Hard not to feel sorry for actor Morgan James, who attended the first preview performance of a new production of Sondheim's Into the Woods at the Delacorte theatre in New York and found herself embroiled in a Twitterstorm when she tweeted her reaction to the show.
Admittedly her review, which has since been deleted – "HOW can you **** up Into the Woods?? I fear musicianship is dead in musical theatre. And acting, for that matter. #horrified" – wasn't exactly positive, but it was at least clear. And it seems James might have been right on the money: the New York Post's Michael Riedel has just published a roundup of reactions to the production that proclaims: "I do believe hers is an opinion we can trust … [and] even people working on the show agree with her." Ouch.
By that time, of course, James had been attacked repeatedly on Twitter and forced to apologise. She tweeted, mournfully: "I am really sorry for this firestorm. For my words, for responses, for the chaos. I am so sorry. I had NO idea this would turn into this. And I apologize to the cast, crew and creatives of the show and everyone at the Public."
Which raises an interesting question – was James right or wrong to tweet as she did? Most actors would hesitate before broadcasting negative opinions about shows they see to the world at large (not least because they might be employed tomorrow by the people they're slagging off today) but is it hypocritical to pretend that a show's hunky-dory when it isn't? Is it time everyone in theatre was more straightforward with each other? Or should actors and directors keep honest feedback for the rehearsal room?
