A Statement from Casting on Amar Ramasar in West Side Story

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

1/31/2020

We here at Big Casting Company have heard your concerns over our casting of Amar Ramasar in the West Side Story Revival. After talking to many protestors, activists, and actors, we have come to the realization that it was inappropriate to cast a known sexual harasser in a show where so many young people are making their Broadway debuts.

However, though our office accepts responsibility for the casting decision itself, we feel it is imperative to point out that it is the job of news media organizations to speak truth to power and hold people like us accountable. Sexual assault is an overlooked issue in our community. From the mysteriously never-published New York Times article in 2017 to leaving this current scandal ignored, our news organizations have failed us by keeping these allegations out of view of the broader public.

This is why we at BCC pledge to be better allies and advocates for our community. From here on out, we will only be casting people who can bring these issues to light. We are honored to report the first casting announcement as we embark on this journey:

LOUIS CK as HAROLD HILL in THE MUSIC MAN, Coming Spring 2020

We want to thank the protesters for their courage and hope going forward journalists join them. We can’t afford to turn a blind eye to injustice any longer.

Sincerely,

Big Casting Company

4/11/2020

Once again, at Big Casting Company have heard the concerns of protestors and advocates and remain flabbergasted that the Broadway press remains quiet. Louis CK who continues as the star of The Music Man, has made lyric changes such as “We Got Trouble and it’s that Bitches Get Triggered When I Wanna Masturbate On Them” and there has been no reporting on this…?

Sadly, due to the silence of the media, we are were not able to expose assault and harassment in the industry as we intended, but we remain committed to choosing only leads for our shows who are experts on the issue, which is why we are so excited to announce that for a one night only benefit concert, audiences will have the pleasure of seeing

R KELLY as OFFICER LOCKSTOCK in URINETOWN

We’d like to preemptively thank the press for what we’re sure will be rigorous and fair coverage of this casting and this show.

Best,

Big Casting Company

6/1/2020

Hello again, Big Casting Company here. We really thought the media would catch on after the sixth actress playing Little Sally in Urinetown quit due to R. Kelly severely misunderstanding the title of the show. We knew he would, which is why we cast him! We’re starting to suspect that if powerful producers are behind a show there won’t be any coverage of men who have committed assault and are still cast in shows? So we’re just going to do something you can’t ignore! For a limited time only, we are pleased to announce:

BILL COSBY as JEAN VALJEAN in LES MISERABLES

Get your tickets! This show will sell out faster than a roofie hits ya!

6/2/2020

Alright. Guys. Big Casting Company here. We literally ended that last press release with a horrible joke and no one bothered to report on it? Only that it was a special occasion to see Bill Cosby on Broadway for the first time in 30 years? The only people who contacted us about it were a bunch of young women on Twitter. Do you, do you really not see what we’re trying to do? I mean, for chrissake, we feel really gross about casting these people but we’re committed to proving how blind the media is and how our industry suffers when people aren’t held accountable for their actions. We didn’t want to do this, but for a six month engagement, head on down to the Majestic Theatre to see

THE GHOST OF JEFFERY EPSTEIN as THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

hahah please call us out, we really suck????

Big Casting Company

12/5/2020

YOU GUYS REALLY DON’T CARE THAT WE GOT THE GHOST OF A PEDOPHILE TO PLAY A CHARACTER WHO LURES A CHILD TO HIS UNDERGROUND LAIR TO GROOM HER INTO HIS BRIDE?

I guess this isn’t the first time a pedophile has been cast in Phantom but COME ON!!

ok, you know what.. no . we’re done. we are tired now and have tried just about everything we can think of to call out injustices in our industry and as long as a hotshot big moneybags producers are behind it no one seems to care we cannot be complicity any longer in this system that glorifies and upholds those who have committed sexual assault so that’s it we quit this is the last correspondence we’ll be sending out because today we sold this company to

HARVEY WEINSTEIN because HE WANTS A NEW START and NOTHING MATTERS

is that what you want, you sick fucks?

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Hello! A disclaimer written 2/1/2020: Mirriam Webster defines sexual predator as a person who has committed a sexually violent offense. Other definitions include "someone who obtains sexual contact via less-than-honest means." My use of the term was consistent with those definitions, as the language the men used to describe the women whose photos they acquired and shared in dishonest ways was explicit and violent. I made sure to align my verbiage with that used by the brave advocates and protestors who are fighting against this casting choice, and against allowing sexual assault in the theatre industry to go unnoticed. Some background on the controversy is at the bottom of this piece. Mr. Ramasar has not been convicted of any crime, and I don't indicate otherwise in this piece. I have edited the language in this article, but the wording used in the original post was based solely on my understanding of the term as defined in the dictionary, not by any legal definition.

A bit of background:

In 2018, Amar Ramasar and other men in the New York City Ballet were accused of sending and receiving explicit pictures of female coworkers without the women’s knowledge or consent. The NYCB found proof of this in an internal investigation wherein texts between the men and were discovered that not only proved the pictures were taken and sent, but also included derogatory and language towards the women. Dancers in the NYCB as well as cast members in West Side Story have stated they feel uncomfortable performing alongside Mr. Ramasar, but no actions have been taken to hold him accountable aside from a brief firing from the NYCB that was later overturned by the dancer’s union.

West Side Story is using their impressive number of young people making their Broadway debuts as a marketing strategy, yet they refuse to acknowledge that their Bernardo, a man almost double the age of some of the people in the cast, has a history of sexual misconduct towards young women.

If you’d like to get involved, there are protests outside the Broadway Theatre on 7th Ave and 53rd Street on:

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31st at 7pm

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7th at 7pm

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13th at 6pm

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20th at 5pm (Opening night)

And follow @wssprotest on Twitter and IG for news and updates