Cosby show at Packard will go on as planned

Staff /wire report

WARREN

The upcoming performance by Bill Cosby at Packard Music Hall will not be affected by allegations of sexual misconduct aimed at the legendary comedian last week.

“Everything will go on as scheduled,” said Kelsey Rupert, spokesperson for JAC, which manages Packard hall. The March 13 concert was announced Monday.

Tickets — which go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday — are $42, $55 and $65 (plus applicable fees) and can be purchased at the Packard box office, ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster outlets, and by phone at 800-745-3000.

The renewed attention to a dark chapter for Cosby began last month when a comedian, Hannibal Buress, assailed him during a performance, calling him a “rapist.”

It was harsh criticism of the veteran entertainer known equally for his charming stand-up comedy, groundbreaking NBC TV sitcom “The Cosby Show” and demands for personal responsibility directed at fellow African-Americans.

Adding to the growing firestorm: One of Cosby’s accusers, Barbara Bowman, leveled allegations of sexual assault against him in an online column for the Washington Post. Bowman wrote that in 1985, she was 17 and an aspiring actress when Cosby “brainwashed me into viewing him as a father figure, and then assaulted me multiple times.”

Cosby’s lawyer, John P. Schmitt, said Sunday the comedian will not dignify “decade-old, discredited” claims of sexual abuse with a response.

Cosby, who was never criminally charged in any case, settled a civil suit in 2006 with another woman over an alleged incident two years before.