Is enjoyment of live entertainment dependent on knowledge of the sexual orientation of the performers?

Posted: 9/10/05 at 10:13am

As a member of an audience, do you believe your enjoyment of live entertainment (musical or non-, ballet, orchestral, vocalist) is dependent on your knowledge of the sexual orientation of the artists?

If so, what value do you perceive it adds to your appreciation and understanding of the creative piece(s) being performed?
Updated On: 9/10/05 at 10:13 AM

[liotte]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 10:18am

Not for me, I don't care what someone's sexual orientation is. I care about their performance. What they do in their own time with whoever they want is their business.

[Albin]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 10:43am

Nope. If they've given 100% and I feel I've gotten my money's worth, at the end of the day I don't care who they're sticking it to.

Posted: 9/10/05 at 10:54am

Sexual orientation is actually the last thing on my mind when I'm watching a performance. Actually, the personal life of the performer full stop is of no consequence to me.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 11:00am

Jose', you make a terrific point. Why do we care so whether a performer is gay or straight? A person's sexual orientation is their own private business. If said performer wishes to volunteer that information, more power to them. if they wish to keep their private lives private, that's their decision.

Seriously, if John Tartaglia were a waiter at The Eatery, would ANYONE care whether he were gay, straight or bisexual?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 12:10pm

I'd like to say no, but I think I'd be lying. On most counts, my answer is a strong no - because if someone is acting, then what should it matter what they do on their own time? What you see isn't the person portraying his or her self, and unless the person is a terrible actor and too much of the obvious creeps into the performance, it shouldn't make a difference.

However, I sort unintentionally found myself with an example - which I guess I'll describe, if I can do it in a way that'll save face. For those who read this post, I'm being vague on purpose. Please don't ask me for the who and the what. Say we have a play that (in a very intensified way) deals with some huge, highly important/socially relevant, real issue - say, something impacting the gay community. You see a straight actor play that part - maybe you just figure he's extremely talented and has a ton of compassion, or something. I saw a performance like that; that's what I figured into. A long stretch of time and some surprising information later, I was reacquainting myself, if you will, with the play and the performance - and to know that the performer was not straight and was playing out much of the politics in the play on a perhaps much more personal level - that changed the way I thought about the material. Perhaps it's because I'm the type of person who feels personal connection to actors (personal favorites especially), and gets very attached, but at least in that particular case, it intensified the play even more for me- to know how real these issues could be to the person I was watching "tell" me about them, so to speak. Not to say that I missed anything by thinking he was straight, but given this, that's why I'd be lying if I said it never mattered - I'll say it can matter, but not that anything is "dependent" on it.

Updated On: 9/10/05 at 12:10 PM

[lildogs]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 12:47pm

At first I said no, but then I thought about you rquestion from a different perspective.


I saw a Bway musical this year that has a fairly small cast. One of the featured players was especially swishy, and it distracted me from the show. I said, "Ooo, down, girl..." and so perhaps I was assuming because he appeared very fem and wasn't playing a gay character.

But I never thought about Jefferson Mays being straight.

I'd say if my mind starts to wander, I might try to see if I could spot any hint of gayness in someone I knew was gay, but that's more to do with the show.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 12:54pm

The reason Tartaglia and Jackson and Jones and Cusick's being out is so important has nothing to do with their art. It has everything to do with the issues facing gays and lesbians in America. These performers are role models.

Almost every night someone thanks Cherry Jones for simply being out. It makes a difference for people who are having a hard time of it. And, this is all especially true for gay teens--who are STILL a high portion of the suicide rate.

And the reason gay people have to "announce" is because you don't KNOW someone is gay unless they say it. Race and gender is something you can see--and those role models don't have to say anything.

Updated On: 9/10/05 at 12:54 PM

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 1:05pm

Only if they are performing a lap dance and you find out they are straight...which actually could make the performance all the more interesting!

[Mamie]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 1:08pm

Absolutely NO value whatsoever. A professional actor can make you believe in the role he/she plays. What their personal preferances are are strictly their own business.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 1:10pm

Nope - none @ all

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 1:11pm

As long as their sexual orientation isn't obvious onstage and doesn't interfere with their portrayal of the character, it doesn't make a difference to me.

I'd like to say it doesn't matter regardless, but I've seen some really bad actors.

[lildogs]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 1:58pm

You said it alot better than I did orangeskittles, thanks.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 2:15pm

And the reason gay people have to "announce" is because you don't KNOW someone is gay unless they say it. Race and gender is something you can see--and those role models don't have to say anything.

I don't think that's necessarily true. If you had never seen Lea DeLaria before, and you saw her for the very first time today, would you need her to tell you she was gay? No. I don't mean this in any offensive way, but there are lots of people that you can tell are gay without them ever having to say anything.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 2:35pm

for some people here it does. several posters here have posted in excitement finding out the orientation of an actor and then expressing a need to see the show again, and take pictures at the stage door with their new gay role-model...

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 2:41pm

MEF--there are plenty of people who needed to hear Lea say she was gay: People who are in denial about gay people and people who just need to hear the person being proud of who they are--lots of people who "look" gay are in the closet.

Gaydar and people who look a stereotypical way doesn't erase the need for people to come out. I grew up in Texas where there are plenty of women who look and act like Lea. And metrosexuals confuse my gaydar constantly.

Updated On: 9/10/05 at 02:41 PM

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 2:44pm

not at all. unless the actor is really bad and i don't believe the character that they're playing. that's the only way it could iterfere. otherwise, they're actors, so it doesn't matter.

[Plum]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 3:05pm

A good actor is a vessel for the role (s)he's playing, so as far as performance goes, orientation shouldn't matter at all. I seriously wonder how many accusations of "swishiness" in gay actors playing straight parts comes from audience members who are subconsciously thinking about that actor's orientation. And no, I'm not saying gay actors shouldn't come out- in fact, that problem would probably fade if all of them did, because for every actor who can't tone down the limp wrists (or whatever), there's someone like Victor Garber, who gets a guaranteed "what- him?!" reaction from people finding out he's gay.

[ZONEACE]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 3:07pm

the only time sexuality matters is if someone is playing a sexuality that they cant. There are some gay guys who just can not paly straight, at all. and vice versa, and if that is happening then yes, the performers sexuality is important.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 3:10pm

JRB, I think you missed my point. You are saying that many actors look gay but are in the closet (professionally, at least). Well, they're still gay, even if they aren't publicly out. I don't feel like naming names, but there are several actors whose sexuality has been discussed to death on these boards. We all know they are gay, whether they are out or not. I was trying to say that sometimes you can tell that a person is gay without them having to say anything.

[cturtle]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 3:26pm

i'm sorry, but i think it's a dumb question to begin with. i can't believe it's garnered so much discussion.

[Logainne]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 3:40pm

Sometimes their sexual orientation I'll take into account if I'm evaluating them as an actor. For instance, you KNOW Wilson Jermaine Heredia is a fantastic actor because he's a straight man who did a wonderful job potraying a gay one. It just gives me more respect to certain people knowing their sexual orientation if, say, a gay man had a love interest of a woman you know they are even a better actor because they are acting straight, but it doesn't influence my overall opinion of them. If that makes sense....

[Jon]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 3:41pm

For me, enjoyment of a play is dependent on my NOT being able to guess the sexual orientation of the poerformers. Nothing ruins a show for me more than a "leading man" who appears effeminate.

I think we can safely assume that in a big musical with lots of dancing, it is likely that at least half the chorus boys will be gay. But if the men in ths show are supposed to be, for example, professional baseball players in the 1950's (DAMN YANKEES) or rough-edged cowboys in the 1930's (CRAZY FOR YOU), they damned well better be able to butch it up!

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 3:46pm

Logainne, I disagree. Acting is acting. And as far as having to kiss someone you wouldn't kiss in real life, well that happens no matter what the situation. A straight man can have no attraction whatsoever to the woman he has to kiss onstage, and vice versa.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/10/05 at 3:49pm

To build a little bit on that, what if it places limits on how much believable chemistry an actor can have with his co-star? For example, a gay or bisexual actor playing a romantic lead, but having no chemistry with his female co-star. That's sort of a problem, even though of course it's not concrete on whom to place the "blame." The actress could just be blander than a piece of cardboard.

Updated On: 9/10/05 at 03:49 PM