Grissom
Grissom
kennedy_rose
Stand-by Joined: 1/25/20
#1Grissom
Posted: 7/1/20 at 7:53am
Strikes again...
https://medium.com/@jgrissomnyc/dirty-money-the-roth-trump-kushner-connection-d595f0e1cbdc
JSquared2
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/23/17
kennedy_rose
Stand-by Joined: 1/25/20
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#7Grissom
Posted: 7/2/20 at 10:33am
Yes, he shared it to his Twitter. It’s lengthy and frankly kind of a hard read:
https://theatreattheendoftheworld.blogspot.com/2020/07/lynn-nottage-and-roths-bad-in-black-and.html?m=1
He comes off a bit unhinged, and his attacks on Jordan Roth quickly veer from legitimate criticism to straight up homophobic insults (that he then tries to deflect from by saying he himself is gay), which is probably way Medium took it down in the first place.
At the same time, he says enough things that I know are true or have heard about that it’s hard for me to dismiss him. And he is going after heavy hitters in the Broadway community, the actual decision makers and money people, the ones who actually need to be publicly taken to task and ones who generate have evaded much scrutiny and public criticism.
I also have no idea who he is or how legit he is as a theater insider.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
Updated On: 7/2/20 at 10:33 AM
#8Grissom
Posted: 7/2/20 at 11:53am
Kad said: "Yes, he shared it to his Twitter. It’s lengthy and frankly kind of a hard read:
https://theatreattheendoftheworld.blogspot.com/2020/07/lynn-nottage-and-roths-bad-in-black-and.html?m=1
He comes off a bit unhinged, and his attacks on Jordan Roth quickly veer from legitimate criticism to straight up homophobic insults (that he then tries to deflect from by saying he himself is gay), which is probably way Medium took it down in the first place.
At the same time, he says enough things that I know are true or have heard about that it’s hard for me to dismiss him. And he is going after heavy hitters in the Broadway community, the actual decision makers and money people, the ones who actually need to be publicly taken to task and ones who generate have evaded much scrutiny and public criticism.
I also have no idea who he is or how legit he is as a theater insider."
The true things he says are well known. I would not call him a theatre insider, and many of his anonymous quotes raise doubts about whether there is a source beyond his imagination. He is someone who has insinuated himself into situations with insiders over the years. Two things about him that inform all of this.
1. He worked as an assistant in Daryl Roth's office at a time when Jordan had an office there as well. I doubt it would come as a surprise to many who have worked in many producers' offices that one might be treated as invisible or at least fungible and expendable.
2. He is known only for his posthumous book on Tennessee Williams, based on what he describes as extensive conversations he had with Williams. From the outset there were questions about that material, for which he made no recordings and claims that his written notes do not exist because they "deteriorated."
Notably, none of his current rants are supported by any documentation beyond what was basically public knowledge anyway. This approach to "journalism" does not infuse one with much confidence as to his credibility. That said, if we could strip away all of the insanity, yes there would be some things here worthy of discussion (although, once again, I am not sure he has said anything that others have not said). He seems like someone who, if he posted here, would end up getting blocked by a lot of people and called words that start with a "T."
#11Grissom
Posted: 7/2/20 at 1:21pm
Although Grissom raises certain subjects that merit discussion, I'd say his relationship to the truth seems dubious. Among other things, he claimed on Twitter that his first essay was vetted by a major media outlet with an eye toward publication, but was killed because the outlet depended on theater advertising, and the editor couldn't risk it. As a working journalist, I highly doubt any part of that is true. For one thing, I can't think of a single publication -- even American Theatre magazine -- that draws that significant revenue from theater advertising. Secondly, it's almost unheard of for a piece of this length written on spec to be considered, but less vetted, for publication, unless the author is of a level of fame/recognition well beyond Grissom's. It also would have had to be put through rigorous editing and fact-checking, which is clearly not in evidence in the end result.
The only person Grissom quotes by name in any of this pieces, as far as I can tell, is Johanna Day, who is clearly a personal friend. He goes out of his way to disparage actresses who were approached to replace Day in various projects. And it's clear he has a personal ax to grind against the Roth family, and Jordan in particular. Again -- Jordan Roth is definitely not above criticism, far from it, but it's so obvious that Grissom's writing is fueled by personal animus.
I have to doubt the veracity of some of the sources, especially when they're presented so salaciously ("an Academy Award winning actress told me," "a prominent African American playwright said," etc).
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
#12Grissom
Posted: 7/2/20 at 4:51pm
@AC126748 one more point (that you may or may not want to agree with based on your credentials) is that, even if we indulge the hearsay about what the editor said, it is not uncommon for an editor to make up a white lie in a situation like this, especially if the person on the other end of the phone (and here again there of course is not documentation) is being (and known to be) a PIA.
VintageSnarker
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/30/15
#13Grissom
Posted: 7/5/20 at 12:36am
Kad said: "He comes off a bit unhinged, and his attacks on Jordan Roth quickly veer from legitimate criticism to straight up homophobic insults (that he then tries to deflect from by saying he himself is gay), which is probably way Medium took it down in the first place."
The attacks on Lynn Nottage are also... not a good look. He doesn't seem equipped to make those arguments about race and class and it just comes across as hateful.
