Performing in a Broadway show should be a dream come true for anyone stepping on the stage. Unfortunately for one actor, the last few months of working on Broadway’s Anastasia were a nightmare.

Last month, actor/dancer James Pierce III, tweeted allegations of bullying and racial discrimination against production staff for the show. His tweets included first-hand testimonials as well as emails from production leadership. He also posted emails between himself and representatives from Actor’s Equity Association(AEA) that not only demonstrate a lack of effort of their part to resolve the issues but also going as far as recommending Mr. Pierce not file complaints at all.

In speaking with Mr. Pierce, he told me that making his allegations public was in response to hearing misinformation about him from others in the industry. He wants to set the record straight. “If I’m going to be blacklisted, I want to make sure my story gets heard,” he tells me. “It’s unfair that they are controlling the narrative. No matter what it takes, I’m going to protect my name and my reputation.”

Wardrobe Issues Led to Boiling Point

Mistakes with costumes can happen in any Broadway show, but according to Mr. Pierce, they were a constant issue at Anastasia. Costume pieces would be missing; clothing wasn't placed where it needed to be for quick changes, garments weren't washed, etc.

Things reached their boiling on November 15, 2018. During a performance, Mr. Pierce had to change into another costume, and it required him to wear a t-shirt underneath. Finding t-shirts always seemed to be an issue which would usually result in apologies from his dresser, but the problems kept persisting. This led to Mr. Pierce having to purchase his own t-shirts and never being reimbursed for that.

According to Mr. Pierce, when he arrived downstairs to change and didn't see a t-shirt laid out, he needed to find his dresser, "Mattie," fast.

Calling out for him, after a couple of moments, Mattie finally appeared with a "What?", Mr. Pierce replied hastily that he needed a t-shirt.

From across the room, a woman who worked hair for the show, shouted, "Please?"

Mr. Pierce said to an actor next to him, "Am I supposed to say please when this happens every day?"

"Well, you could try to be a decent person," she replied from across the room.

Mr. Pierce recalls saying to her, "No, don't do that. That's not fair and don't come for my character if you don't want me to come back."

She then told him to "go to the stage manager" if he had wardrobe issues, to which he replied, "I have."

At that point, someone else in the room told them to drop it and told him to bring his issues to Bonnie Panson, Anastasia's Production Stage Manager, which Mr. Pierce had been doing. He had been doing it for weeks now.

Since this incident was just the latest in a long line of wardrobe issues and following the standard chain of command wasn't working, Mr. Pierce had been told by Ms. Panson to bring all concerns/issues to her directly.

He remembers telling Ms. Panson that he didn't want to do that because she already had a million things on her plate.

"Well, you can be my one million and one," he remembers her telling him.

So knowing that Ms. Panson wanted to be notified of these issues, Mr. Pierce went to her office and as was customary during a performance, left post-it notes briefly explaining the issue. Following the performance, Mr. Pierce went back to her office, knocked on her door.

"Who is it?" Ms. Panson allegedly called out.

"It's James," he replied.

"It's James," Ms. Panson allegedly said, sounding like she was talking to someone in the office with her.

Hearing that, Mr. Pierce figured she was with someone, so he started to walk away with the intent of coming back later, but that's when Ms. Panson allegedly swung open the door and yelled toward him, "James! I am leaving this door open because I want to feel safe and want everyone to know what's going on."

This startled and rattled Mr. Pierce.

"I hadn't had a chance to tell my side of what happened, and I was being treated like some 'thug on the street' that was about to attack her," he said. "I told her that I felt her actions were racially triggered, and I felt like I was being discriminated against."

"How dare you call me a racist!" Ms. Panson allegedly replied. "I have tried to be nice to you!"

At this point, Mr. Pierce left the theatre that day feeling shaken and confused by what had occurred.

The next day, after emailing and calling AEA representatives Walt Kiskaddon and Corey Jenkins, Mr. Pierce had a meeting with Ms. Panson along with AEA reps, Mr. Jenkins and Keith Sklar. According to Mr. Pierce, during the meeting, she accused him of creating a hostile work environment and complained that he had come continuously to her with wardrobe issues, despite that she told him to do that in the first place.

"I've tried to be there for you, how about I file a complaint against you?" she allegedly asked him. "Now, I feel threatened! You came in here last night, called me a racist and threatened me!"

According to Mr. Pierce, he hadn't done either and pointed that out to her, but Ms. Panson left the room, claiming, "I have a show to do."

Three days later, Mr. Pierce received a letter from production management that he had been written up for creating a hostile work environment.

Problems Persist, and New Ones Arise

Two days after the incident in the basement, Mr. Pierce arrived at a dressing room only to find an obscene drawing of a penis ejaculating on his signature on the wall. His name was the only one that had this obscene drawing above it. He was later told that multiple drawings had been made and erased but they “forgot” to erase the one above his name.