A Tony-nominated Broadway star is suing the producers of the musical Come From Away for supposedly firing him over his Christian beliefs.
Chad Kimball claimed in a lawsuit filed Wednesday with the New York Supreme Court seeking compensatory and punitive damages, lost wages, and attorneys’ fees and costs that the musical’s production company “unlawfully terminated” him because his religious convictions “simply made them uncomfortable,” according to a copy of the lawsuit reviewed by the Washington Examiner.
“Come from Away was received by many as a heartwarming musical of what people are capable of if they set aside fear and hate,” the filing said. “However, as set forth below, Defendants willfully failed to live up to the aspiration espoused by their production as they unlawfully terminated Mr. Kimball wholly or partly because Mr. Kimball’s religious beliefs simply made them uncomfortable.”
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Kimball alleged that the “failure to re-hire” him after the coronavirus-related Broadway shutdown in 2020 “was based wholly or partly upon [his] religious faith” since he “became more outspoken regarding his beliefs” after suffering significant injuries in 2011 on the set of Memphis.
The performer’s lawsuit claimed that a tweet he posted in November 2020 opposing COVID-19 guidelines for religious services partly led to his eventual termination.
“Respectfully, I will never allow a Governor, or anyone, to stop me from SINGING, let alone sing in worship to my God,” he tweeted. “Folks, absolute POWER corrupts ABSOLUTELY. This is not about safety. It’s about POWER. I will respectfully disobey these unlawful orders.”
Respectfully, I will never allow a Governor, or anyone, to stop me from SINGING, let alone sing in worship to my God. Folks, absolute POWER corrupts ABSOLUTELY. This is not about safety. It’s about POWER. I will respectfully disobey these unlawful orders. #inslee #Tyranny #truth pic.twitter.com/84UDiozOd1
— Chad Kimball (@chadkimball1) November 15, 2020
Kimball later added: “To be clear: nobody is going maskless. The overreach — in my opinion! — is not being able to sing even WITH a mask. No singing WITH a mask ON. Everyone will continue wearing masks. With respect and with hope and with care.”
The lawsuit claimed Kimball was “forced to explain and defend his Nov. 15, 2020 tweet to [the company’s] agents and employees.”
Kimball also participated in three phone calls with Come from Away producers, two with Susan Frost and one with Christopher Ashley, in which the producers questioned his belief, with Frost “express[ing] concerns the Defendants had about Mr. Kimball’s ‘beliefs,’ stating, in sum and substance, that the events at the Capitol, Josh Hawley, and the Conservative Christian movement were tied together and implied a connection between Mr. Kimball, by virtue of his faith, to the ideas and actions of the January 6, 2021 events at the U.S. Capitol,” the filing said. While the producer allegedly “ended the conversation by stating she doesn’t agree with what Mr. Kimball believes, but that he was a man of integrity,” Kimball claimed that he was “not invited back … and was terminated” on Jan. 22.
On a Feb. 2 phone call, Ashley acknowledged Kimball’s faith and disagreements with cast and crew were “everything” when making the decision to terminate him, the lawsuit added.
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Described in the filing as “a devout and practicing Christian,” Kimball began starring in Come From Away, a Broadway musical depicting how more than 200 planes were diverted to Canada due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in 2016. The show was recently adapted for Apple’s subscription service, Apple+.
The production company declined to comment.
