Gary finally stumbled onto my blog; not that it's all that hard to do. Since Christine Dolen robbed him of his forum there, he's brought it here to the Theatre Scene, and I couldn't be happier about that.
I'm not sure why he left his comment on the article about the Palm Beach Post, but here's the comment he left me:
Well, Gary, you obviously know who I am: you're here! And while I haven't been glad-handing you, neither have I attacked you. I've merely been re-introducing the facts that you've been trying to gloss over.
I'm not sure why he left his comment on the article about the Palm Beach Post, but here's the comment he left me:
garywaldman1 said...
Who are you and why are you attacking me? Why did you make me spend 24 hours fighting with the entire theater community when it was all coming from you? What qualifies you to do so? Please email me at gary@26StreetTheater.com. I refuse to start this war all over again and embarrass innocent people when this is all your doing (you, so obviously made it appear as if you were Christine Dolen herself, that was horrible). If I so choose, I will provide you with whatever I feel is necessary to prove how wrong you are, but I am not doing it over the internet.
January 11, 2009 9:30 PM
What qualifies me to do so? The US Constitution, Al Gore's internet, and a healthy respect for my community. Oh, and 25 years in professional theatre. Luckily, you're one of the few producers I never worked for. Just imagine what I'd be like if I had an axe to grind!
Oh, and as for it "all coming from me?" Nothing could be further from the truth. I do not know who "key wester" or "ssdcer" or "becky" or "theatrelover" is. As far as I know, I have never been in contact with them. And I didn't join that discussion until you threatened ssdcer with legal action. No, Gary, these are the people you've burned in the past, or their friends. These are your colleagues.
And as for your claim that "you, so obviously made it appear as if you were Christine Dolen herself," all I can say is "wow." I made comments under my own name, with a hyperlink back to this blog, and you think I was pretending to be Christine Dolen? That's a comment stunning in its utter lack of candor. You missed your calling; you should have gone to work for Karl Rove.
By the way, I saved a copy of the comments before Christine redacted them. It's very easy for me to demonstrate that I never made it appear that I was anyone else, let alone Christine Dolen. And while we can't access the comments at her blog, those comments still exist. A subpoena can provide copies, if necessary.
If you want to discuss this, the internet is where you're going to have to do it: in the glare of electrons, and in sight of your colleagues. I won't help you cover up yoursordid past, but I will give you every opportunity to defend it. Scout's honor. I will not delete any comment you make here in your own defense.
And believe me, Gary; there's going to be plenty of stuff for you to refute.
Oh, and as for it "all coming from me?" Nothing could be further from the truth. I do not know who "key wester" or "ssdcer" or "becky" or "theatrelover" is. As far as I know, I have never been in contact with them. And I didn't join that discussion until you threatened ssdcer with legal action. No, Gary, these are the people you've burned in the past, or their friends. These are your colleagues.
And as for your claim that "you, so obviously made it appear as if you were Christine Dolen herself," all I can say is "wow." I made comments under my own name, with a hyperlink back to this blog, and you think I was pretending to be Christine Dolen? That's a comment stunning in its utter lack of candor. You missed your calling; you should have gone to work for Karl Rove.
By the way, I saved a copy of the comments before Christine redacted them. It's very easy for me to demonstrate that I never made it appear that I was anyone else, let alone Christine Dolen. And while we can't access the comments at her blog, those comments still exist. A subpoena can provide copies, if necessary.
If you want to discuss this, the internet is where you're going to have to do it: in the glare of electrons, and in sight of your colleagues. I won't help you cover up your
And believe me, Gary; there's going to be plenty of stuff for you to refute.
And you know these are FACTS HOW?
ReplyDelete"I've merely been re-introducing the facts that you've been trying to gloss over."
I have been down this road before, lets not roll the dice before you know what you are talking about my friend.
Jamison
Well, Jamison, some of it's right there on the internet; Gary's name on the SSDC strike list, for example. It's a fact that the SSDC won't let any of its directors or choreographers work with Gary.
ReplyDeleteSome of it's witness testimony; Ryan Flanigan's claims that you stiffed the cast of "I Write the Songs" at the Imperial Palace Casino in Biloxi. I've emailed him for confirmation, as his comments are two years old. Maybe you did pay him, eventually. We'll see.
Certainly newspaper archives come in handy, too. Thank ssdcer for reminding me about that Sun-Sentinel story from 2005.
Frankly, I probably wouldn't have dug into anything if you and Gary hadn't mustered up your undeserved outrage and attacked all those people commenting on Christine's blog.
When Gary starting threatening people, and that got me interested in you. ssdcer quoted that article, and neither of you refuted any of the facts in it - instead, Gary threatened legal action for plagiarism! If the story was false, he'd simply have refuted the various claims it made. Instead, he tried to have the story removed from view.
BTW, if Gary had really talked to the Sun-Sentinel's "independent counsel," he would have known that ssdcer was not guilty of 'plagiarism' but 'copyright violation.' And he'd have been told that the only recourse is for the Sun-Sentinel - not Gary - to file suit in civil court.
By all means, bluster away, and make threats. It makes for great reading.
And thanks for reading!
The Sun-Sentinel issue has been over for more than two years. It was up to them, by law to prove their comments. I was VERY satisfied with their failed attempts to so as I was with the final outcome. Period. I don't have to explain anything to you. It's an old dead issue.
ReplyDeleteI also never threatened to sue SSDCer. I rightly told (him/her) that the Sun-Sentinel, in a friendly handshake agreement, that we would try to inform them of any further publication of the article since most of what is on the internet is stolen editorial content. It was in both of our best interests. Period.
I still don't know who you are. I just found your stupid blog. Period.
The entire community is laughing at you today, jackass. No period there.
P.S. - Thanks for the wonderful line:
ReplyDelete"Let's give Gary Waldman a Big Theatre Scene Welcome!" - That will be great publicity in other cities... where they also don't know who the hell you are!
Well, you're half-right: people are laughing, but not at me. I've been getting complimentary email all day long.
ReplyDeleteYour continued insistence that you have a "handshake agreement" with Sun-Sentinel to turn in people for quoting their article is hilarious; my buddy the lawyer keeps cracking up.
Those of us who read your comments on Christine's blog are aware of the nature of your comments. I can produce them as needed.
Oh, what the heck, here's your threat to ssdcer in all its glory:
"To add, Mr./Ms. SSDCER, you have broken the law by plagiarizing a major daily newspaper and a published opinion page.
I have written a note to the independent counsel for the
Sun-Sentinel/Tribune Publications. We were asked specifically by their
attorney (after this matter was settled) to inform them of copyright infringement regarding any unauthorized copy and re-publication of their article, and were guaranteed that any such infringements would be pursued with legal action.
I will do the same when I determine the owner of the opinion page."
Hmm. Yeah, that looks exactly like you're threatening them with a lawsuit. Sorry, Gary, you lose again.
Of course, you'd lose a case for plagiarism. ssdcer wasn't claiming to have written the Sun Sentinel article, or Hap Erstein's commentary.
And the title of the post is no accident.
By all means, keep posting your comments. It's endlessly amusing. I was so disappointed when Christine took them down from her blog.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteIs this your new pet project? A few months ago it was the writers of the Theatre Row blog. Now it’s Gary Waldman. I am starting to notice a bit of a “savior” complex in you. Gary was correct when he said “The entire community is laughing at you today, jackass”.
They have been for some time now. Your blog has become uninteresting and uninformative. There is nothing new or creative about South Florida Theatre Scene. All you do is sum up reviews and offer links to events around town. The only reason to read your blog is to laugh at its inaccuracies and your passive aggressive rants. Truth be told, the more you RANT the harder we laugh. You are not interested in “supporting” theatre in South Florida. You are interested in creating DRAMA so that you can come off as the savior that we should all bow down to. There is a title for someone like you and that is Fire Starter. You fan the flames so that you can be the hero who steps in and protects people from the fire. We are grown men and women we can do our own research. It is up to the individual to decide if they want to give Gary another chance and work for him. I live in New York now so it is unlikely that I would be working in South Florida any time soon. However there is a LONG list of people who will work for Gary and who TRULY support anyone who wants to create theatre in OUR hometown.
BTW - Your post regarding the Carbonell awards meeting a few months back was riddled with inaccurate quotes and misinformation. I was at the meeting. I have heard the recordings of the meeting made by another participant and your post did not once quote “anyone” accurately. Your lack of research is one of the reasons we all laugh. Even the folks whom you call FRIENDS have sat with me at bar tables around South Florida and laughed at your hysterical rants. You are letting your own ego get in the way of accurate reporting. When Christine Dolen first reported on the Carbonell awards cancellation you left a comment stating:
“I think the Theatre League has fallen short in its leadership position. The Carbonell Awards are a crucial tool for community outreach; it's just about the only thing the League does that gets the attention of the public for even a second.
They've thrown the baby out with the bath-water. Very short-sighted.
It's time for someone with vision to take over the awards, and that apparently excludes the Theatre League.”
It took Antonio Amadeo and Meredith Lasher to correct you and inform the readers of Drama Queen that, “Theatre League of South Florida… has absolutely no involvement in the Carbonell Awards and had no participation in the decision to suspend the Awards.” –Meredith Lasher.
It seems to me that you have this need to leave comments and let everyone know how smart and well informed you are. Unfortunately for you, smart people can see past your front. You are neither smart nor well informed. So keep writing and we will keep laughing.
Eric-
ReplyDeleteIn fact, reading over the comments on Christine's Carbonell blog, you will see where I acknowledged the error and apologized. And you will note, the Theatre League then stepped into a leadership position to take action to save the Carbonells.
As for my report with the "inaccurate quotations," you will note that I did ask for anyone who was there to correct errors in my memory.
And yes, we all get a good laugh at some of my rants. People who know me, know my humor. We know the same people, Eric. And I have drinks with them, too.
And as for drama, well, I remember the drama you created over at Theatre Row.
As for the rest, I know the emails I get from, and I know the traffic at my site. I am fully aware of how I'm regarded in the theater community.
Thanks for reading!
Ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaa! This has been EXTRAORDINARILY entertaining. Thanks Chris.
ReplyDeleteI hope you're having a great New Year. You crack me up.
I certainly have no experience with the two gentlemen in question, so I understand that what I have to say is crap. But I will say that I, too, have many associates who have worked for them in the past and the concensus is very much along the lines of what you are reporting.
Again, what I have to say may mean nothing, but there ARE people in the community who have been able to make theatre work under the same or similar circomstances that these two gents have found themselves in in South Florida. I do believe that people deserve a second chance, but how many chances should you get before someone else deserves the opportunity to succeed.
Also, in your defence (not that you need it, or have ever asked for it.), when it was pointed out that Theatre League had no place in the Carbonell matter, you accepted the information and used it to move forward in the conversation. You didn't defend yourself with sarcastic responses or make a jerky sentiment to follow up. I have no isues with you. Keep doing what you're doing.
Well there you go again. I did not create the DRAMA at Theatre Row. I only commented on the DRAMA you helped create. Please don't insult our intelligence by diverting blame on to a person who comments once on a topic. Your comments were well chronicled on that web site. They were posted there (and still are) long before I left my ONE comment. That DRAMA, was a campaign who's flag YOU paraded all over the internet. You lit that match my friend, not I.
ReplyDeleteFor someone who has never told a lie, you sure can't seem to grasp the truth.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteThere is no need to create a fake online identity simply to comment on your own page. I would think you could be a little more creative than that. A- not even a full name? I checked A's profile- created in Jan 2009 with only one profile view counting mine. Come on dude, I'm embarrassed for you.
Wow! This is all getting catty and crazy!
ReplyDeleteUltmately, this is all about Gary & friend. There are clearly parties on both side of this issue. No one is the DEVIL here. Not Gary, not Jamison, not Chris, Eric or anyone else. (Though, from what I've seen on all these blog responses, the only one not spewing hate and insults is Chris.)
The Producers in question DO have a shaky history of producing theatre. There is no denying that. They don't deny it, this Eric dude doesn't deny it, nobody denies it. And there are, in fact, many artists in the community that have had bad experiences with these two men. Several of whom have yet to be paid for services rendered years ago.
I don't think there is any thing wrong with posting a blog dealing with this issue when these men decide to come back into town. It goes with the territory of having a shaky history. Nobody owes these men a second chance. Nobody owes them trust. This is America, so they DO have every opportunity to give it another shot. If they produce again in the area and the results are different this time around, then the respect and trust may follow. But think about it. The common denominator in ALL of their failed attempts... is them. Ultimately, they must embrace their place in all of this and not get nasty when someone has something to say about their track record.
These gentlemen are fully responsible for how they are perceived.
I wish them well and hope that their next endeavor is a success. Not for them, but for the people who will give their all to make their project work.
And by the way... my name is Antonio Amadeo. Chris has never been afraid to stand behind his comments and neither am I. And your last name is...
And your last name is...
ReplyDeleteJust Eric. You know like Madonna, Cher or Dysentery.
ReplyDeleteRiiiiight.
ReplyDeleteA -
ReplyDeleteThanks! You might remember Eric from the Carbonell meeting. He says he was there.
Riiiiight.
ReplyDeleteHe was sitting between Jimmy Hoffa and the Unicorn.
ReplyDeleteI DO remember YOU there. Taking part. Being a committed member of the theatre community. Although, I will say, as much as I like your blog, I would love to see you at more shows. Come on Chris, start reviering shows yourself! That'd be awesome! ...until you kill me in a review... I'm a cryer, you know.
ReplyDeletei MEANT REVIEWING... ...reviering doesn't really mean anything...
ReplyDeleteI'll revier a show anyday! I don't know about reviewing...
ReplyDeleteI promise I will get out to see more shows, as my schedule permits.
Upon further research (Checking the list of people at the TL/Carbonell meeting), Eric is not really Eric at all. I can account for just about everyone there. Just about....
ReplyDeleteVery interesting.
I keep meaning to respond to your comments but then I just lose interest. So I’ll keep it short.
ReplyDelete1. Jimenez (That’s my last name)
2. I was at the meeting at Six Star Studios. I sat in the back row alongside Eileen Suarez and Christine Dolen. (I do not know either of them personally). I remember thinking how beautiful Katie looked in her long scarf. I even mentioned it to her in passing. I did not sign in with Andie Arthur because I was not a member of the SFTL at that time. (I Knew by that point that I would be moving.)
3. My problem with Chris is the tone with which he attacks people in his writing. I first noticed it when ever he would “review” one of Brandon K. Thorpe’s criticisms. Funny how this tone of writing disappeared after Brandon and his mother said hello to him once after a show. Then there was the BLIND SPOT feud of 2008. Chris’ tone about their writing and his support ended once they started flexing their first amendment right of free speech. There is a comment left by CLJ on that blog that state “While I'm not even a slight fan of the BLIND SPOT nonsense, I've enjoyed the rest of your blog, and I have even linked to numerous stories, and include your reviews in my weekly rap-up. And I will continue to do so.” He then took Theatre Row off the side bar and has not mentioned them in his blog since. (I wonder does that qualify as a lie.) Now his attention has turned to Gary and his “checkered” past. Well go to it. Those who read your blog will soon start to see that what I am saying is true. All you have to do is open your eyes. So much for keeping things short.
Actually, the tone disappeared as his reviews started to fulfill the purpose of a review. Same with Mary Damiano.
ReplyDeleteHe then took Theatre Row off the side bar and has not mentioned them in his blog since.
ReplyDeleteDid you notice that they went over a month without posting anything? And in the weeks prior to that, most of the posts were re-caps of stories covered elsewhere. There were no reviews in that period.
Now that they are back, I will reference their work as it becomes topical or relevant.
Yet another insult to our intelligence. You took Theatre Row off your side bar long before they took their hiatus. Funny that other blogs go even longer without posting but you still keep them up. If re-caps make them irrelevant...what do you have to say about your own blog. SFTS is made up mostly of re-caps of stories and reviews covered elsewhere. You are letting your bias show again. Last time I checked there was no room for bias in reporting. That "in short" is the problem with your writing tone.
ReplyDeleteBTW - Thanks for admitting that you did indeed did have a tone when covering Brandon's reviews. (Brandon will ALWAYS be Brandon so your comment "fulfill the purpose of a review" is yet another insult to our intelligence."
BTW - I will give you the last word if you like. I'm done with you and your blog. I will say that you have given a lot of space for a small kid like me to comment and you have never blocked any of my (or anyone els for that mater) comments. That does show a great deal of respect for the point of view of even the most insignificant members of the SO FLO theatre community like me. Just keep in mind - everyone can use a second chance. I wish Gary the best of luck and I hope they will produce some great theatre for me to enjoy the next time I"m in town.
ReplyDeletePEACE
Eric-
ReplyDeleteThe primary purpose of SFTS is to give people one place to stop to find information about South Florida Theatre. People can come here and find links to all the reviews, and various news sources that cover South Florida theatre.
While some people actually do enjoy the articles I generate, they are not the purpose of this blog.
Best of luck in NYC.
Eric Jimenez. Interesting. The back row at the meeting went as follows - Javier Chacin, Ann Sculy, Margaret Ledford, Eileen Suarez, Christine Dolen, Mary Damiano. With no seats left vacant.
ReplyDeleteTry again.
Maybe Eric Jimenez is an alias. Or an anagram. Nope... the best I can make out of it is Jizer Micnee. Must be an alias. (Sorry. Lotsa cold medicine right now.)
ReplyDeleteJizer Micnee!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!! That's very funny.
ReplyDeleteCrime Jenzie.
Jerc iz in mee.
I C Jr. Enemiez.
Maybe its like Agitha Christy's 'Murder on the Orient Express'. They ALL did it. The entire back row of the Carbonell meeting is Eric Jimenez! Oops. Just spit Nyquil out my nose.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, come see the Adding Machine. Blah, blah, blah....
You too Eric. Or should I say... MARGRET! A-HA! Dang. More Nyquil...
Now I just spit NyQuil out my nose!
ReplyDeleteDamn you Clemeeeent!!!!