Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
#1Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/13/19 at 10:07pmI dont understand why so many theatre stars end up singing with them. Singing with a group that advocate anti LGBTQIA+ propaganda just a seems off to me. I understand the choir may be a well respected group, but perhaps it shouldnt be anymore. You dont really ever see ads about so and so broadway star singing with the gay mens choir of insert city. It just seems weird to me.
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inception
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/2/13
#2Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 12:51amThey must figure Mormons have money to spend.
...
mailhandler777
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/15/15
#3Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 1:49am
Call_me_jorge said: "I dont understand why so many theatre stars end up singing with them. Singing with a group that advocate anti LGBTQIA+ propaganda just a seems off to me. I understand the choir may be a well respected group, but perhaps it shouldnt be anymore. You dont really ever see ads about so and so broadway star singing with the gay mens choir of insert city. It just seems weird to me. "
There are performers that are Mormon.
Hi, I'm Val. Formerly DefyGravity777(I believe)
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#4Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 1:51am
Free Speech.
You dont have to like it.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#5Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 3:49amBecause America is a pseudo-theocracy that privileges religious belief over morality and truth.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#6Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 5:08am
I have to believe that the Mormon attitude towards issues so important to the theater community has to be influenced by the theater community’s acceptance of the nightly ridicule of the Mormons and their beliefs. Some even suggest that the Mormons don’t find it offensive.
So, in this time when the country is so divided, should the parties stay 2000 miles apart and lob grenades at each other, or should they come together over the mutual love of Broadway music?
Kelli O’Hara was raised in an Irish Catholic family on a farm in rural Oklahoma. As a Catholic she was ostracized by the girls of the mainstream Protestant religions. She is the perfect ambassador to express disapproval of the Mormon positions without hostility. I would also be very interested in her views on Book of Mormon.
JBC3
Broadway Star Joined: 4/9/17
#7Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 8:39am
Doesn't a lot of it simply come down to where, why, and how do individual performers draw the line on if they apply their personal beliefs to professional decisions?
It is on a far different scale, but each of us does that every time we make a purchasing decision: how much do we choose to vote with our dollars versus succumbing to other variables: convenience, cost, quality, et al?
We see that playing out here on a small scale right now with people saying they will not see West Side Story because of the casting.
Updated On: 11/14/19 at 08:39 AM
#8Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 8:50am
dramamama611 said: "Free Speech.
You dont have to like it."
Well, that explains why they can't be arrested for doing it. 
It doesn't answer the question that the OP is getting at. It is curious to me that someone who wouldn't be caught dead associating with an anti-LGBT political group would choose to sing with an anti-LGBT religious group. To me, there is no distinction. They're both voluntary groups of bigots.
#9Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 8:50am
OlBlueEyes said: "Kelli O’Hara was raised in an Irish Catholic family on a farm in rural Oklahoma. As a Catholic she was ostracized by the girls of the mainstream Protestant religions. She is the perfect ambassador to express disapproval of the Mormon positions without hostility. I would also be very interested in her views on Book of Mormon."
Mormonism is not a Protestant religion, so I'm not sure what any of this means.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
Fredrich Yeager
Understudy Joined: 4/14/19
#10Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 9:34am
I think a lot of people, for better or worse, have a sort of mental disconnect between the church and the choir because the choir is so prolific and has such a positive reputation and the church has such a negative one. Most people don't know the technicalities of who is allowed to be in the choir and the decisions going on behind the scenes because for the most part they just seem like a really good, really big choir. A performer to get invited to sing with such a prestigious choir to such a huge audience is very flattering and a once in a lifetime experience. Many performers are willing to put aside personal issues with the church to further their careers and have such an experience. Many people in general are willing to do that for a lot of things they might find mildly uncomfortable.
Also, as someone who grew up around Mormons as an atheist, Mormons have a lot of backwards beliefs, but so do most other sects of Christianity. We're just more used to the fact that a large group of people believe the greatest person who ever lived was a zombie and the only way to not be tortured for eternity is to eat little bits of that zombie's flesh and blood every week.
Mormon beliefs about LGBT+ people are also not that conservative compared to many churches. They preach that homosexuality is not a choice, they let LGBT people attend services, and in 2003 and 2015 they publicly supported an anti-LGBT discrimination bill in Utah. For reference, the Southern Baptist Church, which is the largest protestant religion in the US and has more than 16 million followers, has done none of these things. This isn't to say that Mormon beliefs are progressive in any way or not deeply homophobic, but they really don't stand out as anti-LGBT as much as a lot of people seem to think.
TLDR: Mormons tend to be weird people with conservative but not extremist views, but they tend to be outwardly nice and they support the arts, so a lot of performers seem willing to accept a large paycheck and boost to their careers in exchange for not debating theology and politics while they're there.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#11Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 9:47am
I guess I meant more: individuals don't need to accept it, but it's not like its something that can be legislated or officially disbanded.
There ARE organizations that try to effect it. I found these articles pretty easily.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#12Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 10:16am
Call_me_jorge said: "I dont understand why so many theatre stars end up singing with them. Singing with a group that advocate anti LGBTQIA+ propaganda just a seems off to me. I understand the choir may be a well respected group, but perhaps it shouldnt be anymore. You dont really ever see ads about so and so broadway star singing with the gay mens choir of insert city. It just seems weird to me."
There have been many Broadway stars that have performed with the New York City Gay Men's Choir over the years. Hugh Jackman had some of them perform with him at Madison Square Garden this year (and earlier in the year they sang at Demi Lovato's concert). Broadway stars that have joined them off the top of my head: Peppermint, Carolee Carmello, Kelli O'Hara, Victoria Clark.
#13Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 10:20am
A gig's a gig. Especially if it means starring in their PBS holiday special.
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
#14Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 11:27am
"Also, as someone who grew up around Mormons as an atheist, Mormons have a lot of backwards beliefs, but so do most other sects of Christianity."
I do find it ironic when other Christians would likely sit in the audience of The Book of Mormon and laugh at some of their beliefs, not having the self-awareness that their own beliefs are likely just as absurd. And that the musical has a wider commentary on religion.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
a-mad
Featured Actor Joined: 8/25/11
#15Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/14/19 at 4:15pm
Fredrich Yeager said:
"Mormon beliefs about LGBT+ people are also not that conservative compared to manychurches. They preach that homosexuality is not a choice, they let LGBT people attend services, and in 2003 and 2015 they publicly supported an anti-LGBT discrimination bill in Utah. For reference, the Southern Baptist Church, which is the largest protestant religionin the US and has more than 16 million followers, has done none of these things. This isn't to say that Mormon beliefs are progressive in any way or not deeply homophobic, but they really don't stand out as anti-LGBT as much as a lot of peopleseemto think.
TLDR: Mormons tend to be weird people with conservative but not extremist views, but they tend to be outwardly nice and they support the arts, so a lot of performers seem willing to accept a large paycheck and boost to their careers in exchange for not debating theology and politics while they're there."
This^ Well said, Friedrick Yeager.
chewy5000
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/1/09
#16Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/15/19 at 2:51am
Because $$$
viagalactica6
Chorus Member Joined: 7/9/08
#17Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/15/19 at 3:14am
unfortunately it is a long standing tradition
#18Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/15/19 at 12:35pmWhen the new Eccles Theatre opened in 2016 in Salt Lake City, the choir performed a rousing rendition of ON A WONDERFUL DAY LIKE TODAY.
#19Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/15/19 at 5:50pm
As a Phoenix-based theater person, I have worked with a lot of Mormons. You would be surprised how many of them really don't give a s*** if someone is gay. I imagine that Salt Lake City has more "old school" Mormons than Gilbert AZ, but the religion really does emphasize loving thy neighbor and all that, and some of the nicest people I know here are Mormon. As they say in the musical, they are indeed "really f***ing polite to everybody," and they are huge performing arts supporters. Not all of them are bigots, and historically speaking, ostracizing an entire religion never goes well.
#20Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/16/19 at 9:23am
The Distinctive Baritone said: "Not all of them are bigots, and historically speaking, ostracizing an entire religion never goes well."
Of course not all Mormons are bigots. Not all Republicans are bigots, either. But both have made a choice to affiliate with an organization officially opposed to LGBT equality, and that's not nothing.
Owen22
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/24/11
#21Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/16/19 at 2:36pmYou know the Catholic Church is very anti-gay as well yet there are many Broadway performers like Chita Rivera who will perform with St Malachy's and it's choir--and worship there!
#22Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/16/19 at 2:57pm
Exactly. Most religions are at least a little bit anti-LGBTQ unfortunately. But nowadays it is very common for even avid church/templegoers to actively disagree with some of the more archaic attitudes of their religion, especially among younger people.
Besides, a lot of musical theatre performers make a good chunk of their living by being church soloists, cantors, choir directors, etc. Work is work, and you’re not always going to love your boss.
JennH
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/14/13
#23Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/17/19 at 9:44am
The Distinctive Baritone said: "Exactly. Most religions are at least a little bit anti-LGBTQ unfortunately. But nowadays it is very common for even avid church/templegoers to actively disagree with some of the more archaic attitudes of their religion, especially among younger people.
Besides, a lot of musical theatre performers make a good chunk of their living by being church soloists, cantors, choir directors, etc. Work is work, and you’re not always going to love your boss."
It's ANY kind of performer type but yes, exactly this. If we refused to to never work for entities that are Anti-LGBTQ, immigrant, etc. we'd never have any work at all and just like any job, it's true, you're not always going to love your boss. Hardly ever, really. And while many religious institutions will claim to not be be Anti-(pick your group), there's still a degree of what harm is being done. I can easily stay away from a certain theatre company in PA and MO who's made no qualms about being discriminatory in their hiring and firing practices v another employer who might have a similar attitude but at least doesn't discriminate so overtly with their actions. While "being nice to everyone" isn't the cure all, it's a start to a change of heart.
#24Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/17/19 at 10:55pm
TLDR: Mormons tend to be weird people with conservative but not extremist views, but they tend to be outwardly nice and they support the arts, so a lot of performers seem willing to accept a large paycheck and boost to their careers in exchange for not debating theology and politics while they're there.
Past participants have included Kristin Chenoweth, Sutton Foster and Sierra Boggess (twice).
Kelli O'Hara needs neither the paycheck nor the career boost. She sang with the Gay Men's Choir and last January she appeared with Seth in San Francisco in a benefit for the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and BC/EFA.. Should the subject of gays comes up, I assure you that she will not hide her opinion.
She just recently joined a benefit for the ACLU hosted by Laura Benanti. How do you think that goes down with the Mormons?
Some of you have to get over the idea that you must hate and avoid every group with whom you have a disagreement, unless they are clubbing you in the head,.
52889j
Featured Actor Joined: 12/8/15
#25Broadway stars singing with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir... why is this still accepted!
Posted: 11/17/19 at 11:11pm
OlBlueEyes said: "TLDR: Mormons tend to be weird people with conservative but not extremist views, but they tend to be outwardly nice and they support the arts, so a lot of performers seem willing to accept a large paycheck and boost to their careers in exchange for not debating theology and politics while they're there.
Past participants have included Kristin Chenoweth, Sutton Foster and Sierra Boggess (twice).
"
I actually don't think Boggess ever did it. Laura Osnes stepped in when she cancelled. (https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/about/guest-artists.html)
I also think it's worth mentioning that Audra McDonald did it when she was in the thick of fighting for marriage equality.
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