regarding the homeless. The climate makes for a generally very hospitable environment for that community. That combine with the many policies in place that offer compassion juxtaposed to those cities who actually bus their homeless out of town - often to San Francisco - makes for the large population.

San Francisco is a beautiful city - perhaps one of the most beautiful cities. It is also one of the most livable cities I've had the good fortune to live in and I've lived all over the world.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 10:56am

I'm from the Bay Area and the areas around the major theatres have always been... well, not the greatest. I've lived in NYC for six years now and I see a show nearly every time I'm home (usually once in the summer and once at Christmas). The degradation in the TL is palpable and I'm unfortunately not surprised about anything Grisetti and McClure have said. I hope this is enough of a wakeup call to Ed Lee and the Board of Supervisors — maybe a city that's prided itself on its artistic history needs a little shaming from people in the arts community.

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 3:23pm

i have to agree with Lizzie curry that some shaming by the arts community may move the board to do something.

The surprising thing from this story was that Rob Mcclure and the cast at something rotten were at the orpheum, which while not the best block in SF is nowhere near the gauntlet of despair you get walking down taylor street to the golden gate.

Actors should consider NOT walking home from the golden gate(its bad in all directions and market street is the safest but at 11pm or later you get some very sketchy characters), and should consider lyft pool from the all the theatres late night (and complain and see if you can get the reimbursement upped for the travel costs).

the worst area near the orpheum is near the library, which has become a gathering for the homeless. my recommendations for navigating to the orpheum is either take the bart which exits right in front of the orpheum, take lyft, or if you drive/park or some other cobination, stay on market street or stay on hyde or mcallister.

 a guy who lives near me in pacific heights( a very nice area) last week was beaten unconscious with skull fractures by two people he did not know who got of the car and beat him senseless. Violent attacks on individuals and even couples are on the rise in all areas of SF, including armed robbery.  

So be careful....

 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 3:32pm

The surprising thing from this story was that Rob Mcclure and the cast at something rotten were at the orpheum, which while not the best block in SF is nowhere near the gauntlet of despair you get walking down taylor street to the golden gate.

I was thinking that too. The Golden Gate has given me heebie-jeebies for years. At least at the Orpheum, the station is right there, but I guess if you're waiting for the F or a Lyft/Uber (can they go on Market now?), then you're more vulnerable than if you were just going downstairs to Muni or BART.

SFist picked this up too:

http://sfist.com/2017/09/21/broadway_touring_actor_pens_goodbye.php

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 4:32pm

I can't agree more. I have traveled through the US a lot including many of the major cities. As a woman in her 20s traveling alone I have never felt unsafe anywhere except for San Francisco and that includes living in Manhattan for a year.

I've been to SF three times. The first I was actually with my dad, and we were followed by some dude in the dark, walking from the car park to our hotel on Market Street. The other two times were for work (the largest geosciences conference is in SF every December). Once I stayed with colleagues in an airbnb in the Castro which was perfectly fine, the second I had to pay for accommodation myself and stayed in a hostel on Post Street which was a bad choice. The hostel itself was totally fine, and Post Street was too, but getting there was not fun. I ended up walking detours because the direct route was so scary, day and night. I saw the Gentleman's Guide tour at the Golden Gate theater that same trip and I vividly remember thinking about how horrible that whole theater district was and wondering why seemingly nothing was done about it.

However, reading what Josh and Rob said I almost feel lucky now that nothing truly bad happened to me. I was walking around there by myself quite a bit...

[JBroadway]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 5:46pm

Oh wow wait, it was at the Orpheum? Haha, when I read McClure's statement, I just completely assumed the show was at the Golden Gate, without a second thought. Jeez, it's a good thing they weren't, or else his experience would have probably been even worse. 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 9:55pm

wow i've never heard about san francisco being such a dump, has it been like this for a long time?

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 9/25/17 at 10:32pm

SFs homeless problem goes back to the 70s. Ive been here 21 years and it feels like its the worst its ever been

 

heres a good article that summarizes the current and very sad

situation. http://sfist.com/2017/06/26/2017_san_francisco_homeless_census.php

3,680 people live on the streets of District Six — which includes much of SoMa and the Tenderloin — far and away the district with the highest homeless population.

(district six includes i believe the Orpheum the Curran and the Golden Gate Theatre)

the seven thousand homeless people represent less than  0.8 percent of SF residents, and its often what visitors remember the most.  

I feel very safe walking back to my hotel after a show on broadway, and unfortunately cannot say the same for any of the three main SF theatres....

 

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/26/17 at 10:21am

gypsy101 said: "wow i've never heard about san francisco being such a dump, has it been like this for a long time?"

I first visited NYC ten years ago and was surprised and impressed at how clean it was and how few homeless people I saw. Then I realized it's way easier to die from the elements here than it is in SF (or most places on the West Coast). That's just part of it — listen to broadwaysfguy for something more comprehensive.

[JennH]

Posted: 9/26/17 at 10:47am

YIKES! As native west coaster, this is so disheartening. Although amazingly enough, even by the time I moved to NYC I knew it better than San Fran, I still think I can count on two hands the amount of times I've been to San Fran throughout my life. For a west coaster, I can say I've hardly ever been there.

My last time there was 3 and half years ago, and It certainly didn't seem this way, but then again, I was also never really in those areas that day. I knew San Fran had/has it's issues that gives NYC a run for it's money and it arguably has a longer history of this problem than NYC, but this is...WOW. NYC also had a vast problem in the 70's in to the 80's also, but NYC sounds like a damn palace in comparison now. It sounds like people actually have to worry about their very lives! Geezzzz....I adore San Fran, somehow it has a different aesthetic that I find more "welcoming" than NYC as similar as they are, but yeeeeessshhh not only has San Fran surpassed NYC in living costs, but also in terms of general livability, crime rates, etc. I'm sorry to hear this about what is really a great city.



 

[Public User]

Posted: 9/26/17 at 1:47pm

omg, you were actually walking there without a security detail or even dear old dad?  Scary stuff, my dear, scary stuff!