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| Adoration wasn't enough for Jeff Haslam. |
What happens when the artistic director of the theater goes stark-raving bonkers? Leaves a comment, a vile bit of vitriol (just to keep to the v's) on the blog of one of his company's biggest fans that says he never wants her to "darken the doors" of his theater again? And that blogger happens to have one of the most prominent sites in town? Well, dear readers, you have Edmonton.
I picked up on this particular case from the Twitter feed of Portland Center Stage marketeer Trisha Mead, which links to a long post by the similarly prominent blogging boyfriend, Mack Male, of the blogger in question, Sharon Yeo. Male is pretty outraged, and a quick bit of research explains why. Not only is the tone of the artistic director, Jeff Haslam, just about as nasty as it can be, Haslam is just flat-out wrong in his charges against Yeo.
Read even a couple of her reviews, including the one that set off Haslam, and it's apparent that they aren't "snotty" or "arrogant" at all. They aren't even "reviews," really, just the casual notes of a fan of Haslam and his theater. For example, here's the kicker to the post on "The Ambassador's Wives" that roused Haslam to type the comment that will live in infamy: "In all, it was a good night – lots of laughter, fresh licorice, and the chance to see some young performers shine." I'm looking for the arrogance without success, never mind the snottiness.
