Woolly Mammoth to Hold Public Discussion on Mike Daisey Controversy Prior to Remounting The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs
(© Stan Barouh)
Woolly Mammoth Theatre will hold a public discussion in which they invite patrons to express their opinions on the controversy surrounding the misrepresentations of the truth within Mike Daisey’s The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs. The discussion will be free and open to the public, and take place at the theater on Tuesday, March 27 at 7pm.
Daisey has come under fire in the last week after Ira Glass and This American Life broadcast a retraction in regards to Daisey’s appearance on the popular radio show, which followed upon the discovery that Daisey had lied about certain aspects of the story. As recently reported, a scheduled appearance by Daisey in Chicago — which was to have been sponsored by This American Life — has already been canceled in the wake of these revelations.
However, Woolly Mammoth has reaffirmed its commitment to showcase the previously announced return engagement of The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, July 17-August 5. The solo show was first performed in the summer of 2010 at Woolly Mammoth and returned for its DC premiere in spring 2011.
A posting on Woolly Mammoth’s official blog reads, in part, “we can all admit to feeling discomfort, anger, pity, disappointment, and a whole host of complex emotions. We acknowledge, as Mike does, that nothing excuses his deception of Ira Glass and This American Life. There were so many moments when Mike could have clarified the difference between things he actually witnessed in China, things he only heard in China, and the storytelling inventions he deployed to illustrate each. He could have accurately labeled his work from the outset–to his producing partners in the theatre and on the radio–as something other than a work of non-fiction. He didn’t, and many who saw the piece in the theatre or heard it on the radio felt betrayed.”
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