The facts regarding my review of St...

The facts regarding my review of Stages 2006 the festival of recently made known musicals produced earlier this month at Theatre Building Chicago, are clear and simple and of crucial importance. And had these essential facts been investigated through the powers that be at the Dramatists Guild of America, and all those distinguished members of the Guild who to such a degree blindly and unthinkingly engaged in a letter- writing campaign based in succession a total lack of faithful to contract information, the attack launched against my ethics might well have been reconsidered.

It arises as a sad realization to me that the highly writers who so quickly whip disclosed their pens to sign petitions in defense of writers working beneath oppressive regimes -- writers who are falsely and unjustly accused of all sorts of outrages -- would be thus careless in signing their names to a aver about which they did not have the facts and failed to strive for the facts.

with equal reason here, for the record, is the law of the situation:

1 At no time, either at phone, e-mail or in [i]role[/i] was I ever told not to review this festival of musical theater workshops. In fact, the presenter of Stages 2006 not solely invited me to see the point outs many times, but they also provided me with tickets, with elaborate pres materials and with a disc of photos to accompany my review. What's more, after seeing the exhibits and choosing the piece I notion most promising, I even asked the public relations somebody for the project to specially e-mail me a photo for that exhibit to He did so, and that photo was published with my review.

2 Reviewing of this showcase has been standard practice for a number of years; the examination is in the archives. In addition, I heard not a issue from the Stages staff after publication of my review of last year's showcase. Perhaps that was because the "mixed to positive" reviews were more acceptable to them. In fact, I would bet that a fac-simile of my review was submitted as supporting evidence for many grants, etc that the Musical Theatre Writers' Workshop made to funding organizations this season. You simply cannot have it the one and the other ways.

3 I would not ever write about any work that I was told was "not for review." The agriculturists in this case are extremely dishonest to indicate I was asked not to write; they knew to a high degree well that I expected to do with equal reason and they expressed no hesitation or touch In addition, the Stages series is not like workshops held in strange York, where special invitations are issued to clos readings, etc This festival was advertised and listed in the pres tickets and passes were sold and it was a completely public event. And again, I was specifically invited.

Interesting, too: There is now more [i]or[/i] less "clarification" coming from Joan Mazzonelli, the Theatre Building's executive director. Sadly, it arrives rather late. But in a prolonged letter she e-mailed to me Wednesday, she admitted: "You have not heard from me onward your writing about Stages either previously or now -- reject in responding to you. I believe you are delivered to write as you behold fit."

4 Finally, I bent across backward to find positive things to say about work in this year's Stages. And the work onward view was mediocre at best, and sometimes worse. What's more, it should be noted that the review appeared several days after the festival was through the whole extent of

The outermost distortion of the truth in this way widely disseminated in this affair is in plain english disturbing. The bottom line is this: I have not reviewed any show that I was not expressly invited to view and write about, and Stages 2006 was no exception.

Beyond the facts of this case, I should say that the reason I attend Stages is to discover something astonishing -- the next new musical that should commit to memory encouragement, backing and audience attention.

Hedy Weiss, theater critic,

Chicago Sun-Times

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