In the truly “WTF” audio clip, Filichia states,

“I would think for a production like this, I would think there would really be a concerted effort to find men who are astonishingly endowed and that was not the case here. And that might be one of the reasons why it didn’t catch on.”

BroadwayRadio founder and host James Marino, chimes with by smugly asking “So should we say these people were miscast?”

“Yes, I think so,” Filichia replies.

Later, he twice labels a performer(identified as Anthony Logan Cole) as “substantially overweight” while trying to credit the actor for having courage to perform in such a show, given his size. As if he should somehow hide his body due to his size.

“I admire he’s able to get up there being overweight…substantially, in fact,” Filichia states. “It indicates that a lot of actors will do a lot to be in a show rather than wait tables.”

In response to the growing outrage, Marino has deleted the segment from the episode. However the clip can be heard above.

Obviously, this is appalling and goes beyond the quasi-veiled body shaming we’ve been seeing in reviews for the past couple of years, but this is unprecedented. Filichia is explicit in his remarks and openly ponders if the size of the performers’ genitals are the reason a show is closing. I can’t believe I just typed that sentence. But body shaming anyone of any gender identity, let alone mocking their genitalia, in a review is an egregious overstep in the role of a critic. It can be incredibly damaging to actors who are already putting themselves in a vulnerable position. Given Filichia’s years of experience at The Star-Ledger, I figured he would know better.

What should be pointed out here is that Filichia didn’t care to confirm that the show was going to close July 7, no matter who was cast.

What is also shocking is the behavior of James Marino. As founder of BroadwayRadio and host of the program, I was surprised to hear him so gleefully join in on shaming this cast. Also, given that this show is pre-recorded, I’m astonished that Marino just didn’t edit this entire part out. I have to question the decision making there.

Thankfully and unsurprising, cast members of this show are calling out Filichia and BroadwayRadio. Anthony Logan Cole took to Twitter to respond.