#11176
Posted: 12/4/04 at 3:26pm
There seems to be a dearth of discussion lately, so let me bring up something. In my Aida googling (love to google, if I haven't mentioned that already), I came across an article from around when Aida opened concerning Sondheim's criticism of current musical theater. It mentioned Aida rather critically in passing. The writer said that the show was aimed at "adolescent girls and theater queens" and referred to Adam's "unthreatening male sexuality."
After stopping to consider whether that meant that I, a grown woman, was still wallowing in adolescent emotions (I wouldn't totally discount that), I wondered what was so negative about male sexuality being unthreatening. Must a man seem like a borderline rapist to be considered a valid male presence? It's a common criticism to refer to a performer as "unthreatening," and I've never questioned it before, but upon examination it seems rather strange.
On the other hand, I didn't see Aida until near the end, so don't know how accurate that comment might have been at the time, but I definitely felt a sexual threat in the early scenes between Radames and Aida. Not a nasty or creepy one, but still something of a threat.
I do agree that Aida is somewhat the theatrical equivalent of a "chick flick." It has a story that appeals to women, not just girls, in my opinion, and that's a wonderful thing for us. I don't know about the "theater queens," by which the writer means gay men who like Broadway, I suppose.
After stopping to consider whether that meant that I, a grown woman, was still wallowing in adolescent emotions (I wouldn't totally discount that), I wondered what was so negative about male sexuality being unthreatening. Must a man seem like a borderline rapist to be considered a valid male presence? It's a common criticism to refer to a performer as "unthreatening," and I've never questioned it before, but upon examination it seems rather strange.
On the other hand, I didn't see Aida until near the end, so don't know how accurate that comment might have been at the time, but I definitely felt a sexual threat in the early scenes between Radames and Aida. Not a nasty or creepy one, but still something of a threat.
I do agree that Aida is somewhat the theatrical equivalent of a "chick flick." It has a story that appeals to women, not just girls, in my opinion, and that's a wonderful thing for us. I don't know about the "theater queens," by which the writer means gay men who like Broadway, I suppose.
