Morgan James On 'Into The Woods': 'Godspell' Actress Ignites Firestorm After Trashing Shakespeare In The Park Production

Amy Adams is starring in the musical which is part of The Public Theater's Shakespeare In The Park

"Godspell" actress Morgan James ignited a firestorm on twitter this week after she tweeted a scathing review of Into the Woods at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical -- directed by Timothy Sheader -- stars Hollywood actress Amy Adams and Donna Murphy. Following the first preview of the production James tweeted:

“HOW can you **** up Into the Woods?? I fear musicianship is dead in musical theatre. And acting, for that matter. #horrified”

James’ tweet was deleted shortly after, but it did not stop fellow Broadway performers from responding directly to her statement. Broadway actor Matt Doyle responded:

Really don't like seeing Broadway actors trashing other shows on twitter. Have a little tact. We're all in this together.

— Matt Doyle (@MattfDoyle) July 25, 2012

Composer and lyricist Scott Alan echoed Doyle’s sentiments: “people read your tweets & you need to be apart of this industry & be respectful & feel honored to be working in it...it disgusts me to see performers judging art. Theatre is already judged by so many. WE are the ones who need to SUPPORT.”

Morgan James has since apologized for her original tweet:

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.

— morgan james (@morganajames) July 25, 2012

A discussion started on the online site Broadwayworld has drawn more than 150 comments on the topic. Responses range from disgust to sympathy.

Earlier this year, "Phantom of the Opera" star Sofia Escobar took offense when a 48-year-old housewife insulted her on Twitter, writing that she couldn't stand the actress.

Escobar responded with, “It's ok cause I can't stand you either ;) x," and launched a discussion on cyberbulling. "“My job doesn't make me super human and respect goes down well no matter what profession people have," Escobar tweeted. "And I won't be insulted and not stand up for myself. Just because im a performer it doesn't give you a free pass to bullying.”

Loading Slideshow

• Actress Morgan James attends the opening night after party for Broadway's 'Godspell' at Planet Hollywood on November 7, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

• This undated theater image released by The Public Theater shows actor Denis O'Hare, from left, Gideon Glick, and Johnny Newcomb in The Public Theater production of 'Into the Woods' at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

CORRECTION:A previous version of this article spelled Scott Alan's name incorrectly. It has since been fixed to reflect the true spelling.

Comments

[DanielClint]

08:15 PM on 04/30/2013

Didn't see the show but did see Morgan James at 54 Below last night. An amazing singer with incredible musicianship. She was probably right about the Into The Woods production. People need to get over other people not having the same opinion as them. The age of mediocrity needs to end and will only end when people speak the truth. Thank you Morgan for your candor. And as to the remark about you being jealous, I say, 'Ha', you are beautiful and talented and have no reason to be jealous of anyone!!!

[dodger77]

12:28 PM on 12/05/2012

Wow somehow missed all this!! I saw into the woods way after it opened and it was beyond dreadful - as most critics agreed - so she was right all along. Besides that she is completely entitled to her opinion and has a first amendment right to express it without others getting on their high horses! What is unacceptable is people taking her opinions as a right to air defamatory - presumably baseless - remarks about her personal life…thats tacky not her honest and accurate assessment!!

[raker]

05:16 PM on 08/17/2012

The non-apology is worse than the obnoxious tweet.

[BEGNYC]

01:01 PM on 07/30/2012

I saw 'Godspell.' The adage about people living in glass houses should be held close.

[TomP100]

12:44 PM on 07/29/2012

Amy Adams has been nominated for multiple Academy Awards. Her performance in "June Bug" was brilliant. She has proven herself a more than competent actress. I doubt she could completely **** up a role.

[Nicholas Hongola]

02:01 PM on 07/28/2012

Who cares what this "actress" says. Let her get back in line at Actors Equity.

[bridgetR]

07:15 PM on 07/27/2012

I've never seen a story like this get so much press. Michael Riedel? HuffPo? Playbill? Broadway.com? All writing about a tweet? And using her name in the headline? She's got to be somebody's somebody. I'm curious who she's sleeping with...

[Anne Rosenberg]

11:14 AM on 07/28/2012

She did sleep with a married Broadway director and several actors and musicians she worked with. But the real reason the tweet of an actress with only one song in a play to her credit and two others where she was an understudy got so much press is: when she issued her so-called "apology" she and her agent themselves sent press releases with that headline to various publications. On a slow news day. She knows how showbiz works and how to use controversy to promote herself and get attention.

[bridgetR]

06:45 PM on 08/01/2012

thanks i knew there had to be a reason.Although i don't think she'll be doing any Sondheim musicals in the near future. Now spill! Who was the director and actor? ;-) 

[Billk29]

01:37 PM on 07/27/2012

Amy Adams was so hawt in Enchanted i could forgive her anything.

[gianni sermon]

10:54 AM on 07/27/2012

Simple recipe for doubling your 15 minutes of fame:Say something apparently wrong or unethical on Twitter,cause a good deal of firestorm and havoc on the web and soon after apologize on Twitter again.

[abayomi000]

12:32 AM on 07/28/2012

or share an unpopular opinion... She didn't like a performance, fine, alienate her or pass notes about her in class or whatever but this whole "firestorm" is laughable, to have such a life where this can rule your day (or even 15 min) as an issue with some kind of gravity would be to know extreme privilege.

[gianni sermon]

08:20 AM on 07/28/2012

Of course the whole ''firestorm'' is laughable,but in the Web news era any local news becomes global, even if for just 15 seconds.There's so much craving for for ''new'' and ''exclusive'' revelation that even the silliest stories end up on the internet.20 years ago the beginning of ''Operation Desert Storm'' was a ''Breaking News'' now we're stuck with Tom Cruise's divorce and its implication on Suri's growing up.

[Balma]

10:24 AM on 07/27/2012

The argument that performers shouldn't criticize art is a horrifying statement. The End.

[abayomi000]

12:49 AM on 07/28/2012

I saw that and thought I must have been tripping, I hate that I feel like this is part of some bigger trend of excessive passivity and faux civility.

[BeBop33]

09:34 AM on 07/27/2012

I have one question: Morgan who?

[Susan DeilySwearingen]

09:24 AM on 07/27/2012

I'm confused. Yes the way she said it was tacky, but she didn't like the show. Why is it a crime for her to say so? There's never been a "we're all in this together mentality in theatre." I've been acting for the better part of my life, and though I have many close friends from my time in the theatre, my fellow actors and I all know about the cattiness in the industry, the jockeying and the jealousy. While the people we admire and respect most don't behave this way, we're not not surprised when someone does. She didn't like the show. That doesn't make her the final word on the show. It doesn't even make her a good word on the show. Publicizing her text only gives it extra weight. If the director is so tired of judgement then ignoring her text rather than judging it publicly and therefore inflating its importance might be a good first step.

[Anne Rosenberg]

01:05 AM on 07/27/2012

(contd from my previous comment) But worse, as a musician, and knowing how hard we have to work to make a living, and so many of us may have individual dreams but work hard on Broadway if even to pay the bills, her comment saying even 'musicianship is dead' is narcissistic and idiotic at best. Except for the top 1% and that too the usual pop-stuff, the rest of us work so hard, and could do better than a member of our own community acting petty.

This was not some intellectual debate of Broadway actors not handling criticism etc., it was quite simply a thoughtless taunt in a cheap, petty way by a self-absorbed actress taking shots at the very community that supported her and then doing the usual fake apology. Bitter much, for not getting more roles? With such an unprofessional attitude, I can see why. Her mean girl comment was quite unnecessary given she does sing so well. But perhaps that inflated her head? Time to move on to other greater problems in the world.

[lj9283]

01:46 AM on 07/27/2012

Your "previous comment" has yet to appear.

I did a bit of reading about the production.

Keep in mind that it is at the Delacort, an outdoor theater, and the cast, crew and orcestra has had minimal rehearsal time on the set because of recent rain in New York.

The performance was the first preview of the show, not opening night.

From what I have read there were major disconnects between the Orchestra and the performers all night, as they found out on the first night of previews that the cast had problems seeing the conductor form various positions on the set.

This could easily be solved (and probably was) on the second night of previews by installing a couple of video monitors out of sightlines from the public so the cast can see the conductor.

That is why shows have previews, so that kinks can be worked out before the show is finished when it opens on "Opening Night".

As a "Broadway Performer" and a "Musical Theater" performer Ms. James is well aware of what can occur during Previews.

[Anne Rosenberg]

02:12 AM on 07/27/2012

My first comment is probably still in waiting but part of it was:"While completely entitled to her opinion, her comment exhibited a marked level of unprofessional callousness and came from a lack of empathy. It was vicious and she kept making fun of her fellow actors - not as an intelligent articulate critic of the Arts, but more like the high-school mean girl. While I am glad that some of her colleagues took her to task, I’m certain she will now feign to be the hurt party and the damsel in distress (insert eye-roll). & several beta-males will jump to 'rescue' her. She is already doing the usual Oprah quoting diplomacy on her twitter. I saw the play, and it was certainly not horrifying. I have heard from people who know her that she is not the most generous lady to other beautiful women/actresses."

[DoctorPedantic]

03:40 PM on 07/30/2012

I saw the show Friday night and loved it. Were there kinks to be worked out? Yes: microphone issues, a few flubbed lyrics and lines, and the occasional aforementioned disconnect between the actors and orchestra (there was at least one monitor, but for some reason it wasn't turned on/working). I am sure the glitches the first few day of previews will be easily ironed out before too long.

But the costumes and set were amazing. When the beanstalk and the giant were both revealed, there were gasps from the audience -- just incredibly well done. The staging was very inventive, and the changes to the character of the Narrator worked very well. And of course, the show itself is phenomenol.

Some of the singing left a little to be desired (ahem, Dennis O'Hare), but much of it was very good, and Amy Adams actually did quite well. One thing I appreciated about the singing was the enunciation: you don't want to miss a single word of Sondheim's lyrics, and everything was crystal-clear. And the acting was exceptional -- something that is often sacrificed when "singers" rather than "actors" are cast.

If people want to criticize the show, that's fine, and this woman had a right to do so. But her tweet came across as gleefly mean-spirited (maybe she had auditioned and was rejected?) -- and ignorant.

Fans of the musical absolutely should see this production. It was a magical experience, warts (ha!) and all.

[Anne Rosenberg]

12:53 AM on 07/27/2012

Morgan James has taken her 15 minutes of fame. In showbiz this will help her further in her career. She's 100% entitled to her opinion, but the nature of her comment was extremely mean-spirited and seemed to come from a place of insecurity and misplaced self-importance, not honesty nor naivete. After all, in Broadway she is not exactly known for her acting talents and all her 3 plays had short runs. I know some people who know her and it seems she is very narcissistic and has a hard time appreciating other beautiful women/actresses she feels threatened by and wants every man to pay attention to her alone.

The fact is her comment exhibited a marked level of unprofessional callousness and came from a lack of empathy. It was vulgar & vicious and until called out, she kept making fun of her fellow actors - not as some intelligent articulate critic of the Arts, but more like the high-school mean girl. While I am glad that some of her colleagues took her to task, I’m certain she will now feign to be the hurt party and the damsel in distress (insert eye-roll). She is already doing the usual Oprah quoting diplomacy on her twitter.I saw the play and loved it, therefore felt a need to comment. Amy Adams was wonderful, and I think Morgan is bitter to see another blonde - and a far more talented actress than her - make the cut. (contd in next comment)

[ThinkGlobal]

11:40 PM on 07/26/2012

Sometimes Hollywood A listers need not be on Broadway. The dumbing down of Broadway to use a name to boost box office. Well it may work for the investors but not always for the audiences.