A Broadway star dedicated his final performance to Charlottesville victim Heather Heyer
Broadway’s Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 has been at the center of a lot of controversy in recent weeks, but departing lead Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan instead focused his attention on the national tragedy in Charlottesville ahead of his final performance in the show Sunday.
Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan wrapped up his run Sunday as the lead in Broadway’s Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 with an emotional tribute. The actor, known for his earlier roles as Hercules Mulligan and James Madison in the original Hamilton cast, has been at the center of a racially-charged controversy surrounding the Great Comet in recent weeks but on Sunday, Onaodowan’s focus was on the tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Entertainment Weekly reported the star was dedicating his final show to Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old woman who was killed when a man plowed his car into a crowd of counter protesters during the violent white nationalist gathering in Charlottesville on Saturday. Onaodowan took to Twitter ahead of his show Sunday afternoon:
Meyer was identified as the victim of the intentional crash that also injured 19 others on Saturday.
Onaodowan’s leaving the Great Comet after his highly-publicized recasting in July drew outrage. The show had announced TV and movie star Mandy Patinkin would be taking over Onaodowan’s part, but the idea of a white actor taking a black actor’s starring role was met with anger from many. Patinkin eventually pulled out of the project in light of the drama, and Onaodowan completed his time in the role in Sunday’s show. Show runners explained the recasting was meant to up plummeting ticket sales with a big-name star, but they later admitted they hadn’t thought through the optics of the move:
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The Great Comet is set to close on Sept. 3. Onaodowan’s dedication to Heyer is a bittersweet way to end his run in the rocky role