Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before? - Page 2
Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Wilmingtom
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/18/11
#25Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/22/16 at 10:14pm
The first national tour of South Pacific had to cut "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught" when it played in the South.
#26Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/22/16 at 10:34pm
The answer is obviously NO. The only times a Broadway musical has been nation ally relevant was as entertainment or inspiration, as was Camelot after the assassination of JFK, or titillating, as were Oh, Calcutta and Hair.
But never controversy!
#27Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/22/16 at 10:38pm
Mister Matt said: "For that reason alone the tours of that show made front page news everywhere it went.
The first national tour was the first musical my parents saw together. They saw it in DC (I *think* it was the Kennedy Center the year it opened, but I'm not 100% positive) and they always spoke of the unusual opening with the cast entering the theatre from the back of the house by walking over the arms and backs of the seats in the audience, the chilling finale and dancing on stage with the cast during Let the Sun Shine In. I still have their souvenir brochure and LP of the cast recording (which I heard endlessly as a child along with Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady). It was a special moment for me when I saw the revival and danced on stage with the cast just as my parents did
"
I didn't see the D.C. production and, of course, you are merely reporting what your parents said. But in productions I saw in Miami and New York, the cast did not ENTER climbing on the armrests. In fact, the published script calls for the cast to be milling about on stage when the audience first comes in. (Something that was shocking enough in 1968: very avant-garde for the commercial theater.)
The cast left the stage to "assault" audience members and climb on the armrests during one of the early numbers.
If you think about it, the logistics of entering from the back and trying to walk on the armrests of audience members who can't see you coming would be rather daunting.
Just a small point: glad you enjoyed the revival.
#28Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/22/16 at 10:47pm
AmericanVicomte said: "The only one I can think of right now is Jesus Christ Superstar.
"
AV, at first JCS (and GODSPELL) were considered outrages by some Christians who felt the mere portrayal of Jesus in a Broadway musical was offensive. (Adding to the outrage, both shows were considered products of the "counter culture". At the time, evangelical ministers were still burning "rock 'n' roll" records.)
But by the early to mid-1970s, most people had calmed down and Christians began to notice that while the works raise questions about Jesus' message, they aren't as disrespectful to his person as they may have originally seemed. Yes, JCS suggests Jesus' entire mission was a PR stunt, but it gives those claims to Judas, who isn't considered a reputable source in Christian circles. However, you view it, GODSPELL treats Jesus as a wise philosopher, at the very least, and never literally denies his divinity.)
#29Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/22/16 at 10:49pm
PalJoey said: "
The answer is obviously NO. The only times a Broadway musical has been nation ally relevant was as entertainment or inspiration, as was Camelot after the assassination of JFK, or titillating, as were Oh, Calcutta and Hair.
But never controversy!
"
I'm not sure how you are defining controversy, joey. Whether HAIR could even be staged was a legal controversy in many parts of the country.
Broadway Geek2
Chorus Member Joined: 6/1/11
#30Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/23/16 at 9:32am
Mister Matt said: "For that reason alone the tours of that show made front page news everywhere it went.
The first national tour was the first musical my parents saw together. They saw it in DC (I *think* it was the Kennedy Center the year it opened, but I'm not 100% positive) and they always spoke of the unusual opening with the cast entering the theatre from the back of the house by walking over the arms and backs of the seats in the audience, the chilling finale and dancing on stage with the cast during Let the Sun Shine In. I still have their souvenir brochure and LP of the cast recording (which I heard endlessly as a child along with Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady). It was a special moment for me when I saw the revival and danced on stage with the cast just as my parents did "
National Theatre, I believe.
#31Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/23/16 at 9:47amUpdated On: 11/23/16 at 09:47 AM
#32Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/23/16 at 10:38am
Superstar depicts a wide variety of perspectives, but other than characters who would be scornful or blasphemous, depicts very little that is actually controversial or blasphemous. Even its depiction of Jesus as short-tempered and in poor mental shape is consistent with the Biblical portrayal, where Jesus does have a hair trigger temper towards the end and has a nervous breakdown in the Garden.
#33Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/23/16 at 10:41am
One of the original cast members of Hair wrote a book (I forget her name but it was the lady who played Abe Lincoln) and she has a really detailed synopsis of the original production of the show in New York and mentions the cast milling around the back of the theatre and climbing on the chairs and then (in very stylized slow motion) coming towards the stage right before the song "Aquarius" --
“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”
seaweedjstubbs
Broadway Star Joined: 3/21/07
#34Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/23/16 at 12:14pm
Does SPIDER-MAN count? It wasn't necessarily "controversial", but it was all over the news when the injuries started happening.
Ranger Tom
Leading Actor Joined: 7/6/14
#35Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/23/16 at 12:24pm
QueenAlice said: "One of the original cast members of Hair wrote a book (I forget her name but it was the lady who played Abe Lincoln) and she has a really detailed synopsis of the original production of the show in New York and mentions the cast milling around the back of the theatre and climbing on the chairs and then (in very stylized slow motion) coming towards the stage right before the song "Aquarius" --"
I was able to see the London cast in the summer of '74. They did the slow motion entrance there as well. It was fascinating. And the interaction with the audience was great too - I remember one of the Tribe taking the hat off an older woman, putting it on and wearing it thru most of opening before coming back down the aisle and replacing it on her head. They didn't do the slow mo entrance every performance though - I saw it four times and they only did it once.
#36Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/23/16 at 1:00pm
JCS has also been accused of implying Jesus' lack of divinity by not portraying the resurrection after his death. The show ends on Good Friday and doesn't address Easter one way or the other, so most dismiss this accusation, but it was a further source of controversy.
#37Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/23/16 at 1:11pm
I had tickets to see HAIR in Boston on Easter Sunday in 1970. We had to wait for a judge to rule if the show could go on, which it did. As it happened, a huge blizzard hit Boston on Easter Sunday, but there wasn't an empty seat in that theatre that afternoon.
#38Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/23/16 at 2:44pm
Jordan Catalano said: "Also there was that international backlash against WICKED, when Idina stole the Tony award from its rightful owner, Tonya Pinkins."
That made my day.
Just give the world Love.
#39Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/23/16 at 2:47pm
carnzee said: "After this week's Hamilton controversy, I am trying to remember another time when a Broadway musical (or even a play) was thrust into the national conversation in a comparable way. Any thoughts? "
I think this is a confluence of the reduction of what constitutes a controversy with an unprecedented ability of people to decide what is "trending" in a post-gatekeeper world.
#40Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/23/16 at 8:01pm
All these examples are of responses to the shows themselves. This was over a curtain call speech, and the reason it became a national controversy is because the President-Elect attacked the speech and the cast and, then, the quality of the show.
And, yes, I'll agree, the intensity of this response -- that absurd #BoycottHamilton -- can be attributed to our era of social media.
#41Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/23/16 at 9:16pm
In fairness, Donald Trump is not alone in referring to Hamilton as "overrated". I saw it several months ago and left the theatre wondering what all the fuss was about and I'm aware of others who felt likewise.
¿Macavity?
Broadway Star Joined: 1/29/16
#42Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/24/16 at 4:45am
Y'all are gettin' off topic.
#43Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/24/16 at 8:57am
QueenAlice said: "One of the original cast members of Hair wrote a book (I forget her name but it was the lady who played Abe Lincoln) and she has a really detailed synopsis of the original production of the show in New York and mentions the cast milling around the back of the theatre and climbing on the chairs and then (in very stylized slow motion) coming towards the stage right before the song "Aquarius"... --
I think she and the script are talking about actors entering from the wings, going into the house and then returning to the stage for the opening number. May some have simply walked down the aisles? Sure. But I don't believe they climbed on armrests from back to front. They would have been blinded and the audience members couldn't have seen them coming and cleared a path.
But we're upsetting ?Macavity?, so I'll let this go.
Updated On: 11/24/16 at 08:57 AM
#44Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/24/16 at 9:02am
¿Macavity? said: "Y'all are gettin' off topic.
"
Don't we always?
I don't have time, what with the holiday and all, but William Goldman discusses the original off-Broadway production of HAIR in his book, THE SEASON. HAIR and shows like it WERE targeted (at least in speeches) by politicians, far more so than HAMILTON.
Consistency
Understudy Joined: 7/2/13
#45Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/24/16 at 9:03pm
"In fairness, Donald Trump is not alone in referring to Hamilton as "overrated"."
Except, the issue isn't that someone dared to call "Hamilton" overrated. Of course no show is going to be universally beloved.
The issue is the future president of the United States lashing out at a show because the cast members made some critical - but even-tempered - comments. In this specific context, the "I've heard it's very overrated" thing just comes off as incredibly childish and petulant. It doesn't bode well for how he'll react to the inevitably much, much stronger criticism (and vitriol) he's going to be receiving in the coming years - some of it from foreign leaders.
...There's also the relevant point that Donald Trump hasn't seen "Hamilton," so his opinion of its "overrated-ness" isn't in the least bit relevant.
¿Macavity?
Broadway Star Joined: 1/29/16
#46Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/24/16 at 9:12pm
Sorry, I actually forgot that this thread was about controversial shows. I thought it was about HAIR's staging for a while (no joke!), so when I heard people starting to get into the whole "Hamilton is overrated" quarrel I mentioned that we were getting off topic. I only said anything because I was fascinated by HAIR's staging. Sorry, that was silly. Lol. Continue on with the talk of controversy and of HAIR's staging, and that's not a joke!
green waver
Stand-by Joined: 11/3/16
#47Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/24/16 at 9:50pm
haterobics said: "carnzee said: "After this week's Hamilton controversy, I am trying to remember another time when a Broadway musical (or even a play) was thrust into the national conversation in a comparable way. Any thoughts? "
I think this is a confluence of the reduction of what constitutes a controversy with an unprecedented ability of people to decide what is "trending" in a post-gatekeeper world.
Huh?
"
#48Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/25/16 at 12:32am
RENT
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
--Aristotle
#49Has a Broadway musical ever been the subject of a national controversy before?
Posted: 11/25/16 at 7:28pm
Show Boat was controversial not only when it premiered in 1927, but as recently as the 1994 Hal Prince revival.
It was the first integrated musical, with both races playing on the same stage at the same time. Some thought that the slaughtered version of the English language the African Americans were given to speak was insulting, others just thought it was meant to be accurate.
Where's yo' all gwine?
Tell dose stingy men o' yourn
To step up here in line!
And of course the first word that greeted the audience was as reprehensible in 1927 as it is now.
n*s all work on the Mississippi
n*s all work while the white folk play.
That Hammerstein guy didn't ****foot around.
The Hal Prince revival spent a year in Toronto before transferring very successfully to Broadway. Many black communities in Toronto were angrily opposed to it: SHOW BOAT SPREADS LIES AND HATE and SHOW BOAT = CULTURAL GENOCIDE.
I didn't get it either.
