Race, Money and Broadway: How ‘Great Comet’ Burned Out<br />Then, just as the Broadway production was beginning previews, an unseemly — and, to many, preventable — dispute erupted, as Mr. Kagan went to war with Ars Nova over<br />that nonprofit theater’s insistence that he honor a signed promise to describe the show in the Playbill as “the Ars Nova production.” He argued that the provision was no longer binding; Ars Nova filed suit; Mr. Kagan backed down.<br />#PierreOrPerish @GreatCometBway<br />Mr. Onaodowan described his time with the show as “a very difficult experience.”<br />“They led me to believe I was going to be doing less than I was,” he said, “and then,<br />over time, I was given more and more material with not enough time to prepare.”<br />In separate interviews, neither Ms. Chavkin nor Mr. Onaodowan would talk about their interactions.<br />“We didn’t win the Tony for best musical,” Mr. Kagan said, “and it became clear we would not survive without a celebrity.”<br />The producers had once hoped that the show would become enough of a hit to continue without a star.
