LA production of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof cancelled after actor fights anti-gay audience heckler
'I've stood up to bullies my whole life and I won't stand for homophobia': Production cancelled after actor leaps off stage to fight anti-gay audience heckler
- Incident occurred Saturday night at the Repertory East Playhouse production of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof in Newhall, California
- John Lacy, an actor of 26 years, said he jumped off stage after a drunk audience member called his co-star a 'f--'
- He shoved the man, who then fell back
- Another audience member picked up the heckler and dragged him out of the theater
- Producers fired Lacy after the show because of his behavior
- His co-star, Anton Troy, quit in support, as did some other actors
- The production was subsequently cancelled
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An actor who was fired from an LA production of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof for jumping off the stage and shoving a drunk audience member who had heckled his co-star with gay slurs has spoken out about the incident, saying he felt he had no choice.
Theater actor John Lacy, who was playing the role of Big Daddy in the Repertory East Playhouse performance of the Tennessee Williams classic, said he was not willing to stand by and let his co-star - Anton Troy, who was playing the oppressed gay character Brick - be called a 'f--'.
Lacy, who has been acting for 26 years and married for 20, was axed from the show by producers because of his actions, and when Troy and some other actors resigned in solidarity, the production was shut down, having lost too many integral cast members.
'Some people are very quick to just go to the violence-is-not-the-answer card, and that's just not who I am,' Lacy told theater magazine Playbill.
Don't mess with my co-stars: Veteran theater actor John Lacy broke character during an LA performance of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof to confront a heckler in the audience who had accosted his co-star with a gay slur
John Lacy (right) seen here with his Cat On A Hot Tin Roof co-star Anton Troy (left), who was called a 'f--' by an audience member during a performance of the show on Saturday
Actors Anton Troy and John Lacy discuss what happened during their performance, which resulted in both of them leaving the production and the show being cancelled
'I've stood up to bullies my whole life.
'When I hear or see something that's unacceptable — I'm not the kind of person to go up and punch someone in the face — but I will get in your face and, if I need to, put my hands on you to let you know that I don't appreciate what is unacceptable.
'And that's who I am, and I'll never change.
'I'm not a violent person (but) I stand up to homophobes, racists, people who are insulting my wife, anyone who threatens my children.'
Lacy said that Troy approached him backstage during intermission of the play on Saturday night in Newhall, California, saying that a member of the audience had been bullying during the first half.
Lacy, trying to prepare for his own scenes for act two, told Troy to channel his anger into his performance, according to CBS LA.
'That's all you can do, man - let's get out there and have a great second act,' Lacy recalled telling Troy.
'We have to trust each other that we can pull together and make it work.'
But once he stepped out on stage, Lacy got a serving first-hand, hearing some boos.
Scene: The confrontation occurred at the Repertory East Playhouse in Old Town Newhall, California, on Saturday night
Then, after a heated scene between the characters of Brick and Big Daddy, played by Troy and Lacy, the heckler in the audience yelled out: 'Because he's a f--.'
'I just said ''What did you say, motherf---er?''' Lacy recalled.
'I went through our stage door, took off my vest, went into the audience - as he stood proudly to stare at me with a stupid grin on his face — (and) I pushed him, and he was drunk, so he easily just collapsed.
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Share'I knew better than to start throwing punches.
'I had made my point. I silenced the heckler, and thankfully, one of the audience members — this enormous 6'5'', 280-lb. filmmaker named Tim Sullivan, who happened to be gay and was not at all happy with what was happening — reached over and picked this guy up by his shirt collar and literally carried him out of the theater.'
Sullivan later told the Santa Clarita Valley Signal he 'physically did what everybody else wanted done'.
'It’s nice to see that Tennessee Williams is still causing sparks,' Sullivan added.
John Lacy is a veteran actor of 26 years. He has been married for 20 years, but says he won't stand for homophobia
While the show continued from that point, it wasn't all victories.
Following the performance, Lacy was fired by the producers.
Troy - defending his co-star - decided to quit the show.
'Of course, I could have stopped and said ''Could we have the house lights on, please? I'd like this gentleman removed'',' Lacy told Playbill.
'But when you call my fellow actor a 'f--' in front of (the audience0, it's not f---ing acceptable.'
A press release from the theater that was posted to their website said the show had been cancelled because of an 'incident' that occurred during the May 31 performance.
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