"A New Deal For Broadway" abolishes all-white creative teams; includes commitments from Shubert, Nederlander, Jujamcyn to each rename theatres after a Black Artist- Page 2

[PlayItAgain]

Posted: 8/23/21 at 4:37pm

this is all laughable 

what about naming theaters after hispanic artists or asian artists? 

Updated On: 8/23/21 at 04:37 PM

[SonofRobbieJ]

Posted: 8/23/21 at 4:58pm

This was the creation of Black Theater United and, in the document, it expressly states that their focus is on black theater professionals.

I think it's an excellent document that I encourage everyone to read. It sets realistic goals and time frames in which to make progress. I don't think it will be radical enough for some members of the community and far too pushy for others, which means I think they found the sweet spot of actually getting something done.

And though she may only have had three productions hit Broadway, doesn't The Hansberry just sound classy? 

[bwaylyric]

Posted: 8/23/21 at 5:05pm

"The Chita Rivera" sounds awesome.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 8/23/21 at 5:05pm

everythingtaboo said: "JDonaghy4 said: "this sorta tokenism-- everyone has to name one theater after a Black person, and then they will have fulfilled their obligation!- so insulting and so performative. Don't get me wrong, that August Wilson is the only Black artist to have their name on a theater is mortifying, but that seems like a symptom of non-inclusivity and not something to be remedied by making sure the Shuberts and the Nederlanders are forced to come up with more."

Going along with this: How about it not just be black artists? I'd say have the theatre owners choose a POC, not necessarily black, and rename a theatre after them. That way if there's a Latin person of note, or Asian, the wealth can be spread a little?"

oh, i didnt even mean to step on that grenade- yes I think that one of the nasty side effects of tokenism becomes then focusing on who gets the token. There should be more Black voices, more Hispanic voices, more female voices- and once that happens, God willing, you will see the result/symptom follow accordingly, ie more theaters named after those people. 

For now, the less-performative thing to do is to identify people (not minorities in general) who have been slighted, marginalized, and calling for theaters to be named for them. But no one asked me. If this is the direction they want to go, there are a slew of theaters named after nothing, so have them hop to it (before we start stripping away names from Brooks Atkinson or whoever)

[darquegk]

Posted: 8/23/21 at 5:43pm

Cab Calloway, please!

[saxpower]

Posted: 8/23/21 at 5:55pm

One other possibility is Andre De Shields (he's had quite a long career).  Going outside names known primarily for theatre, Duke Ellington or Billie Holiday could be ideas.    While completely not theatre-related, I wouldn't be surprised if Martin Luther King wasn't at least considered. 

As to which theatres- as others have said naming a Broadway Theatre the "Broadway" always seemed a bit redundant.  I really can't see the Shuberts or Nederlanders renaming their namesake theatres. (It makes no sense to have Jacobs and Schoenfeld theatres [named after important people in the Shubert Org., but not have one named after the organization itself).   For the Nederlanders, my guess would be the Marquis (a theatre named after a....hotel) or the Minskoff (named after the people who built the building it is in).  If Jujamcyn wants to rename a second theatre, its options are limited- makes no sense to rename the Hirschfeld this quickly and Eugene O'Neill is still considered a major playwright, so it would have to be the Kerr or St. James. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/23/21 at 6:09pm

My guess is that the Marriott Marquis is not changing names, due to the nature of the hotel and alliteration. (Does Nederlander even control the naming rights to that one?)

The namesake theatres also will not change names.

The Broadway Theatre is a confusing name and it should really be changed –– even if it's not part of THIS renaming. But as we know, the Shubert Org does not frequently rename theatres.

Lena Horne is another name who hasn't been mentioned. Her one woman show played the Nederlander.

[JSquared2]

Posted: 8/23/21 at 6:12pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "JSquared2 said: "Since there is no sensible reason to have theaters named after Brooks Atkinson or Walter Kerr (critics?really??) -- it would be a nice start to rename those 2 buildings."

Walter Kerr had a successful career as a writer/director, too, with 6 Broadway credits. Though I agree that it seems more likely that Nederlander and Jujamcyn would rename those houses than, say, the St. James and the Palace, two iconic and storied houses."

 

I realize that Kerr wrote and directed a few plays before becoming a critic -- and I'd be astonished if more than 1 in 1 Million people could name a single one of them without Googling.  Just seems sorta silly to have not just 1 but 2 theaters named after men who were predominantly critics.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 8/23/21 at 7:24pm

Kerr is my favorite Broadway marquee. Ditch the name. The Horne sounds cool.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 8/23/21 at 7:45pm

I don't believe Marriot is part of the name anymore, or question: was it ever officially?

[Kad]

Posted: 8/23/21 at 8:08pm

I think renaming of the theaters is easily the least substantive of the things in the document.

Abolishing all-white creative teams is a massive and important commitment.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/23/21 at 8:09pm

fashionguru_23 said: "I don't believe Marriot is part of the name anymore, or question: was it ever officially?"

The hotel name is the Marriot Marquis. The theatre name is the Marquis Theatre. It has always been thus. The first performance there, in 1986, was Shirley Bassey. 

[Owen22]

Posted: 8/23/21 at 8:26pm

The Lena Horne or the Lorraine Hansberry, mostly because even though there are very few theaters named after African Americans, there are very few theaters named after women!

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 8/24/21 at 12:50am

Kad said: "I think renaming of the theaters is easily the least substantive of the things in the document.

Abolishing all-white creative teams is a massive and important commitment."

 

which has zero legal enforceability and is highly unlikely to happen 

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/24/21 at 1:43am

LightsOut90 said: "which has zero legal enforceability and is highly unlikely to happen"

Why? 

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 8/24/21 at 2:00am

because it is illegal to dictate hiring practices in this country based on gender or race and in several states sexual preference

you can’t go “you can’t have a theater because your creative team is all (insert here)”

the NYT article pretty much says its a part that will be encourage by theater owners but its not necessarily something they will enforce

“Their pledges are not legally enforceable, but they agreed to “hold ourselves and each other accountable for implementing these commitments.”

so pretty much lip service and platitudes 

also what roles are defined in that group?

also I understand that this was led by a black advocacy group But again it just feels like it’s leaving non-black nonwhite creatives on the fringe yet again

“One theater will be renamed after a black individual”

just like this slew of black plays on Broadway this fall, it all feels performative, where is the acknowledgement and production of work by hispanic, asian and native artists?

Why as someone pointed out doesn’t Chita Rivera have a theater named after her? Or why not David Henry Hwang who was the first Asian American whose work won best play?

Its good that more people will be at the table but this isn’t equity it is pushing other marginalized groups to the side in the process

Updated On: 8/24/21 at 02:00 AM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/24/21 at 3:05am

HogansHero said: "fashionguru_23 said: "I don't believe Marriot is part of the name anymore, or question: was it ever officially?"

The hotel name is the Marriot Marquis. The theatre name is the Marquis Theatre. It has always been thus. The first performance there, in 1986, was Shirley Bassey."

And since Marriott owns the Marquis Theatre, Nederlander has no authority to rename it.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 8/24/21 at 3:41am

I agree with those who’ve said that the theatre name changes will likely be the least impactful of the changes to come. That being said, it’s a fun game to play. My picks would be Bert Williams, Cicely Tyson, and George C. Wolfe.

I do think Audra is more than worthy, but she seems too young. When that time comes, however, can we agree to just call her theatre “the Audra” for short? I don’t want people to get confused and show up looking for a Big Mac.

I also agree that the owners should name some houses after artists from other BIPOC communities as well. The Rivera has a great ring to it.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 8/24/21 at 7:56am

I hope some the powers that be create some succinct criteria for evaluating the many deserving people after whom theatres could be named. Otherwise it could just feel arbitrary or personal preference.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 8/24/21 at 8:47am

HogansHero said: "fashionguru_23 said: "I don't believe Marriot is part of the name anymore, or question: was it ever officially?"

The hotel name is the Marriot Marquis. The theatre name is the Marquis Theatre. It has always been thus. The first performance there, in 1986, was Shirley Bassey."

Correct. My question was more, that people keep referring to the theatre as the Marriot Marquis Theatre, and I was questioning was Marriot ever actually a part of the name, or were people just including it in the name because of its location within the hotel.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 8/24/21 at 9:25am

fashionguru_23 said: "HogansHero said: "fashionguru_23 said: "I don't believe Marriot is part of the name anymore, or question: was it ever officially?"

The hotel name is the Marriot Marquis. The theatre name is the Marquis Theatre. It has always been thus. The first performance there, in 1986, was Shirley Bassey."

Correct. My question was more, that people keep referring to the theatre as the Marriot Marquis Theatre, and I was questioning was Marriot ever actually a part of the name, or were people just including it in the name because of its location within the hotel."

It's the latter. Looked at Playbill from Me and My Girl from 1986 and it says Marquis Theatre. The fact that people did call it the Marriott Marquis Theatre is simply genius marketing.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/24/21 at 10:46am

@lightsout, my quote made it less than clear but I was really only asking about the "highly unlikely" part. So you think it is platitudes, which is your right; I think there will be much-needed change because there is a recognition this is not a passing fad. Will everyone think it is enough? Of course not but I am convinced the important commitment is real, especially because the metric has been cast in stone. The rest of your post is about black vs BIPOC, a fine subject but not this one. 

@Fosse76 You are wrong about the name of the theatre. The Nederlander's landlord is Vornado. This arrangement is much more complicated than anyone could imagine. 

@fashionguru as noted, it has never been a part of the name and TBH I have been around for decades and I have rarely if ever heard anyone call it the Marriot Marquis Theatre. For that matter, I think most people in the Broadway community call the hotel the Marriot (sans Marquis) unless the context makes it unclear what Marriot is being discussed. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/24/21 at 10:56am

JasonC3 said: "it could just feel arbitrary or personal preference."

It IS an arbitrary/personal preference of the theatre owners! Internally, they may have their own protocol (the Shubert Board being presented with a proposal and voting on it, Jimmy Nederlander chatting with his "brain trust," choosing someone who had a connection to that theatre chain like August Wilson to Jujamcyn, etc). BTU might have also provided a list of recommendations of names like we've done on this thread.

The owners are all chummy enough that they will talk to make sure they're not all going to announce theatres of the same name. But at the end of the day this is their choice.

Naming theatres is always arbitrary. It's why we have Broadway houses named after Richard Rodgers but not Oscar Hammerstein, Eugene O'Neill but not Tennessee Williams or Arthur Miller, Ethel Barrymore but not Laurence Olivier, etc.

(I do think now would also be a good opportunity to do some other renaming too...such as The Harold Prince Theatre, The Michael Bennett Theatre, The Angela Lansbury Theatre, The Carol Channing Theatre)

Updated On: 8/24/21 at 10:56 AM

[Tag]

Posted: 8/24/21 at 11:57am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said:
(I do think now would also be a good opportunity to do some other renaming too...such as The HaroldPrince Theatre, The Michael Bennett Theatre, The Angela Lansbury Theatre, The Carol Channing Theatre)"

If the Majestic is ever renamed, of course it will be the Hal Prince.

[bdn223]

Posted: 8/24/21 at 11:58am

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "
(I do think now would also be a good opportunity to do some other renaming too...such as The HaroldPrince Theatre, The Michael Bennett Theatre, The Angela Lansbury Theatre, The Carol Channing Theatre)"

Please don't mention Carol Channing in this conversation, at least not yet. I love her to death, and agree she is an icon worthy of having a theater named after her, specifically the St. James where Hello, Dolly premiered. The reason I say this is she is technically a POC biracial performer who was "white passing". If she gets a theater named after her in this tokenism push rename theaters those fighting for this representation will be up in arms.

I really do with Audra McDonald, were not so young. She is the most awarded performer in Tony history, a title she will likely keep for the rest of her lifetime, and decades beyond that. In my opinion that deserving of recognition of having her name not only on the marquee, but as the marquee of a Broadway theater. The issue is these types of recognitions are often bestowed on members of the community who have passed or are in the twilight years of their career, and Audra has god permitting several decades left of wowing audiences. If they do bestow her with the honor though, I hope the theater goes by "The Audra" instead of "The McDonald".