"Another Wicked Story: Eddie"

Summary

Another Wicked Story: Eddie – A Detailed Summary

Introduction

In the episode titled "Another Wicked Story: Eddie," hosted by Sean Hayden of Stage Combat The Podcast, listeners are drawn deeper into the tumultuous backstage environment of the renowned Broadway musical, Wicked. This episode, released on November 19, 2024, continues the podcast's exploration of workplace mistreatment in the theater industry, following up on previous stories shared by actors like Brett Shuford. Sean Hayden not only recounts Eddie Pendergraft's harrowing experiences but also sheds light on the broader issues of bullying, union involvement, and the struggle for personal integrity within a high-pressure production.

Recapping Wicked's Pressure Cooker Environment

Sean begins by setting the stage with the excitement surrounding the release of Wicked's highly anticipated movie adaptation, emphasizing the show's massive success and cultural impact. He references Episode One, where Brett Shuford detailed his experiences with a toxic stage manager, highlighting how Wicked is often revered yet hides a dark, insular world backstage.

Eddie Pendergraft's Background and Rise to Fame

Eddie Pendergraft introduces himself as an actor from Delray Beach, South Florida, with a deep-seated passion for theater nurtured from childhood. He shares a poignant story from [05:12] about losing his mother to cancer, which became a turning point, motivating him to pursue acting earnestly. Eddie's journey led him to New York City, where after working as a host at Carmine's Restaurant near Times Square, he secured a coveted role in Wicked—a dream come true that promised stability and professional growth.

Initial Success and Rising Tensions

Initially, Eddie describes his time at Wicked as idyllic. "It was lovely to be around all of these really cool people. And we were told that we were a strong, happy family here at Wicked," he recounts [07:45]. However, as time progressed, the environment began to change. Requests for personal days—intended for family commitments—were met with immediate denials, contradicting union rules and fostering a sense of isolation and frustration.

Union Involvement and Allegations

As the Equity deputy representative [09:13], Eddie attempts to navigate the rigid and unresponsive management. When he sought time off for family reasons, the stage management's refusal and subsequent false allegations of violent behavior [11:03] left him bewildered and panicked. "I am not Iatsi. I am Equity. And they pull out this huge plug of the two things... I personally do not feel comfortable plugging this in," Eddie explains [16:35], highlighting the unsafe and inappropriate demands placed upon him.

Facing False Accusations and Termination

Despite his professionalism, Eddie found himself unjustly targeted. The stage manager's fabricated claims led to a write-up [22:54], an unprecedented event in his 25-year career. Confused and unsupported by the union, Eddie realized these allegations were a tactic to pressure him into compliance and possibly expedite his exit from the production. Ultimately, after enduring systemic bullying and lack of accountability, Eddie was abruptly fired [27:06]. "I have never been written up before... This was my first and only write-up," he reflects [29:12], underscoring the severity and baselessness of the accusations.

Emotional and Professional Aftermath

The termination had a profound emotional impact on Eddie. Feeling betrayed and disillusioned, he contemplated abandoning acting altogether [30:11]. Instead, he pivoted to a career in barbering, seeking a creative outlet that was free from the toxicity he experienced. However, the past caught up with him when Wicked sent an unexplained check [35:45], prompting Eddie to confront the company manager. Although the manager expressed regret over the negative experiences shared by former actors, Eddie remained skeptical of the sincerity behind these sentiments.

Creative Expression and Lasting Impact

Despite his departure, Eddie maintained a connection with Wicked through an elaborate mural he painted backstage over three years [38:39]. This artwork symbolized his enduring love for the show and served as a silent testament to his experiences. The mural, still present, featured iconic elements from Wicked, including Elphaba, Glinda, and other thematic symbols, interwoven with personal touches that reflected Eddie's artistic vision.

Supporting Narratives and Industry-Wide Issues

The episode also features insights from Brad Bass, another cast member from Episode One, who recounts instances of "witch hunts" within the production [41:18]. These stories collectively illustrate a pervasive culture of fear and systemic abuse within Wicked, where actors are left feeling vulnerable and unsupported.

Concluding Reflections

Sean Hayden wraps up the episode by acknowledging the ongoing challenges faced by actors in demanding productions like Wicked. He calls for more transparency and accountability from producers and stage managers, urging them to create respectful and dignified workplaces. The episode serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of speaking up against mistreatment and the profound personal costs of systemic abuse in the theater industry.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Eddie Pendergraft [05:36]: "This is what she would want me to do, is go do what we always talked about doing, and that was being a successful actor."

• Eddie Pendergraft [08:48]: "And that's when I call the union representative to say to him..."

• Sean Hayden [13:09]: "Eddie, I have to ask you, what is your feeling as to why such an allegation would have been made?"

• Eddie Pendergraft [19:09]: "So they want me to quit. They want me to leave the show."

• Sean Hayden [24:00]: "Does this just feel like lunacy when you're hearing this?"

• Eddie Pendergraft [29:23]: "It was a gut punch. It was literally a gut punch."

• Sean Hayden [32:05]: "And you were the first that was just told we're terminating you with no explanation and to leave."

• Sean Hayden [37:58]: "What does it feel like when you hear those words from that company manager?"

• Eddie Pendergraft [40:39]: "I think it's... a reminder that I'm still here."

Conclusion

"Another Wicked Story: Eddie" offers a compelling and detailed look into the personal struggles and systemic challenges faced by actors within a high-stakes Broadway production. Through Eddie Pendergraft's narrative, listeners gain insight into the darker side of theater, emphasizing the need for industry-wide changes to protect and support its artists. Sean Hayden's empathetic storytelling not only highlights individual resilience but also calls for a collective effort to foster more respectful and humane working environments in the performing arts.

Transcript

[Sean Hayden]

Foreign. So unless you've been living under a rock, you know there's a little movie coming out this week. Moviegoers around the world will be flocking to see the long awaited screen adaptation of the long running Broadway musical, Wicked. It's a movie so big that it apparently requires two movies. Wicked Part 1 comes out this week, telling the story of the first act of the musical with Wicked 2 that would be the second act debuting next year. The stage musical Wicked itself is so big that it has grossed worldwide $2.5 billion. Audiences everywhere have applauded, jumped to their feet, and have been moved to tears experiencing Wicked's message of acceptance and individuality. And over the past 20 years, hundreds of actors have passed through the stage door at the Gershwin Theater on Broadway to tell the story of Elphaba, Glinda, and the residents of Oz. One of the actors who has passed through that stage door is Brett Shuford. We introduced you to Brett in episode one of the season called How Are We All okay with this? And in that episode, we pulled back the curtain to show you what some actors say has been really going on. Backstage at Wicked.

[Brett Shuford]

I'd never experienced a stage manager that was that toxic. And it was the kind of situation where it was like, I don't think I ever want to do this again.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I need you again to be pro fucking active.

[Brett Shuford]

That night I get home, I get an email. She wrote me up. I've never been written up in 25 years of doing this.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I don't know what more we can do for you.

[Brett Shuford]

And so I was panicked. I was panicked. And people are saying, are you okay? And I would say, no, I'm being bullied by the stage manager.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

You've been here almost six months. I've been here three months. You've been here since November. Three months. November, December. December to January. January to February. Okay, three months. You've been here three months.

[Brett Shuford]

The show is a machine. And if you don't operate as a cog in that machine and it doesn't work perfectly, you're failing the entire machine and you're subject to be kicked out. And that's how it felt the whole time.

[Sean Hayden]

It was an episode that provoked really strong reactions from you, our listeners. I was heartbroken and very disappointed to learn that a former colleague and friend of mine was a victim of such blatant bullying backstage at Wicked.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I found Brett's story to be shocking and I found it really upsetting because when we think of Wicked, we think of this jewel in musical theater. That's Revered all over the world as a stage manager, my jaw was on the floor the entire time. I felt angry and upset for these cast members for what they were going through, and it just breaks my.

[Sean Hayden]

Since that episode aired, we have heard many more stories from actors about their time at Wicked. We asked them if they would like to share their stories. The responses ranged from they were either too fearful of what they called the Wicked Machine, or it was simply too painful of a part of their life to reopen. But then there's actor Eddie Pendergraft. Hey, Eddie.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Hi, Sean.

[Sean Hayden]

Are you ready to go back to Wicked?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

What a heavy question to ask. I usually don't like talking about it right out the gate, but once you've been with me for a while and we start to get to know each other, I'll say, they'll ask me, like, what is it you used to do? And I'm like, well, I was a Broadway performer. What show? Wicked. Oh, my God. Wicked. You were in Wicked? Oh, my God. That's so amazing. Why don't you do it anymore? And it's taken me a while to answer that question. I finally have come up with a way to say it. And I say, I want you to think about the worst relationship you've ever been in. Got it. Now I want you to tell me why you're not still in that relationship.

[Sean Hayden]

Hearing these stories makes me wonder what's going on at Wicked. And hearing Eddie's story causes me to ask, are there consequences when you speak up for yourself while working at Wicked? I'm Sean Hayden, and you're listening to episode 10 of season three of Stage Combat, another Wicked story. Eddie. Eddie Pendergraft is an actor who grew up in South Florida in Delray Beach.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

And I went to performing arts middle school and high school there called the Palm Beach County School of the Arts, and began my love of theater. When I was, I think, five years old was my first production I was in.

[Sean Hayden]

Do you remember what your first show was at 5 years old?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I sure do.

[Sean Hayden]

It was a Christmas pageant in 2002. Eddie knew he was at a crossroads in his life.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I had been working in Tennessee at a regional theater, and my mom had been battling cancer for about a year and a half. And I got a phone call that she probably wasn't gonna make it through the night, and I had to come back home to Florida. So I quickly packed my things and I made it home just in time to say my goodbyes. And I was there in the hospital room and I was holding her hand. And she couldn't speak at the time anymore, but she gave me a really tight squeeze in my hand and let it go. And I knew she had passed. And in that moment, I was like, this is the feeling I have now that she's moved on and it's time for me to move on. And this is what she would want me to do, is go do what we always talked about doing, and that was being a successful actor.

[Sean Hayden]

Eddie soon moved to New York City, where he worked as a host at Carmine's Restaurant off Times Square while hitting auditions, and he met the man who would become his husband. Four years later, Eddie had an audition.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

For Wicked, went back into work, and literally, as I'm putting my hand on the door to go into Carmine's, my phone rings. It's my agent, and I pick up the phone and he's like, hey, Eddie, I just wanted to let you know that I got off the phone with casting just now, and they are going to send you an offer for Wicked.

[Sean Hayden]

You booked the show when you got the offer to be a part of the cast of Wicked. What did that mean to you?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I had always said that my goal as an actor was to be a working actor, no matter what that meant. Like, I am going to work on Broadway now, so that would help me to get even more work. And that work would beget work. Like, I'm no longer going to be a poor actor here. I actually have a paying job doing what I love to do. Everything I had been taught about integrity in the business was if you're a hard worker, you're nice, you're good to work with. You'll just continue to work and go from show to show.

[Sean Hayden]

And during those first years with Wicked, everything was going really well for Eddie.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

It was lovely to be around all of these really cool people. And we were told that we were a strong, happy family here at Wicked. And I was like, great, I'm on board.

[Sean Hayden]

But things started to take a turn for Eddie a few years into his employment with Wicked.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

My grandparents are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. My mom, who had passed away, she was born on their wedding anniversary. And so they just didn't really celebrate their wedding anniversary anymore. They became a very sad couple about losing their firstborn. My aunt was like, can you please try to see if work will let you off to come home for Thanksgiving for their anniversary? And I think it would mean a lot to them. I go in and I request days off during Thanksgiving, to which I get an immediate denial saying, you're not allowed to request days off during Thanksgiving.

[Sean Hayden]

But, Eddie, that jumps out to me because our personal days are our personal days. It's a union rule, right?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Correct. And that's when I call the union representative to say to him, hi, I'm the Equity deputy. I just put in for some personal days. This is the rebuttal I got. So I was curious as to what blackout dates there were for personal days.

[Sean Hayden]

By the way, Eddie at this time is also the union Equity deputy. That means he has a voluntary position that has been voted on by the members of the acting ensemble of Wicked to serve as the liaison between all the ensemble actors and the actors union. Actors Equity Association. Remember this for later.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I get a response. There are no blackout dates. The only dates that you're not allowed personal dates that they're allowed to deny are between Christmas and New Year's. So the Equity representative formulates a letter to the company of WCIT describing and quoting the rule that this is not allowed. I am cc'd on this email, and this is then also cc'd sent to stage management and company management. And at the same time, I have negotiations coming up for my understudy rider.

[Sean Hayden]

So let's talk contracts. Eddie has two contracts, one as a member of the ensemble of Wicked that can only be terminated for just cause or by the producers buying him out. If you've been following season three of this podcast, this might sound familiar to you, but Eddie also has a rider, R I D E R to understudy the character of Bach. And that writer is negotiated and renewed by both parties every six months.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

And my agent reaches out to me and says, it's time to renegotiate for your rider. They'd like to renew for another six months. And I say, great, they can give me my two days off for Thanksgiving and I'll accept the rider to be the understudy. So this is when the cards start to fall.

[Sean Hayden]

A couple of days later, Eddie gets some very unsettling news from his agent.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

And he says, eddie, I just got a disturbing phone call from someone at the producer's office. I said, okay, what's going on? Evidently, you've been making people feel uncomfortable at work in the dressing room by having tantrums, throwing things, kicking things, and creating an unsettling work environment, to which I sat up directly in my bed. My stomach is dropping out right now thinking about it, and I have the same feeling of just, what? What are you talking about?

[Sean Hayden]

And, Eddie, did any of that happen?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

None of that happened. So in that moment, I was like, good, God, did I. Did I accidentally throw something down and it made us.

[Sean Hayden]

Because you start revisiting everything you've ever done. Right?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Correct. Correct. So I go into work that night, and once all the boys gather and I say, hey, can I bring something up? We're all co workers here, and I'm just curious, and if I'm overstepping my bounds, I apologize. And if I'm making any of you uncomfortable right now, I apologize. But I got a call today saying that I was a violent person and that I have been in the dressing room throwing things and making you all feel uncomfortable. And they all looked at me and were like, what are you talking about? And I said, okay. Just your reaction right there helps me to know that I am not the insane one here, that this is actually something that has been made up and that this is not something that I did.

[Sean Hayden]

So at any point, did anyone with Wicked tell you or your agent of a time, date, place, of any particular incident that would have been part of this allegation of throwing things, being violent, being hostile?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Of course not.

[Sean Hayden]

Eddie, I have to ask you, what is your feeling as to why such an allegation would have been made?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

It felt to me that this was all a ploy on their behalf to scare me into signing my contract.

[Sean Hayden]

For the writer.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

For the writer. Correct. So this all felt like, okay, you want to play hardball?

[Sean Hayden]

And then how did this all resolve itself?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

It resolved itself because they also got the email from Equity saying, you're not allowed to do this. You have to grant him his personal days. So I got my personal days, they got their contract signed, and we moved forward.

[Sean Hayden]

And as everyone moved forward, Eddie says he found himself feeling unsafe in a rehearsal when the producers of Wicked decided to add a new magic trick to the show.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

They're upping the magic trick because Wicked loves to open a new company and then implement new things from other companies.

[Sean Hayden]

So when they open a new show and they add something to it, then what? They want to implement that into the Broadway show. So it's.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

That's correct.

[Sean Hayden]

So all the productions are consistent.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

We referred to the show as the flagship store on Broadway, so everything had to match what was on Broadway. And there's this new device that they have for the classroom scene with Dr. Dillemand, who's the goat teacher. There's this in the classroom with the lion cub. I. One of my parts of my tracks was to be in a box that they rolled out, and I'm scrunched up inside and my arm goes up the back of the lion. And I do the puppet through the cage that you see on stage. And Elphaba says, let him go. And there's a big explosion, and they all do this dance that they're under her spell to grab the cub and run off. It's a puff of smoke and a flash. And the new one was a bigger explosion and it took more power to do. So we're in tech for it. So I'm standing outside of the. The box as we're teching it, and the stage manager is there with me. So they're like, well, we don't have the correct parts for this yet. So in the meantime, what we're going to do is we're going to pull out this extension cord, and you in the box are going to plug this plug into this extension cord. You have to do it on this line to preset, turn, to flip the switch to turn it on, and then hit the button on the cube.

[Sean Hayden]

Wait, let me stop you right there. They were asking you to do something electrical, Correct? But, Eddie, we're. We're not allowed to do that as actors, right?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

You know we're working on Broadway, right? There is a union called Iatsi for electricians. I am not Iatsi. I am Equity. And they pull out this huge plug of the two things. It's not like your standard, like, plug it to the wall plug, but here I am with a live wire in one hand and this other that I have never plugged in before, and inside of a box with my knees up to my chest, and they're like, now plug it in and push the button. And I was like, I'm sorry. I personally do not feel comfortable plugging this in on stage in the middle of a performance with a live wire. I'm not an electrician. Why do I have to do this?

[Sean Hayden]

And you're in a box, and I'm.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

In a box, and I'm literally, my knees are up to my chest. And she says to me, get over it, Eddie. Just get over it and do it and get over yourself, will you?

[Sean Hayden]

And, Eddie, you've heard Brett Shuford's story that we featured in this podcast.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I need you again to be pro fucking active.

[Sean Hayden]

Was that the same stage manager that Brett was talking about in his story?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Yes, it's the same stage manager. And to hear specifically Brett's story and the recordings of the stage manager's voice, it was very triggering.

[Sean Hayden]

So Eddie called his union, Actors Equity.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Association, and this is now the second time I've called. Right. I'm still equity deputy.

[Sean Hayden]

And what do they say?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

And they say, well, you know, Eddie, we could just. They. They make up their own rules.

[Sean Hayden]

That's coming from the union representative.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Yeah. You can't hear my eyes popping out of my socket when I say that, but that's what they're doing.

[Sean Hayden]

And that was it with the union?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Yeah, that was it with the union. So I plugged it in. Did it happen For a couple weeks until they got their new part in. They moved forward.

[Sean Hayden]

But then as Eddie tried to move forward and continued to work at Wicked, he noticed something unusual happening.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

It is quite common and encouraged and has been encouraged by the company of Wicked to, as you're in the ensemble and you're here a long time, make sure that you're out there auditioning for new shows, take leave of absence, come back refreshed. We want you to be here in our show and be happy. It's all encouraged. There are other people in the ensemble who have done this, many who've gone. They come back. They take two, three months. They go to a show, they come back. I book a regional production of Sweeney Todd, Dream role, mind to play Tobias. So I was like, great. I booked a show. I would like to do the same. I get an immediate denial back. We think this is an excellent opportunity for you, but we at this time cannot grant you a leave of absence. We encourage you to take the role and wish you all the best.

[Sean Hayden]

So now we're entering into some. What sounds like to me, Eddie, some new territory here.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Correct.

[Sean Hayden]

And we've heard told a story about cast member in Chicago, where leave of absences were denied, and he would be in the position of either leaving the show to perform the role or to stay with the show. And that actor's feeling was that they wanted him to quit. Is that what you are feeling at that time?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

So they want me to quit. They want me to leave the show. That is the feeling that I'm getting from them.

[Sean Hayden]

What did it feel like to hear that?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

It felt a little disheartening because I'm looking at my other castmates around me taking leaves of absences to go do other things.

[Sean Hayden]

You felt like you were being singled out.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Correct.

[Sean Hayden]

Did you try to ask for another leave of absence for another job after that?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

About two years later, I asked for another for a summer stop gig. I would be gone for two months, totaled eight weeks to go do three shows.

[Sean Hayden]

And what did they say?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I get the same response. We think these are an excellent opportunity for you to go play these roles. You are Very right. These are great roles for you. We encourage you to go do that. But at this time, we are not allowing a. We are not going to grant you a leave of absence for it.

[Sean Hayden]

Eddie, did you consider leaving Wicked, given the message you were getting from producers when you submitted these requests for leave of absences?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I had also auditioned for other Broadway shows during this time, off Broadway shows, and had offers to do things in principal contracts that I decided not to do, but to actually stay with Wicked because I knew it was long running and that where I was in my marriage, in our life process, having a steady job and being that income was important for us. So I continued to stay on with the company. As for my husband and I to continue building our life and to help get up to our goals that we were planning for with one another.

[Sean Hayden]

A few months after Eddie's second request for a leave of absence, something happens backstage during the holiday season at one of the matinee performances of Wicked. Let's just call it the rat mask incident.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

After the opening number, there's a huge. It's one of the largest costume and fastest costume changes for an entire ensemble. And my track is to come out of my, what is called the mob costumes. And I change into a rat costume, which is a pair of overalls with a big sweater and a rat mask that goes over my face. And then I push Glinda out on a stack of boxes on a cart. So for her entrance.

[Sean Hayden]

And whose job is it to preset that mask for you?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

The mask is set for me stage left by the makeup department. I am there with a dresser who is there to grab my costume, has my pants puddled on the floor. I step into my pants, I turn around, the dresser zips me up, I bend over, I pick up my mask, I put it on, we go on stage. That's how the change went.

[Sean Hayden]

What happens that day when you turn to pick up your rat mask?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

So it's not there. It's not been the first time this has happened. It's happened once or twice before. And so I say, okay, I'm gonna. I have. The show has to go on, right? I have a. A wig cap on because I wear wigs. I'll throw the show. So I pull my wig cap off, so that's my regular hair that's showing. And I push Glinda out just in my costume with no mask on, push her out. And I stand behind the box like I normally do. Look, you don't even know that this person is there. This rat is there. If you were not looking for the rat, right? I'm just a boy with hair in a pair of overalls.

[Sean Hayden]

Are there other people on stage with hair? Yeah.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

We get to the next. This is a two show day, and at the second show, I sit on stage, right, and say hi to people. And the stage manager's doing their rounds and they come around the corner and they're like, hey, so what happened today? And I was like, what do you mean? You're like, how come you didn't have a mask on? I was like, I wasn't there when I came off stage. So I did what I thought was best and I pushed Glenda on stage.

[Sean Hayden]

Yeah. The alternative would have been you would have missed your entrance to push Glinda on stage.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Correct. They were like, okay, well, here you go. So she hands over an envelope to me and I say, what is this? And she says, I'm writing you up. And I say, you're writing me up?

[Sean Hayden]

And if you've been following this podcast, you know that being written up is a disciplinary action on your record. If they accumulate, you can lose your job.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

And I have never been written up before. Since starting working in professional theater at 5, I have never been written up.

[Sean Hayden]

And what is her response when you say you're writing me up?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

You bet your ass I'm writing you up. And she said, eddie, you know that you're supposed to check your props before you go on stage.

[Sean Hayden]

At what point in the show does the makeup department preset that mask?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Sometime during the opening number.

[Sean Hayden]

Oh, so it's not before the show.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Correct.

[Sean Hayden]

So it's not like you could pre check it before you go on stage for the opening number.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Correct.

[Sean Hayden]

Does this just feel like lunacy when you're hearing this?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Of course it feels like lunacy. Because also, let me remind you, we're working on Broadway again, Right? We're working on Broadway and there is props masters, part of a union, makeup part of a union, electricians, part of a union. And now you're asking me to cross union lines again. I say, this is ridiculous. And she says, no, Eddie, you're ridiculous. You need to get it together, get your act together and get on stage. She walks off, and there's the downbeat for the first part of the show. And we're starting the show.

[Sean Hayden]

Yeah. Have a good show. Right.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

So I call Equity again and the representative is like, yeah, we've, you know, we've had some. Some problems. We hear about some problems over there and, you know, and there's just nothing really we can do about it. I'm like, nothing you can do about it. A sign goes up on the call board. Ladies and gentlemen, make sure you check your props before the show.

[Sean Hayden]

Word gets out among the ca that Eddie has been written up. The cast starts to panic, afraid that they will also be written up for a missing prop. They seek guidance from Eddie, who is not only the person who was written up, but who is also still the union deputy representative for the ensemble actors.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

So now we have a cast of actors. You know, we're already insane people and emotionally distraught people doing our best to be there during the holiday season with all these extra shows. So the stage manager, she starts going around and asking for people's opinions. Do you think you need to be checking your props before the start of the show? So it feels like to me, she's recruiting people against me for her story, that she's the one who's correct. And, you know, after listening to Brett's story and she was adamant about how correct she was about how long Brett had been there. You've been here almost six months. I've been here three months. You've been here since November. Three months. November to December, December to January, January to February. Okay, three months. You've been here three months and so hurt. Her wires are faulty. The story is not a good story. Like, you're grasping at straws here. So there's an upheaval of cast members, and as the Equity deputy, what am I supposed to do? Call Equity?

[Sean Hayden]

So the cast members are coming to you upset about this, as the Equity deputy, and now it's your job to call the union for answers, which you just called for your own personal situation. And you did not get a satisfactory answer at that time.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

So I call again. Same answer. Yeah, well, you know, it's Wicked. They have their own rules. You just gotta blah, blah, blah. Nothing's being done. This is when I start talking to people like, why is there no accountability for stage managers in the way that they get to act towards actors? Where is the accountability? Right? Because we're all supposed to be on the same team here.

[Sean Hayden]

Two months later, Eddie was fired from Wicked.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I am met backstage after curtain calls by the stage manager in the dark. She says to me, get your things and come to my office. My stomach dropped. I change out of my costume. I go up there, and I walk in, and it's her, one of the producers and the company manager. And they sit me down, they close the door, and they're like, well, we just like to tell you that you'll no longer be in the show. We understand you've been here for a while, but we are exercising our right to terminate your contract. And I was a little dumbfounded. And they said to me, here's your letter of resignation. We're going to give you a choice. You can either give your two week notice or you can come back tomorrow and say your goodbyes and then take Sunday off and be done. And I said, well, I think I'd like to come back so that I can say goodbye to people.

[Sean Hayden]

Did they tell you in that meeting, Eddie, why you were being fired?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

No, there was no explanation. It was, we're terminating your contract. That was the explanation.

[Sean Hayden]

Was it cold?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Oh, as cold as it was in February. You know, it was a very non personal after. So I've been there nine years now. Nine years. Not even a thing of your time. Just, we're exercising the right to terminate your contract.

[Sean Hayden]

And Eddie, did you feel like you had been a loyal employee to that production over those nine years?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Yes, I felt like I had been a loyal company member, a loyal cast member. I prided myself on coming to work and doing my job full out every night.

[Sean Hayden]

And during those nine years, you had never been disciplined and never written up? Other than this rat mask incident that.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

We talked about, the only time I ever received a written write up was for going on stage without my rat mask.

[Sean Hayden]

And after that meeting, what did it feel like when you walked out of that office?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

It was a gut punch. It was literally a gut punch. I walked out of there in a daze and I came home and I sat on the couch and I bawled like, just gut. Like, I don't think I cried as hard like that since my mom had passed away. And bawled and bawled and bawled and was like, okay, Eddie, you're gonna go into work tomorrow and you're gonna be the big one on this one. You're gonna go in and you're gonna give the best two shows you've had. You're gonna say goodbye to everybody. You're gonna go in and be the professional you that you always are. This isn't gonna get you down. They're not gonna see you leave with your tail between your legs. Cause that's not gonna happen.

[Sean Hayden]

The next day, Eddie returned to the Gershwin Theater and he told the cast and crew of Wicked that he had been terminated. And he said his goodbyes and they.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Were all like, what? What are you talking about? It's like, yeah, I know it's crazy. I don't know, but this is my Last show. So all I ask of everyone today is, can we just have a great show? And at the end of the show, all the cast pulled me to the center of the stage for bows. That leads everything and let me take my own bow center stage after being there for so long because everybody loved me there. Or so I thought.

[Sean Hayden]

What did that mean to you when the cast did that?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

And it was just very special to like, I did it. I was there on the Gershwin stage and got to perform. I've never actually done the count of how many performances it was, but I think it was something like 13 Elphabas. 14 Elphabas. I was there with like, that was that. It was over.

[Sean Hayden]

A few months after being fired, Eddie heard from someone in the cast that another cast member had been terminated and that a new phrase had entered into the lexicon backstage at Wicked.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

And they said, oh, did you hear? So and so got Eddied. And I said, eddied?

[Sean Hayden]

You mean like your name Eddie?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

My name Eddie. And to be verbed, I said, does that mean they were fired? And they said, yeah, they totally. The same thing happened to them that happened to you being called in and asked to leave.

[Sean Hayden]

And Eddie, what was the significance of using the phrase being Ed Eid? Is it because you were one of the first long run hires that had been dismissed in this manner?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I was not one of the first. I was the first.

[Sean Hayden]

You were the first that was just told we're terminating you with no explanation and to leave. Right.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

So now my reputation is being eddied at Wicked. You've created this narrative about me that I know you share with casting. Right. And I'm supposed to go back out and get a job with casting and other people now that you've created this work environment narrative about me? That's completely untrue.

[Sean Hayden]

So when you're terminated, Wicked does buy you out of your contract, but did you feel like prior to being terminated that the producers were somehow trying to get you to quit so they wouldn't have to buy you out?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I think that's exactly what they were doing.

[Sean Hayden]

I mean, this is something that we talked about with the Jeff Lofelholz episode in Chicago. And his speculation was that they were trying to get him to quit so that they wouldn't have to pay out on his contract because he was expensive. But that feels like that was the undercurrent you're feeling as the actor in that position at that time.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Yes. And in the grand scheme of things, with how many millions of dollars they make, how expensive is it to buy that person out to buy me out. You know, this all puts back on the actor that we're the lowest ones on the totem pole. Right. That, ah, just sweep them out. We'll get somebody else to do it. Just get rid of them. Just get rid of them. It's fine.

[Sean Hayden]

Yeah.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

And that's what it feels like, right?

[Sean Hayden]

Yeah.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

As opposed to all of us there being the quote unquote family that is there to make them their millions of dollars.

[Sean Hayden]

Following his termination from Wicked, Eddie noticed something changed in him as an actor.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I had a callback for Waitress and I went in. It was the last callback I had. And I was like, I don't like this anymore. I don't think I can do this. What I loved for so long. I feel like I gotta walk away from this. And I kept having this thought of, like, I can't believe that I have spent my entire life and so much energy and so much love into this and I'm just gonna drop it all. Like, I'm just going to walk away from it. Everything that defined me as an artist. And I stopped going to see shows because I couldn't stand to sit in the theater anymore to see a show. I couldn't. Just knowing the politics of it just made me feel so gross sitting there watching that. These poor people on stage were probably miserable. I'm like, I just. It's such a toxic environment.

[Sean Hayden]

Today. Eddie Pendergraft is expressing himself in a whole new way.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I go back to school to get certifications and licensing for barbering because I'm like, this looks like something I can do. Maybe I'll enjoy this. It seems artistic because it is literally about lines and shapes and that's what art is. And so I dive into that and give that my 100% now. I haven't left performing. You're sitting in my chair for 30 minutes. You get the Eddie experience. Get the eddie show for 30 minutes. Most people giggle and stuff.

[Sean Hayden]

Eddie pursued his barbering career thinking Wicked was fully out of his life. But two years ago, an unexpected letter suddenly brought it all back.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I tear it open and I pull it out and it's a check. And I start bawling and I'm like, why am I crying? Why am I crying right now? There's a check from Wicked. It's free money. Why am I crying right now? So I emailed the company manager, not the stage manager who we've been talking about, but the company manager of Wicked, and I say, hey, I just got this check in the mail and I don't know why. There's no explanation to it. It's just a check. She writes me back, oh, I'm finally retiring. So this was a vacation pay that we forgot to pay you for. So I responded to her and now that it's been X amount of years since I was gone, I let her know how I felt about my entire experience there and how traumatizing it was and how I was changed for good. Right. Like the lyrics in the show. So she responded and I have forwarded that email to you if you'd like to.

[Sean Hayden]

Yeah. This company manager with Wicked who was retiring said in part, I do think this company needs to rethink how we deal with long term company members when it comes time to replace them for whatever reason. Contractually, it certainly is within the right of the producer and creatives to make those choices. And once a show runs this many years, it is inevitable. There is no one solution that will be good for everyone. And we do need to consider what the impact will be on the rest of the company if someone is asked to leave and spends the remaining time with us in a negative manner. But there can be a negative impact on the rest of the company when one of their members is terminated without any advance notice. And then she adds, it breaks my heart that someone who spent years at Wicked could look back at their time with us as abusive or underappreciated. What does it feel like when you hear those words from that company manager?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

At face value, it looks really nice. But knowing my history with this company, she's a very smart woman and she's been in the business a very long time. You can't tell me that she didn't know what was going on.

[Sean Hayden]

And yet, eight years after leaving behind the World of Oz at the Gershwin Theater, there's still a big part of Eddie Pendergraft present to this day backstage at Wicked. Because during the nine years that Eddie was working at Wicked, he would draw backstage. And those drawings caught the eyes of the assistant stage managers.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

Two of the assistant stage managers approached me and said, would you be interested in maybe designing and painting a mural for us? There's a stairwell in the back. You have free reign to do whatever you'd like to do. It's all for the backstage area. And I was like, sure, I'll totally do this. I came up with a concept.

[Sean Hayden]

So Eddie told the story of Wicked in his elaborate mural that he painted in his free time between shows voluntarily, over a period of three years.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

So on the fourth story up, it's Elphaba flying up above with her broom, holding it high. And then her cape comes down all four stories to the very bottom. And if you go from the top down, you come down the stairs and you go into the Emerald City. And I did caricatures of all of the ensemble in a bright green painted Emerald City. And I bedazzled the walls and I painted with glitter and I made it super sparkly. And then you go to a poppy field with a big hot air balloon with Madame Morrible hanging from a rope trying to escape Oz with the wizard in the balloon. And then we get down to a big, huge clock, a dragon, the time clock dragon, with Glinda in her bubble, except the dragon has a hold of her bubble so she can't get out. And then we go through, like, a haunted forest into, like, a cornfield to the house, the fallen house with the silver slippers out underneath. And I bedazzled the silver slippers. And then you get to the rat pulling all of this. The rat was pulling the cape of the Witch of the west.

[Sean Hayden]

And yes, that's the same rat who would become part of the rat mask incident.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

The mural is still there.

[Sean Hayden]

It's kind of a Like you're sharing a bit of magic with everyone who finds himself backstage at Wicked. What do you think about that?

[Eddie Pendergraft]

I think it's. I guess, as of now, my only thing that has me left on Broadway, where I thought that I would have a nice long career. And it's a reminder that I'm still here.

[Sean Hayden]

Here. Yet another Wicked story in our companion bonus content at Stage Combat at Patreon, actor Brad Bass, a guest from episode one, how are we all okay with this? Recalls what he saw when he worked at Wicked.

[Brad Bass]

There were witch hunts that they would do, but I call it witch hunts because they would decide something about someone in the cast and they would. Essentially, there was an actress in the show who was in the ensemble, and I'm not going to say their name, so lovely. I don't know what it was. They just decided that they did not like what she was doing on stage. And she was in part of the ballet during Asda's ballroom. And they would call her at half hour or maybe a little before half hour, and they would make her run it over and over and over and over again until she's in tears, not knowing how she could be better. I mean, this happened a lot, and everyone's just sitting around going, what do they want from her? You know, it was things like that.

[Sean Hayden]

That happened Feels like it almost would create this culture of fear. What if you're the next target? And is that how you felt?

[Brad Bass]

That is exactly how it was.

[Sean Hayden]

That's exclusively at Stage Combat at Patreon. Just follow the link in the show notes. Do you have a story to tell? Well, we would love to hear from you. And we would love to hear from stage managers and producers who are proactively working to make the workplace safe, respectful and dignified. We've heard from many stage managers who are doing just that. And here at Stage Combat, we are working on content to tell your stories. But producers, where are you? Because we haven't heard from a single one of you. If you're a producer trying to change the workplace, we want to hear from you. Send us a DM at stagecombatthepodcast IG or an email to stagecombatthepodcastmail.com Coming up next on StageCombat, the podcast, we'll be revisiting our 2023 episode with ABC News chief national correspondent Matt Gutman. You said with your therapies, everything worked, some more than others, but they all led to emotional surrender. Can you tell us what you mean by emotional surrender? That seems like a very powerful phrase.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

So part of it is doing just this right? It's being vulnerable.

[Sean Hayden]

Yeah.

[Eddie Pendergraft]

It's talking about what was my darkest secret. The thing I couldn't tell because I'd be fired. I'd lose my reputation, my career, my status. It would be colossally bad.

[Sean Hayden]

Plus, two of our listeners will be chatting with me about the interview with Matt. And two weeks after that episode, it is time for the second annual Stage Combat Holiday special. This episode was edited by Alex Griffith, mixing and sound design work by Justin Gerrish, and it was written and directed by me, Sean Hayden for Heywood Productions, llc. A reminder that the content in this episode is not medical advice. Please consult with a medical and or a healthcare professional at Stage Combat. We're wishing everyone out there a very happy Thanksgiving. And yeah, it might be a bit bumpy out there this year for many of you, but just remember one word that we talked about in our last episode. The F word. No, not family. Boundaries. I hope today and every day brings you an opportunity to claim your story. Stage Combat is a production of Haywood Productions, llc.