"I'm about family entertainment. I'm not about having sex on stage."- Page 2

[seahag2]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 11:53am

From what I've heard, (note that I wasn't in Dallas for the school year and didn't keep up with regional theatre politics- everything I've heard is from other local consumer's point of view), people love Dallas Summer Musicals and its historic venue- the music hall located on State Fair grounds. But many theatre goers can't deny that the newer, more popular shows are going to ATTPAC and therefore their money isn't going to DSM. That Fair Park area is in trouble and locals would love to help preserve it by financially uplifting it through theatre but agree that DSM should do its part in booking the shows that people want to see, instead of the non-eq 101 Dalmatians tour and Rain Beatles Tribute that come every 2 years. Book of Mormon is coming to Dallas for the third time this December and it's a commercial hit every time. For Jenkins to actively reject the show in the state DSM is in just doesn't sound like a stable business move. Then again, it is Dallas. While the city itself is blue, the surrounding metroplex is red. Seems like there are going to be the people who strongly agree with the former president and those who will just take their Book of Mormon money to ATTPAC. Dallas Summer Musicals hasn't announced their new season yet, but apparently an American in Paris is included. Along with a new president, important changes might be made! I would love if we had two really strong theatres so that one night I could see 1st Nat'l tour of American in Paris and catch a Deaf West's Spring Awakening matinee the next day.

Also, here is a link to the original article. Sorry for not including it in the first place
http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/arts/headlines/20160502-shake-up-at-dallas-summer-musicals-michael-a.-jenkins-is-out.ece

Updated On: 5/25/16 at 11:53 AM

[Mike66]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 1:29pm

jbird5 said: "Here's an idea, let the marketplace decide.

 

"

My vote as well.  No reason for anyone to be nasty about personal taste -- as long as no one burns down the theatre they don't like.  My time is valuable (even more than my money) -- I get to decide what I want to do with my "culture" time. 

Nothing wrong with different towns liking different fare --

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 1:37pm

And what if one is exasperated and/or offended by it? Then what?

 

Then you don't go see shows created by the makers of SOUTH PARK or based on a 19th Century play that was banned for sexual obscenity.  In this day and age there is no reason to be misinformed of such things.  Of course, educating yourself would rob you of the opportunity to being victimized and offended by a show, a sensation you report with a relish bordering on the sexual. 

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 1:48pm

In any market with numerous theater companies, each tends to have its own niche.  While one specializes in traditional classics, another does edgier work and another focuses on original material.  That's not to say that any one of those companies might not occasionally dip its toes into another genre.  The bottom line is that there's plenty of room for everyone and everything.  

[trpguyy]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 2:01pm

seahag2 said: "instead of the non-eq 101 Dalmatians tour ..."

I know you're probably speaking metaphorically, but 101 Dalmatians was actually on a very nice AEA contract.

 

The bottom line is that if DSM were doing well financially, Jenkins would not have been let go.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 2:03pm

Borstalboy said: "And what if one is exasperated and/or offended by it? Then what?

 

Then you don't go see shows created by the makers of SOUTH PARK or based on a 19th Century play that was banned for sexual obscenity.  In this day and age there is no reason to be misinformed of such things.  Of course, educating yourself would rob you of the opportunity to being victimized and offended by a show, a sensation you report with a relish bordering on the sexual. 

 

"

I can't stop re-reading this beautiful post. 

[seahag2]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 2:07pm

trpguyy said: "seahag2 said: "instead of the non-eq 101 Dalmatians tour ..."

I know you're probably speaking metaphorically, but 101 Dalmatians was actually on a very nice AEA contract.

 

The bottom line is that if DSM were doing well financially, Jenkins would not have been let go.

 

"

Oops, I was looking at the askifitsequity page last night and didn't see that show on the list for Dallas but realized it's not on this season like I had previously thought it was.

 

[newintown]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 2:31pm

101 Dalmatians? That atrocious piece of crap died two months ahead of schedule way back in 2010.

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 3:46pm

The market did decide.  Sounds like the investors didn't care for the return on their investment Mr. Jenkins was providing, so are going a different direction.

[rwlevin]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 7:45pm

icecreambenjamin said: "rwlevin said: "After Eight said: ""Oscar Hammerstein was spinning the world forward."

He had decorum. Class, too. He wrote about raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, not about having maggots in one's scrotum or being totally ****ed.

 He also wrote about having to be taught to hate and fear. Of being afraid of people whose eyes are oddly made and skin that's a different shade. That's pretty darn progressive.

 

 

"

rwlevin, I think you misinterpreted that song.  Maybe you need to see South Pacific again.  It was an incredibly progressive musical that discussed how racism is something that is learned.  How people feel the need to "hate all the people their relatives hate."


 

 

"

 

 

"

You didn't understand my point. He was writing about racism at a time when that was a taboo subject which is progressive. I one hundred percent understand that song.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 7:51pm

Maybe that explains why the last time I saw "Chicago" in Dallas in 2012, it was at the AT&T center and not the Music Hall.  

[After Eight]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 11:46pm

"And what if one is exasperated and/or offended by it? Then what?"

 
"I think the answer is obvious, avoid the show." 

 

Obvious only to someone whose sense of time is completely askew. Perhaps you fail to see that your heartfelt and compassionate advice would be totally worthless to someone who has already seen and suffered through some dreadful-beyond-words opus.  I also think your suggestion --- gracious as it unquestionably is --might somehow be less than warmly received if you actually tried it on someone.

But you know, you've got a pretty neat trick there of deflecting blame onto those who deserve none  And when you think of it, one could apply your technique to any failing in any show, and the creators could walk away blameless!  "The characters were obnoxious." "Avoid them," "The music was lousy." "Avoid it.""The book was a mess." "Avoid it." And all the way down the line. How nifty, and so easy too! Problem is, no one is buying it.  It is up to the creators of a show to provide a satisfactory theatrical experience. If they fail to do so, the blame is entirely theirs.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 2:01am

Anyone who is offended by sexual content, language or whatever else should do their homework and avoid such shows, as responsible parents do with movies.  Those who, for instance, storms out of "American Idiot" in an outrage have only themselves to blame for not knowing what they were walking into.  

[After Eight]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 6:23am

"Those who, for instance, storms out of "American Idiot" in an outrage have only themselves to blame for not knowing what they were walking into.  "

 

Blame goes to those responsible for the messes they create: the creators for creating them, the producers for producing them.

Moreover, just because some fortunate theatregoers manage to avoid seeing trash, stupidity, or whatever else on the stage does not make trash any less so, stupidity any less so, or whatever else any less so. An audience's absence does not transform dross into gold.

Which is why someone like Mr. Jenkins deserves the commendation and admiration of theatregoers everywhere. Not only did he spare his audiences the experience of sitting through wretched shows, he displayed the sort of good taste, sense, and judgment that our theatre desperately needs nowadays. Would that we had more people with Mr. Jenkins's ideals producing in New York. 

 

Updated On: 5/26/16 at 06:23 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 6:31am

I don't really see the problem....if their subscribers was family entertainment, that's what they should give them.

[AnnieBlack]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 8:10am

He could have presented these shows as 'non-subscription' / special offerings, but he won't even do that. Then his audiences don't even have the choice to buy the tickets. That's not fair to his audience and to the shows that may want to play there.

[Broadway Forever2]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 8:24am

yeah I don't see the problem. If the people who were subscribed to them expected family entertainment that's what should be given to them. i know spring awakening and book of mormon are critically acclaimed shows but they are not for everybody. unless people wanted those shows and he refused to give them. 

[Dallas Theatre Fan]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 10:53am

DSM got Pippin last summer which literally had an orgy on stage.

 

But in all seriousness, I remember when the news first broke that Jenkins got fired in March a article wrote that DSM didn't have a profit since 2008, (The year ATTPAC opened) and subscriber count has been very low for the last few years.

 

It also needs to be noted that ATTPAC also presents family friendly shows as well, they got Newsies, Matilda, and Finding Neverland shows which fit into DSM's mold.

 

[trpguyy]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 12:43pm

Dallas Theatre Fan said: "DSM got Pippin last summer which literally had an orgy on stage."

It figuratively had an orgy on stage.

[Back Row]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 12:57pm

trpguyy said: "Dallas Theatre Fan said: "DSM got Pippin last summer which literally had an orgy on stage."

It figuratively had an orgy on stage.

 

If they literally had an orgy on stage, you'd think they would be more profitable in Dallas. That Baptist subscriber base would be all over that as long as they could be assured that the house lights stayed low. I think it was Dan Jenkins who said, "Baptists are like tomcats: You know they fool around. You just can't catch 'em at it."

 

[MadonnaMusical]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 3:13pm

After Eight said: ""Oscar Hammerstein was spinning the world forward."

 

He had decorum. Class, too. He wrote about raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, not about having maggots in one's scrotum or being totally ****ed."
 

Isn't Oscar Hammerstein also the person who said "every encounter in your life is a sexual encounter?" the exact quote is escaping me... someone help me out... 

[jennab113]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 4:30pm

I was watching old interviews with Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp on youtube and came across this one from the tour they did in 2009.  The end of the interview says the show is at the Music Hall.  Was that not under Jenkins jurisdiction, or was he okay with putting sex on stage in 2009?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90q1X2X9yPM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 5/26/16 at 5:22pm

Ha.

Not going to bother commenting much on the state of DSM of the change in leadership. That, I can see, will be a continued circular journey in this thread.

What I WILL say is that while I do enjoy the Music Hall, and saw numerous shows there while growing up in Texas, it never ranked among my favorite spaces. The location is horrible, only made marginally better during the State Fair, though good luck with parking in that case.

Several years ago, DSM made news when Priscilla, Queen of the Desert stopped at the. Music Hall and a local dresser promptly quit during (or after?) the first performance because she did not approve of the subject matter and objected on religious grounds. I am curious to know if that person was ever rehired for a show there. It is incredibly unprofessional behavior, and shockingly stupid of her if the costumes didn't clue her in. 

[musicaltheatreman2]

Posted: 5/27/16 at 12:14am

jennab113 said "I was watching old interviews with Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp on youtube and came across this one from the tour they did in 2009.  The end of the interview says the show is at the Music Hall.  Was that not under Jenkins jurisdiction, or was he okay with putting sex on stage in 2009?"

Back in the day the Dallas summer musicals had a series called Broadway Contemporary Series which took place in the fall at the smaller Majestic Theatre. The point of this series was for them to bring in edgier broadway tours play and musicals (like Rent, Chicago, Cabaret ect) that would not normally be included in the larger summer musicals subscription.  This series did not last long because it did not sell well. 

Updated On: 5/27/16 at 12:14 AM