UPDATED: RI Theater Company “Frozen” Amid Allegations of Sexual Assault
Thursday, June 24, 2021
A Rhode Island theater company is embroiled in controversy, with charges of an alleged sexual assault being levied against its artistic director, Kevin Broccoli.
Cranston's Epic Theatre Executive Director Megan Ruggiero, along with top staff Angelique Dina and Lauren Pothier, have all resigned after they said they investigated an alleged victim's claim against Broccoli.
All three of the women and Broccoli serve as officers and directors of the company, according to state records,GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
Broccoli now says he is staying on at the helm of the theater company -- for now -- to address the claims.
“As of now, Epic is essentially frozen. All future projects, even one-off events, are not moving forward,” said Broccoli in his statement on Wednesday. “The goal right now is to give anyone who has been made to feel that Epic was an unsafe space the assurance that it will not be business as usual while this is handled. Megan, Lauren, and Angelique have made the decision to resign, and I thank them for dealing with this with the utmost grace and integrity.”
Allegations by Theater Leadership
Ruggiero in a statement wrote that the women “per the Epic Manual” investigated the sexual assault allegation matter “to the best of their ability and deemed the allegations and survivor’s statement [against Broccoli] credible.”
“Being a nonprofit without a fully functional board of directors, an issue I have been trying to rectify at Epic for the past year — we did not have the ability to request a vote for removal,” she continued, of trying to oust Broccoli.
“Though Kevin told us he will be remaining at Epic to accept responsibility, hold himself accountable, and swiftly try to install new leadership, we still felt uncomfortable remaking in our staff positions,” she continued.
At no time did any of the individuals involved mention contacting — or involving — law enforcement authorities.
The theater is located on Rolfe Street in Cranston.
Broccoli Response
On Wednesday, Broccoli wrote that staff members came to him and “informed him that someone had come to them to tell them about an interaction with me that the person felt rose to the level of an assault.”
“Although Epic is not a large company, we do have certain resources and a history of production that I think has some value and I wanted to know if there was a way to continue on with the company if I stepped aside. I felt that whoever was in charge of Epic once we went public with this would inevitably face a storm of criticism. In a sense, they would be asked to clean up a mess caused by me, and I didn’t think that was fair. My suggestion was to have Megan, Lauren, and anyone else on staff resign, and that I would make myself available to face that criticism on my own,” wrote Broccoli.
“While I do not know who the person is that has spoken to the staff, I do know that over the years, I have absolutely made mistakes in regards to starting inappropriate relationships with other people I had working relationships with, and as an Artistic Director, I should have known better,” he added. “Professionalism dictates that any interaction I have with someone working with the company, even while consensual, involves that person having to navigate whether or not engaging with me will be useful in some way and/or whether not engaging with me will hurt them in some way.”
Other Controversies
Following a long legal battle in 2018, Epic Theatre Company’s “James Franco and Me: An Unauthorized Satire” headed to New York City as part of FringeNYC.
The show was written by Broccoli.
“To say that I’m thrilled would be an understatement. The play was actually designed for FringeNYC. Epic had participated in the festival in 2016, and on the way home, I started thinking about a script I had that I thought we could submit the following year. When Fringe took a sabbatical, we came up with another plan for getting the show to New York, and that’s when our big publicity adventure began,” said Broccoli.
The play performed to sold-out audiences in Rhode Island, but when Epic made plans to transfer it to a venue in New York City, the theater received a cease-and-desist letter from Franco’s representatives.
The venue had made the decision to cancel the run, and Broccoli found himself in a legal battle.
The New York Times wrote in July 2017, "James Franco's Lawyers Shut Down Play That Uses His Name."
“I got very lucky, because we were given some invaluable legal help that aided us in resolving the matter,” says Broccoli, “It just so happened that as I was gearing up to find another venue in the city, I got the FringeNYC e-mail asking for submissions, and it seemed like kismet. The show was created for Fringe, and I’m so happy it’ll be able to join the festival’s amazing history of theatrical innovation and creativity.”
In 2019, GoLocal reported about a dispute between Broccoli and Bishop Thomas Tobin.
Motif Magazine's annual Rhode Island Theater Awards, which were scheduled to take place at the Diocese of Providence's McVinney Auditorium, were canceled by the Church.
The cancellation was triggered by a letter by Broccoli which was published by Motif magazine.
Broccoli's letter read in part, “I should tell you now that this is not going to be the letter you think it is. Since your tweet and subsequent non-apology, many people smarter and more eloquent than I am have written about how hurtful your message was – advising Catholics not to attend Pride events and warning that those events are especially 'harmful' to children."
"Gay and straight people alike have spoken out – telling you that messages like those from people in positions such as yours have driven them from the church, or that your message is especially audacious at a time in history when more people than ever before have become aware of the church’s shameful legacy of harboring predators and pedophiles, including your own admitted instances of helping to protect such monsters," continued Broccoli. "Their messages of outrage are weighing on my mind as I write this, but I can assure you that while I am also outraged, this is not that kind of letter.”
Motif’s Mike Ryan told GoLocal of the cancellation, “We asked for an official statement, and haven't received one yet. We received the news by phone call from the facility director, who has been our contact and - that was Friday afternoon at 2:30. After that call, he was going to get us something official, but we haven't had anything yet. We did reach out to the various communications people at the Diocese, but received no immediate response (as you may imagine on a Friday afternoon).”
The Diocese did release a statement that acknowledged the event's cancellation.
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