The Duck Commander Musical might be closing at the Rio Casino and Hotel's Crown Theater in Las Vegas after only a brief run, but director Jeff Calhoun feels grateful to have been given the opportunity to work with the Robertson family from the reality show Duck Dynasty.
The Christian family, particularly its patriarch Phil Robertson has a strong anti-gay stance, but even though Calhoun is gay, he did not receive any judgment or scathing comments from any of them. In fact, he and Willie even bonded and formed a good friendship.
"The fact that he hired an openly proud married gay man to direct his show, to turn his book into a musical, and then had no problem with the entire creative team and some of the actors being gay, I think that speaks volumes," he told The Advocate.
Calhoun added that judgment is a two-way street, and suggested that although Christians such as the Robertsons might have strong opinions about homosexuality, it doesn't mean they can't work together.
"If he's willing to walk the walk like that, we should be willing to open our hearts to people who are an easy punch line," he said.
Calhoun also said that he has nothing but respect for both Willie and Korie, who he said were lovely to him. They started talking about the musical right after Phil was suspended from the show because of his homophobic comments, and Willie and the others were issued a gag order from their network A&E not to discuss the matter.
But after Willie visited the apartment of Calhoun and his husband, Willie asked if it would help if he broke the silence about the issue. "He went on Hannity that night and spoke to his fan base, and said the family did not agree necessarily with what the father said. I have nothing but respect for him and Korie," said the director. "That was the first step for him, and he didn't have to do that. He's also taking a big chance."
