Townsend, Theater Stories Differ

Celebrity Theatre officials Tuesday denied that they failed to pay comedian and filmmaker Robert Townsend as his contract required, as Townsend asserted when he canceled a performance there Sunday night. But one theater official said no further action would be taken over the cancellation.

“It’s unfortunate that Mr. Townsend was not given the correct information to make a professional decision not to disappoint his fans,” Celebrity vice president of operations Phyllis Roberson said in a prepared statement.

Tony Wafford, Townsend’s publicist, on Monday told The Times that Townsend canceled the show because his contract called for payment by cashier’s check or cash. Wafford said Celebrity officials had offered a check drawn on the theater’s account, but “that wasn’t part of the deal. . . . We had no choice but to leave.”

According to Roberson’s statement Tuesday, Townsend’s associates, whom Roberson did not identify, refused to accept an offer of cash for the balance due. Reached for comment, Wafford continued to maintain: “I was there, and that’s not my understanding of what happened.”

In any case, Celebrity’s booking director Nick Masters said that Roberson’s statement was issued to air the theater’s side of the story and would be the theater’s last word on the incident. “It’s a dead issue,” Masters said.