MOTHER COURAGE's Michael Potts Shares Insights into Rehearsal Process; Tonya Pinkins Departs Today

As reported by BroadwayWorld, Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins announced on December 30 that she would be leaving Classic Stage Company's Off-Broadway production of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children as of today, January 3. The production began previewing on December 9th and was scheduled to open on January 7th but has been postponed until a replacement can be found. As of December 31, both Pinkins and director Brian Kulick had commented on the situation (Read Tonya's full statement here, Kulick's lengthy response HERE, and Larry Kramer's opinion here).

In today's update, cast member Michael Potts has shared his perspective on the issue in a very long Facebook post.

"Of course there were honest creative differences as in any other creative endeavor," Potts writes in his detailed Facebook post. "However, no one was ever muzzled, rebuked, rebuffed, made voiceless or enslaved. Put simply, Tonya wanted to move in an entirely different direction once the show was already rehearsed and set. It was too late in the game to re-rehearse a concept." Click here to read the whole post in which he outlines the specific instances that were referenced in Pinkins' official statement.

Pinkins then responded to Potts in defense of her position, "It deeply saddens me that my wonderful costar feels he must defend, The establishment. Michael, you know nothing of what was communicated between myself and the producers and anyone else. You simply saw the fallout. I've been working on this production long before you were even considered." Click here to read the entire exchange.

Mother Courage and Her Children, directed by Kulick and featuring original music by Tony Award winner Duncan Sheik, continues CSC's exploration of the works of Bertolt Brecht with a look at his most famous play. The indomitable Mother Courage follows one luckless army after another across a war-torn world in her canteen wagon. She'll do anything to hold onto her money-making wagon, even if it means the loss of her children, in this timeless tale of war and big business updated to the modern-day conflagration in the Congo.

The cast includes Joshua Boone, Curtiss Cook Jr., Kevin Mambo, Jacob Ming-Trent, Geoffrey Owens, Michael Potts, Deandre Sevon, Mirirai Sithole and Zenzi Williams. Set design is byTony Straiges, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Justin Townsend and sound design by Matt Stine.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride