Describe the American Theatre Landscape today. Where do you see it going? If theatre isn't your thing, think of film and TV.
I see it becoming more formulaic and young. Seems like new shows are appealing to a "niche" market. You've got Xanadu for the gays, Spring Awakening for the youth, Wicked for little girls, Color Purple for black folk, Disney shows for kids, and Frost Nixon for the old. Besides Spring Awakening, there's nothing out there pushes the envelope. Spring Awakening wasn't perfect, but it did take some risks (staging and theatricality) that paid off with 8 Tony Awards.
This fall we can look forward to shows like The Little Mermaid. Soon kids won't have to watch the cartoons, they can just come to Broadway. Maybe that's the plan. At $111.00 for an orchestra seat, I don't see that happening.
Back to the discussion...the topic of racial neutrality came up. Why can't people of color be cast as sons of white or Asian parents, if the idea of race isn't central to the story? Can the image of neutrality shift? Are audiences of film, TV, and theatre ready for that?
The country is changing and like I said before Broadway needs to change with it or risk it's own extinction. Again, we need a table that can seat the entire community.
1 comment:
I agree but then again if people of colour or in any sort of inter-racial relationship let others drive the point across, there will be no validation.
What do we do first? Face our own insecurities - that is the hardest step to make on our own...and this is from experience.
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