Griffin Matthews’ Post — Page 2

OffOnBwayHi said: "Anyone who would question Griffin's post just might be racist themselves —they just might bepart of the problem."

Well, I question the part about commenting on the age of the actors vs the characters. That's always being debated whether it's the recent My Fair Lady or basically any shows with teens (Mean Girls, Heathers, Wicked, etc.) Even if it's not in critic reviews, it's being discussed somewhere.

But the rest of it? Yeah, that feels about right. I enjoyed Invisible Thread. It's terrible to know what he went through behind the scenes. I'm curious what the show he originally planned would have been like.

Matthew's comments about Diane Paulus - even without the racial perspectives - are pretty much in alignment with what I've heard from industry insiders for years -- so many stories from those who have worked with her essentially saying she is a slightly mentally unhinged creative bully: a brilliant but lazy academic, whose greatest strength is surrounding herself with brilliant collaborators who she essentially wears to the ground (unkindly) with no innate decision about creative quality until she is 'told' something works.

On the precipice of her directing a radically and racially reconceived 1776, I suspect she will have to answer to this.

Updated On: 6/3/20 at 12:17 PM

VintageSnarker said: "OffOnBwayHi said: "Anyone who would question Griffin's post just might be racist themselves —they just might bepart of the problem."

Well, I question the part about commenting on the age of the actors vs the characters. That's always being debated whether it's the recent My Fair Lady or basically any shows with teens (Mean Girls, Heathers, Wicked, etc.)Even if it's not in critic reviews, it's being discussed somewhere.

But the rest of it? Yeah, that feels about right. I enjoyed Invisible Thread. It's terrible to know what he went through behind the scenes. I'm curious what the show he originally planned would have been like."

I think there are a few things he mentions that are issues that might come up in any commercially produced production - the commercial viability of the title of a show; the ages of the actors playing teens, the demands of producers to have creative input - but as Mr. Matthew's is a theatre professional, I suspect he knows this, and the examples he chose to cite were ones he felt, in his situation, had specific racial implications.

LaneBryant said: "What a freaking time to be alive! Black people and people of color have been silent for WAAAAAAAY too long. Broadway is one of the most racist environments to ever exist. It's why we laugh every time "diversity" or "inclusion" roll off of a tongue. It's a lie. BURN IT DOWN. The entire structure and institution should try again!"

(Emphasis added.) This has certainly been a week for hyperbole.

Broadway is more racist than a slave plantation? Than states and cities with Jim Crow laws? Kern and Hammerstein integrated a Broadway stage in 1927; it took Harry Truman more than 20 years later to integrate the U.S. military. Even today, many banks won't give a mortgage to black people; I haven't heard of a theater refusing to sell tickets to people of color in decades.

I'm not saying racism has been eradicated, on Broadway or anywhere else. But wild-ass assertions don't help the discussion.

qolbinau said: "There are some specific points I do wonder if they are examples of racism or not. For example, a Director saying that he is working for them rather than the other way around. Wouldn't this be a common dynamic with all shows? The hierarchy is often Producer>Director>Creatives>Actors, I thought. Not always the case, but common."

Well, for an artist who loves to extoll the virtues of collaboration so much, pulling the "You work for me!" card is kind of aggressive. Even if it is factual, it's not a very respectful or productive way to win an argument. And it should be noted that at least in America, the contracts generally give the playwright final say on their material and provide them the right to revoke the rights to their work. So, when the show was at ART, Diane Paulus's position as Artistic Director technically means she was everybody's boss, if you want to speak purely hierarchically, Griffin Matthews's rights as author protect his text from decisions he doesn't sign off on. And if these words were spoken during the run at Second Stage, Paulus was not Matthews's boss.

GavestonPS said: "LaneBryant said: "What a freaking time to be alive! Black people and people of color have been silent for WAAAAAAAY too long. Broadway is one of the most racist environments to ever exist. It's why we laugh every time "diversity" or "inclusion" roll off of a tongue. It's a lie. BURN IT DOWN. The entire structure and institution should try again!"

(Emphasis added.) This has certainly been a week for hyperbole.

Broadway is more racist than a slave plantation? Than states and cities with Jim Crow laws?Kern and Hammerstein integrated a Broadway stage in 1927; it took Harry Truman more than 20 years later to integrate the U.S. military. Even today, many banks won't give a mortgage to black people; I haven't heard of a theater refusing to sell tickets to people of color in decades.

I'm not saying racism has been eradicated, on Broadway or anywhere else. But wild-ass assertions don't help the discussion.

Based on everything that's happening in the world, and my low tolerance for White people's mouths, I really just want to tell you to shut the hell up, but I won't. Trying to survive as a Black actor on Broadway and in theatre and in America all at the same time, is hard. That's the weight I carry around every damn day. I've done 3 Broadway shows and those spaces have been almost intolerable. It may seem like a "wild-ass assertion", but you don't know what the fukk it feels like, you're not even in the discussion. You don't know what that trauma feels like - White people telling you how to be Black, White people having no respect for or knowledge of Black culture but making millions off of Black bodies, being paraded around in front of rich white people at galas and parties while you feel like cattle (cuz. the only other Black people there are serving you drinks), White people grabbing your hair, commenting on your skin, asking dumb-ass questions, calling you out of your name, watching White people be continuously promoted and celebrated for doing mediocre work, pointing out "hyperbole" instead of just listening.... Broadway is exhausting and some days it absolutely feels like walking onto a plantation....maybe as a house slave and not a field negro, but you get it.

Thank you LaneByrant and others who have engaged in a civil discussion to help people listen and understand when questions are asked. These are complex issues that require discussion and details to help understanding. I’m not sure why anyone would think that a short video with limited details is enough information to really understand the issues here.

Updated On: 6/4/20 at 04:19 AM

qolbinau said: "Thank you LaneByrant and others who have engaged in a civil discussion to help people listen and understand when questions are asked. These are complex issues that require discussion and details to help understanding. I’m not sure why anyone would think thata short video with limiteddetails is enough information to really understand the issues here."

Since when is telling people to "shut up" a "civil discussion"?

The short video is all most of us have to work with, so some of us tried to engage seriously with Matthews' remarks. In my world, that is called RESPECT.

Apparently the times call not for respectful engagement with people of color--the same way white people might engage with one another--but a sort of condescension where we treat people of color as angry children who need to scream until they tucker themselves out and quiet down. (Myself, I don't for a moment believe this is helpful or appropriate, nor am *I* comparing people of color to children.)

There is and has always been a lot of $hitty behavior in show business; I don't doubt that some of this derives from racism and sexism and even homophobia. But if nothing can be discussed, we can never unpack what is lousy treatment of everybody and what is specifically targeting individuals on the basis of immutable characteristics.

qolbinau said: "Thank you LaneByrant and others who have engaged in a civil discussion to help people listen and understand when questions are asked. These are complex issues that require discussion and details to help understanding. I’m not sure why anyone would think thata short video with limiteddetails is enough information to really understand the issues here."

Because Griffin Matthews seems to think it is?

I worry some people are confusing racism with racial insensitivity.