Christopher Massimine Explained

Christopher Massimine (born May 1986)[1] [2] is an American former theater producer and the former CEO of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. In 2019, he was appointed managing director of the Pioneer Theatre Company at the University of Utah, but he resigned in August 2021, citing mental illness, in response to reports that he fabricated large portions of his résumé.[1] [3]

Education

Massimine was born in New Jersey and grew up in Somerset. He attended New York University, where he received a bachelor's degree, though he falsely claimed to have also received a master's degree from the university.

Career

In 2016, Massimine was appointed chief executive officer of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.[4] He was the executive producer of the 2015 KulturfestNYC, an international Jewish performing arts festival.[5] [6] Later that year, he co-produced a tribute concert for Theodore Bikel.[7] During Massimine's tenure at the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, the theatre was an associate producer of the 2017 Broadway production of Indecent,[8] which was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play. In 2018, Massimine was executive producer of the theatre's U.S. premiere of Fidler Afn Dakh, a Yiddish-language production of Fiddler on the Roof directed by Joel Grey.[9] [10]

In 2019, Massimine was named managing director of the Pioneer Theatre Company at the University of Utah, succeeding Chris Lino, who had retired.[11]

In May 2021, Massimine went on approved personal leave from the university, pending an investigation, after reports by Fox 13 and The Salt Lake Tribune that he falsified numerous credits on his résumé and claimed to have received a medal from an arts organization which did not actually exist.[12] [13] Additionally, despite claiming to have received Tony Award nominations for his work on American Idiot and Indecent, the Tony Awards confirmed that Massimine was not actually nominated.

In August 2021, shortly before a report by The New York Times was published corroborating the claims against him, he resigned and said he had battled mental illness his entire life. Massimine was diagnosed with a Cluster B personality disorder. The symptoms of this mental illness involve deception, attention-seeking, unpredictable thinking or behavior, a histrionic personality, and a narcissistic personality.[2] [14] In a 2022 column for Newsweek, Massimine said about his mental illness, "As part of my diagnosis, when I am in mental distress, I create fabrications to help build myself up, since that self-esteem by itself doesn't exist. I compensated in the only way I knew how to: I created my own reality, and eventually that spilled into my work."[15]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: University of Utah exec resigns after FOX 13 exposes a series of extravagant lies. August 16, 2021. Fox13now. Herbets. Adam. August 18, 2021.
  2. News: Can He Ever Stop Lying?. The New York Times. November 29, 2022. December 19, 2022. D1. Barry. Ellen. limited.
  3. Web site: Pioneer Theatre's managing director resigns, months after questions about bogus credits on his resumé. August 16, 2021. Salt Lake Tribune. Means. Sean P.. August 17, 2021.
  4. News: Theater Director With Exaggerated Résumé Quits, Citing Mental Illness. The New York Times. August 16, 2021 . August 16, 2021. Ritzel . Rebecca J. .
  5. News: Jewish performing arts festival, Kulturfest, will highlight importance and vitality of Yiddish culture. NY Daily News. Cuestas. Gianluca. June 10, 2015. October 18, 2021.
  6. Web site: KulturfestNYC, the very-inclusive first-ever international Jewish performing arts festival, begins June 11th. Downtown Magazine NYC. July 11, 2015. February 27, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180304172407/https://www.downtownmagazinenyc.com/2015/06/11/kulturfestnyc-the-very-inclusive-first-ever-international-jewish-performing-arts-festival-begins-june-11th/. March 4, 2018. dead.
  7. News: Broadway Will Celebrate Theodore Bikel with Tribute Concert. Playbill. Clement. Olivia. July 28, 2015. October 18, 2021.
  8. Web site: Indecent. Internet Broadway Database. February 19, 2018.
  9. News: Yiddish-Language 'Fiddler on the Roof' Is Coming to New York. The New York Times. Deb. Sopan. December 26, 2017. October 18, 2021.
  10. Web site: Sorokoff . Stephen . Photos: Inside Opening Night of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF in Yiddish . BroadwayWorld.com . July 17, 2018 . October 18, 2021 . en.
  11. Web site: Tony-nominated producer Christopher Massimine picked as new managing director of Utah's Pioneer Theatre Company. The Salt Lake Tribune. Means. Sean P.. February 27, 2019. October 18, 2021. en-US.
  12. Web site: Claims on Pioneer Theatre managing director's resumé seem to be bogus. June 9, 2021. The Salt Lake Tribune. Means. Sean P.. June 4, 2021. en-US.
  13. Web site: High-paid University of Utah executive lied on resume, published fake articles. June 9, 2021. KSTU. FOX 13 Investigates. Herbets. Adam. August 18, 2021. en.
  14. News: I'm a Liar, and It Will Follow Me Forever. Massimine. Christopher . Earlier today, a NY Times article came out detailing and profiling my lifetime of fabrications. And there's a lot to process.. Medium. November 29, 2022. November 29, 2022.
  15. News: I Was Canceled, It Turned My Life Upside Down. Massimine. Christopher . I made mistakes, it caught attention, and it spread like wildfire all over the web. It's now there forever.. Newsweek. October 6, 2022. November 29, 2022.

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