"Does Broadway Have a Trans and Drag Dilemma?"

[David10086]

Posted: 1/12/23 at 10:04pm

"Sitting in the Shubert Theatre, I was sucked back to other recent transphobic man-in-a-dress musicals in recent memory, such as Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire. At the core of all three musicals is the misappropriation of drag. The issue isn’t drag but how the art form is used: drag as drag is not problematic, but drag as disguise often is, especially when it plays into the man-in-a-dress transphobic trope. "

Does Broadway Have a Trans and Drag Dilemma? It’s Complicated

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 1/12/23 at 10:22pm

How many times are we going to write this article. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/12/23 at 10:25pm

How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/12/23 at 10:30pm

No, it doesn't.

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 1/12/23 at 10:35pm

I’ve always wanted to visit the Streisand washroom at Juniors.

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/12/23 at 10:48pm

Let it go.

 

Broadway is telling stories and some have men in drag. Even when a show changes things to make current theatergoers happy, you STILL complain.

All three characters dressed in drag for a reason. All three learned something about themselves and what it is like to be and what women go through. And the comedy comes out of the fact that being a woman is not as easy as they thought. Why can't you look at it from that angle? And these 3 shows have nothing really to do with the trans community. They are not telling trans stories. Drag and Transgender are two different things. Us "cis" (And I really hate be labeled) get that.

If you are a theatergoer or knew the story lines of these 3 shows before you went in then why did you even bother seeing them? You had a problem before the curtains even went up. So those of us who "get it" will go. Save your money and all the stress and just don't see the shows. The movie versions of these shows have been and will be around for a long time and people still watch them. Maybe start at the sources. 

 

Didn't mean for this comment to be this long but I am a bit tired of people saying "we don't get it" when it comes to these shows. Well, we do.  I am well over 50 and gay with many gay, Trans and Drag friends. None of them are upset about these shows. This argument is just getting tired. JMO (And the opinion of MANY people I know)

(Freshening my cocktail for the responses)

 

 

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 1/12/23 at 11:07pm

I think it's ok for people to have drastically different opinions on shows (and I've seen different opinions on this show from within the trans and non-binary communities) and I think Christian has some valid points. But, you lose me when you start complaining about how the line "Well, we’re both women. And always have been," is somehow TERF propaganda because it sounds like a talking point TERFs use in a different context or when you decide to spend considerable time diving into the semantics of whether Jerry/Daphne is non-binary or bigender.

You have a point you're trying to make, so make it. Don't get caught in semantics. 

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 1/12/23 at 11:44pm

^perfectly said. Terminally online Broadway stans are doing a lot, yet nothing at the same time. 

[Ke3]

Posted: 1/13/23 at 12:25am

Christian Lewis is trans, and this issue is obviously close to their heart. The answer to "when are we going to stop writing this article" is never. They'll continue to write about it because they continue to feel it's a problem. If you don't agree, I think it's best you stop seeking out Lewis's articles about the topic. 

I'm still not sure where I fall on this issue but you all sound so whiny when all you can muster up in response to thought provoking articles on the subject is stammering about the woke mob or whatever other nonsense.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 1/13/23 at 2:11am

Disagreement is “whiny” now, I guess. 

[Ke3]

Posted: 1/13/23 at 2:26am

I think yes, disagreement for the sake of disagreement sounds a lot like whining to me. Half the time this topic comes up, you can tell people have not actually engaged with Lewis's writing, which I always find compelling. It's always dismissed as "children on the internet" when the person who is most vocal about it is not a child. They are a critic who regularly writes about other things happening in the industry. What makes their writing on this issue any different? I won't wait for an answer because I know most of you haven't bothered to read it.

[uncageg]

Posted: 1/13/23 at 7:56am

I read the article and stand by my comments.

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 1/13/23 at 8:23am

These shows are based on films about cis straight men. The screenplays showed no interest in the LGBT experience. When I saw Tootsie in Chicago it didn’t acknowledge LGBT folk exist. The lead didn’t seem to learn anything from his experience (also an issue in the film) and the moment where he was exposed made no sense.


As in the film he revealed himself a man and his co-stars were SHOCKED! Then Julie kneed him in the crotch and it was treated as comic justice.

But the film was set on a soap opera in the 80’s. The stage musical was set on a Broadway show in 2020. A Broadway audience would have heard of Kinky Boots, Hairspray, La Cage, etc. a man in a dress on stage in the role of Juliet’s nurse wouldn’t shock them. The cast would know he’s been living as a woman but many would just assume the character was trans or non-binary. Few would cheer watching them kneed in the crotch.

It was a case of the writers cut and pasting the screenplay without thinking things through. 

Updated On: 1/13/23 at 08:23 AM

[David10086]

Posted: 1/13/23 at 11:49am

uncageg said: "Let it go.



Broadway is telling stories and some have men in drag. Even when a show changes things to make current theatergoers happy, you STILL complain.

If you are a theatergoer or knew the story lines of these 3 shows before you went in then why did you even bother seeing them? You had a problem before the curtains even went up. So those of us who "get it" will go. Save your money and all the stress and just don't see the shows. The movie versions of these shows have been and will be around for a long time and people still watch them. Maybe start at the sources.

"

This is a good response for the average theater-goer who is seeking out a musical to be entertained by for the night. However, we are addressing Lewis, who is a theater critic, and it's his job to go and see these new productions and give his frank opinion on them - which he did. That is his job. If he chose not to see shows which he knew would bother him, he'd be out of a job. He doesn't have those choices as the average theatergoer. 

 

I honestly don't know whether I agree with him or not (nor do I even know if I have the interest to care), but I do give him credit for such a thought-provoking crititque. He did what he's paid to do. 

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 1/13/23 at 12:04pm

THIS discourse again?  Quelle snore.

 

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 1/13/23 at 12:06pm

“ I'm still not sure where I fall on this issue but you all sound so whiny when all you can muster up in response to thought provoking articles on the subject is stammering about the woke mob or whatever other nonsense.”

 

don’t speak for me and that was not the point I was making at all. Is it that thought provoking when it’s been debated to death, regardless how anybody falls on the issue? 

[thatdarnzach]

Posted: 1/17/23 at 9:30am

Ke3 said: "Christian Lewis is trans, andthis issue is obviously close to their heart. The answer to "when are we going to stop writing this article"isnever. They'll continue to write about it because they continue to feel it's a problem. If you don'tagree,I think it's best you stop seeking out Lewis's articles about the topic.

I'm still not sure where I fall on this issue but you all sound so whiny when all you can muster up in response to thought provoking articles on the subject is stammering about the woke mob or whatever other nonsense."

I think maybe the fatigue with these articles is more about missing the point that these musicals just aren't very good in general, so of course they're going to get things wrong.

and FWIW, I found May (the non-binary character in & Juliet) far more transphobic than any of these - they are a prop and a "challenge" that exist as plot points for other characters. May is the non-binary character with the least agency of ANY of these.

There's also the point of how Ghee might feel being lumped into these "man-in-a-dress" complaints, as they're very publicly non-binary.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 1/17/23 at 10:01am

See, I did not think May was transphobic at all. They are a character who isn't sure who they are, and seems to live their life they they want, but struggle with where they fit in the world.  

[Impeach2017]

Posted: 1/17/23 at 10:11am

There are quite a few legislators in this great land who are preparing to put an end to this controversy once and for all; but it may not be the result that the trans community would want.

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 8:32am

I've come to the conclusion that theater fans will never be happy. Should we have more "men in a dress" stories moving forward? No. Should we condemn those shows that even mention it? No. It's learning. It's a learning process. People can educate others, but don't shame them. Everyone is learning, even people like Christian. 

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/19/23 at 1:55pm

Warmed over talking points and total mischaracterizations of dialogue, lyrics, and directorial choices.

While I do wonder why Borle in drag isn't featured, I think it's more that they're using his footage to highlight the romance of the story. It ain't that complicated.