Broadway Political Activism

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 7/29/16 at 5:40pm

Audra McDonald, you rock for taking on Bill O'Reilly!

Bill O'Reilly managed to f-- something up, again, as he tried to agree with Michelle Obama's DNC comments about the White House's being built by slaves. O'Reilly's several verbal paragraphs included a bizarre statement that the slaves who built the WH were well-clothed and well-fed.

Hunh? Audra McDonald put O'Reilly in his place in a series of tweets.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Audra-McDonald-Schools-Foxs-Bill-OReilly-On-The-Realities-of-Slavery-20160727

Can anyone think of other examples of Broadway performers taking on the rich and powerful, in this case, a darling of Fox News?

[Harrisonmlewis]

Posted: 7/29/16 at 6:07pm

I don't really like Broadway getting into politics because politics has an angry energy. And I feel like Broadway should be a fun welcoming experience for everyone, even conservatives...

[kristinj1]

Posted: 7/29/16 at 6:18pm

Not all politics has an angry energy.  :)  If both parties were equally welcoming to, and supportive of, the diverse folks in the Arts, the balance of political support would no doubt shift as well.  Until then, we are where we are and I applaud folks in all walks of life who are constructively politically active.
 
Brava, Audra!
 

 

Updated On: 7/29/16 at 06:18 PM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/29/16 at 6:31pm

Harrisonmlewis said: "I don't really like Broadway getting into politics because politics has an angry energy. And I feel like Broadway should be a fun welcoming experience for everyone, even conservatives...

 

As an African-American woman Audra took offense to a series of racist statements made by Bill O'Reilly and she deftly put him in his place.

When did combating racism become political?

 

[Harrisonmlewis]

Posted: 7/29/16 at 6:37pm

I don't have a problem with what Audra did, but it makes me sad to see the Broadway community basically being political as a whole. I don't understand why everyone has to dive into the fire.

[clb10162]

Posted: 7/29/16 at 6:41pm

Because there's more at stake than whether your seat is in the orchestra all the way on the side or in the center of the rear mezzanine.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 7/29/16 at 6:47pm

I applaud Audra. Not really political IMO.

It is, however, disheartening to see how many theatre celebs are taking overt and active political stances on social media this election. Of course they're more than entitled to personal expression but I really wish these two areas wouldn't tangle. 

[kristinj1]

Posted: 7/29/16 at 6:50pm

I think this election feels historically high-stakes for those of us who truly value freedom of expression (was it only yesterday that a major party's candidate said of rival convention speakers that he "wanted to hit a number of those speakers so hard, their heads would spin."  Given that freedom of expression (versus physically assaulting those with whom you disagree) is a core value of the Theatre, it makes perfect sense to me that many actors are politically active this year.

Updated On: 7/29/16 at 06:50 PM

[Taryn]

Posted: 7/29/16 at 6:51pm

People who work on Broadway are human like anyone else and have human opinions about how the world they live in is run and how their lives and the lives of those they love are affected.

[@z5]

Posted: 7/29/16 at 7:02pm

kristinj1 said: "I think this election feels historically high-stakes for those of us who truly value freedom of expression (was it only yesterday that a major party's candidate said of rival convention speakers that he "wanted to hit a number of those speakers so hard, their heads would spin."  Given that freedom of expression (versus physically assaulting those with whom you disagree) is a core value of the Theatre, it makes perfect sense to me that many actors are politically active this year.

 

"

You've taken it out of context. That individual did NOT MEAN he would physically assault any other people, it was meant to put out a commercial or a verbal statement or something of the like. People like you and your dishonesty cause a lot of the issues at hand.

[kristinj1]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 12:12am

@z5 said: That individual did NOT MEAN he would physically assault any other people, it was meant to put out a commercial or a verbal statement or something of the like."

Mea culpa if I truly misunderstood his meaning.  Possibly I was confused, since I think this same individual previously offered to pay legal fees for any of his followers accused of physically assaulting his detractors.  Or did I get that wrong too?

 

 

 

 

Updated On: 7/30/16 at 12:12 AM

[@z5]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 12:23am

That was said...but doesn't mean every little thing should be taken so literally. Additionally, it was an individual who was casing harm to others and intentionally disrupting a paid, and private event. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 1:20am

@z5 said: "That was said...but doesn't mean every little thing should be taken so literally. Additionally, it was an individual who was casing harm to others and intentionally disrupting a paid, and private event. "

I'm biting my tongue except to say that I really think having this sort of discussion here is a very bad idea. Which does not mean I feel the same about the subject of the thread. 

[Anthony Fremont]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 3:44am

AHLiebross said: Can anyone think of other examples of Broadway performers taking on the rich and powerful, in this case, a darling of Fox News?"

 

The entire saga of The Cradle Will Rock.

 

[A Director]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 4:22am

I realize that the world of some people who post on the Message Board is limited to worrying if War Paint is coming to Broadway or talking about what Mario is or isn't wearing in A Chorus Line or the latest news about some Diva.  I realize that for some people who post on the Message Board their historical memory began last   month or year.

 Over the years, some members of the Broadway and Hollywood communities have been politically active.

For example, here are some of the people who took part in the August 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C.

Ossie Davis

Ruby Dee

Gregory Peck

Sidney Poitier

Harry Belafonte

Marlon Brando

Charlton Heston

Tony Curtis

Theodore Bikel

Sammy Davis, Jr.

Lena Horne

James Garner

Rita Moreno

Paul Newman

Burt Lancaster

Diahann Carroll

[The Other One]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 6:56am

The video of Broadway stars challenging the Russian anti-gay crackdown a couple of years ago is a prime example of Broadway taking on the rich and powerful.

[veronicamae]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 10:38am

Harrisonmlewis said: "I don't have a problem with what Audra did, but it makes me sad to see the Broadway community basically being political as a whole. I don't understand why everyone has to dive into the fire."

Because they are people with opinions. Why should they be disallowed from touting their beliefs just as you or me would, just because they have a louder mouth (as it were)?

Isn't that what the collective "you" wants - to tell your opinion to anyone who will listen? Sure seems that way. So why are they exempt?

oop, just saw Taryn beat me to this argument. Well - seconded.

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 10:43am

I think it's important to have a political opinion and voice and to use it when you feel passionately, no matter what your occupation is. Just because someone is a performer does not make them immune from the effects - both positive and negative - of politics.

Updated On: 7/30/16 at 10:43 AM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 12:08pm

Much of what I am reading here seems like a manifestation of the same sense of entitlement that permeates this board in a way that I have never witnessed elsewhere. Actors are to be slaves to their audience, without no time off from work, with no expression of their own opinions and with a duty to sign autographs and take pictures no matter how exhaust they may be, or no matter what they had planned to do.

[mariel9]

Posted: 7/30/16 at 2:44pm

No one should stay silent in the face of slavery apologia. Artists live in the same world as the rest of us, and should feel free to speak out about things that are important to them. When a major political party has nominated a racist, misogynist fascist, I applaud anyone who stands up against him. Especially women and people of color who are subject to enormous amounts of abuse and harassment on social media.

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 1:50am

I just remembered an incident that happened in the 1970's or 1980's that involved political activism related to theatre itself. If I recall correctly, a group of performers engaged in civil disobedience over the planned demolition of a historic theater. Several were arrested. Christopher Reeve told a TV reporter that he agreed with the demonstrators, but couldn't bring himself to get arrested. I don't remember who else was involved.

This was definitely a non-partisan issue.

Audrey

[lite2shine]

Posted: 8/1/16 at 2:07am

BroadwayConcierge said: "I applaud Audra. Not really political IMO.

It is, however, disheartening to see how many theatre celebs are taking overt and active political stances on social media this election. Of course they're more than entitled to personal expression but I really wish these two areas wouldn't tangle. 

 

"

The stake is high in this election so EVERYBODY should be I nvolved and express their opinion. Besides where were you when Broadway performers were working hard to win the marriage equality? That's another form of political activism. Lin-Manuel Worked hard to pass a bill to help Puerto Rico and even wrote an Op-Ed.