Lack of LGBT Protagonists- Page 3

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 12:04am

Evsever, if you think sabrelady is being snarky and rude, then you should definitely spend some more time on these boards. If anything, they were being tame.

If all you want is validation for your claim, then this board is not the place to present said claim.

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 12:05am

And we offered thoughts. They just don't seem to be the thoughts you were looking for.

Updated On: 4/19/18 at 12:05 AM

[Evsever]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 12:09am

BroadwayRox3588 said: "If all you want is validation for your claim, then this board is not the place to present said claim."

I'm not asking for validation, but it seems very disturbing that some people here don't seem to wanna push or encourage Broadway to include more diversity and be more willing to make a change. Instead, they just shrug and say "welp, that's showbiz! so deal with it!". It's this kind of uncaring attitude that there's still a lack of representation for minorities, even to this day.

[CallMeAl2]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 12:40am

Evsever said: "There’s a severe lack of LGBT protagonists on Broadway,.. 
There is some LGBT representation on Broadway, and they’re definitely doing a better job than Hollywood. "

Screw "representation". We have something much better: real power.  We produce the shows, we write the shows, we direct them, design them, and perform them. (Well, us and the Jews.) We are "represented" in every aspect of the profession. We dictate the politics, subject matter, style, and then we write the reviews and finally nominate ourselves for awards. So, don't cry for us Argentina. 

Also, it's hard to make a case about New York theater not being gay enough in a season that includes Torch Song, Angels, and Boys in the Band. We have been practically taking a victory lap this year.

[itsjustmejonhotmailcom]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 12:41am

Last season Significant Other and Indecent had LGBT protagonists. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 1:24am

Evsever said: "some people here don't seem to wanna push or encourageBroadway to include more diversity and be more willing to make a change. Instead, they just shrug and say "welp, that's showbiz! so deal with it!". It's this kind of uncaring attitude that there's still a lack of representation for minorities, even to this day."

Broadway isn't a thing, though. You can't make it do anything. It is a loose collection of tangental businesses. There are a few dozen theaters, and way more shows floating around looking to land in one of those theaters.

It isn't analogous to Pixar, which decides what stories it wants to tell and then does it, because it controls every aspect of its creative process. Broadway is more random. If a theater has a vacancy, they pick the best show ready to jump into that house. If they have a handful of options, they will pick the most commercially viable option, since they are essentially landlords picking tenants. There are clearly cases of the theater houses backing a production and making it happen, like (ironically) Jujamcyn wanting to stage Falsettos, but that isn't always the case.

You can't tune Broadway. You can tune the theater schools, and come up with ways to support more diverse playwrights getting more grants and opportunities. You can make sure you attend when theaters do take a risk and book some LGBT advancing shows (which didn't happen with Significant Other, leaving an impression that an audience for gay protagonists doesn't exist).

The theater houses are always ready to put commercially viable LGBT shows into their houses. If you're not concerned with the shows being commercially viable, then Broadway is always going to disappoint you when it makes decisions based on commercial viability.

 

 

[binau]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 3:24am

There is so much gay theatre. Maybe someone wants to count the beans but it’s out there and you don’t even have to look hard for it - and sometimes with mainstream audiences too. I cringe at any G complaining about it. I do have more sympathy if you’re an L, B or T.

Updated On: 4/19/18 at 03:24 AM

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 5:15am

Gay protagonists in the theater? Gimme a break. And there is diversity- in all media- more and more. Haven't you noticed? If not, you are not paying attention. If this season does not have enough gay protagonists for you- just wait. Have you no patience? 

[robskynyc]

Posted: 4/19/18 at 10:00am

as a gay man, I can say that afterglow did us NO favors. it was tacky, poorly acted, and only further pointed out EVERYTHING that is wrong with the gay community.

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 4/28/18 at 10:16pm

QueenAlice said: "I would say there are actually proportionately a large number of gay characters on Broadway in relationship to other commercial forms of entertainment."

No. There isn't. I went to see ten shows last year, and only one of them included a gay character; the other nine shows acted like gay people didn't exist. Odds are that most people who go to see a show every two or three months would most likely see shows that have no gay characters at all. So how is that proportionate?

QueenAlice said: "It seems like you have an issue that homosexuality isn’t viewed as commercial and somehow feel producers should be willing to lose millions in an effort to educate the morality of those who like populist entertainment."

Well, don't you have an issue with that? I think everyone should. "Commercial" and "Money" are probably the lamest excuses in the whole world. That's exactly the kind of mentality that took decades upon decades for the entertainment industries to finally include POC protagonists. Why is it that you think producers would "lose millions" if they make a musical with a gay protagonist? As long as the show is well-written with great songs and a great plot, then it should be fine. Give audiences some credit; not all of them are homophobic.

Quite frankly, there's just haven't been that many new musicals/plays with gay protagonists to even come to that conclusion. Last of all, you seem to just accept how Broadway works when it comes to this. Well I don't. I gotta say this, but they really need to step up here. 

Updated On: 4/28/18 at 10:16 PM

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 4/28/18 at 10:31pm

BroadwayStar4 said: "Commercial" and "Money" are probably the lamest excuses in the whole world."

Huh? Broadway is literally a commercial enterprise. Money is first and foremost on the minds of producers and investors alike. I want representation for LGBT as much as the next person, but let's not pretend that money is not extremely important on Broadway.

 

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 4/28/18 at 11:30pm

I’ve never thought of Lola as supporting. Yes, Charlie gets the final solo bow — at least the two early times I saw it...maybe that changed later with Wayne Brady and other casting. But I find Lola a far more interesting character arc than Charlie. She has better songs either solo or as lead inthe ensemble numbers. Plus I truly dislike Feinstein’s laziness with Charlie in Act 2, with the stress and anger that suddenly materialized during Intermission. I hardly noticed Charlie in Act 2. As to the question of Lola being gay or trans? Doesn’t really matter in the larger context as our community keeps adding letters to the LGBT acronym. She fits in and since the OP asked about LGBT not solely gay or trans, Lola is definitely a lead protagonist in my opinion.

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 4/29/18 at 12:20am

PatrickDC said: "I’ve never thought of Lola as supporting. Yes, Charlie gets the final solo bow — at least the two early times I saw it...maybe that changed later with Wayne Brady and other casting. But I find Lola a far more interesting character arc than Charlie. She has better songs either solo or as lead inthe ensemble numbers. Plus I truly dislike Feinstein’s laziness with Charlie in Act 2, with the stress and anger that suddenly materialized during Intermission. I hardly noticed Charlie in Act 2. As to the question of Lola being gay or trans? Doesn’t really matter in the larger context as our community keeps adding letters to the LGBT acronym. She fits in and since the OP asked about LGBT not solely gay or trans, Lola is definitely a lead protagonist in my opinion."

This. Also, Billy Porter won the Tony for Lola. For Best Leading Actor in a Musical.

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 4/29/18 at 9:17am

BroadwayRox3588 said: "Huh? Broadway is literally a commercial enterprise. Money is first and foremost on the minds of producers and investors alike. I want representation for LGBT as much as the next person, but let's not pretend that money is not extremely important on Broadway."

I get that, but using money as an excuse to not create more shows with LGBT protagonists is both rude and ridiculous. There has been a couple of shows with LGBT protagonists that have achieved success, so the real reason why the producers won't do this more often is beyond me.

[BWAY Baby2]

Posted: 4/29/18 at 9:26am

Oh, please- there are plenty of shows with gay protagonists- and plenty more coming- not all are good- but some are and they will be successful. I can see wondering why there is not more LBGT representation in the NFL- or in professional baseball- but in the theater- in NYC? Gimme a break. 

[BroadwayStar4]

Posted: 4/29/18 at 9:39am

If you count all of the musicals/plays, then no, "plenty" would not be the right word here. Besides, most of the shows with gay protagonists that are running right now are revivals; things we've seen already. 

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 4/29/18 at 11:06am

Some might consider the lack of protagonists as a good thing. While there are still issues for LGBT people in society and homophobia still exists to varying degrees, gays have become more accepted and mainstream. Perhaps society — and theater audiences — have less of a need to see gay characters, characters that are solely in a show because they are gay. The Boys in the Band, La Cage, etc. were all groundbreaking and important works that came out (pun intended) at a time when gays were struggling for acceptance.

This is similar to the discussion about San Francisco’s Castro District losing its gay focus and identity. When I came out in the late 80s I felt safer there. It was my community. Today gays have more options and we don’t need to live, work, play, breath only in the Castro. In fact I hardly go there anymore, maybe once or twice a month (and mainly only for the bottomless mimosa brunch at Bisou!). I understand the folks who want the “old” Castro back but the fact we don’t need a gay ghetto anymore is in my opinion progress.

[Musicalslover]

Posted: 4/29/18 at 7:58pm

Fun Home anyone???? I know I am poking fun but still

[South Florida]

Posted: 4/30/18 at 7:09am

This thread seems nuts to me.  I don't see that many shows as all of you folks but of the last 10 there was Hedwig, Fun Home, and Falsetto's.  I invited my sister in NY to two of these and now she suspects I might be gay.

[Dave28282]

Posted: 4/30/18 at 7:21am

The real problem is that producers only want to make money. They seem to think that only things that appeal to the biggest audiences are worth making, resulting in uninteresting mainstream projects. That's why we see  unsuitable mainstream actors butchering musical movies, that's why a straight protagonist is more interesting to them than a lgbt protagonist, to name a few examples.

[Mark69]

Posted: 5/5/18 at 6:52am

The last four commercial production I have seen in Melbourne - Spring Awakening, Falsettos, Bare and Kinky Boots.(I can't remember if the protagonist in the last was LGBT or not)...

Although I'm seeing 9 next which I understand is mega-hetero so that would balance it out I guess.

[South Fl Marc]

Posted: 5/5/18 at 10:07am

If anyone in the DC area is looking for a new musical with gay protagonists, check out Signature Theatre in Arlingtons new musical "Girlfriend". It is just a sweet musical about two young men finding love.

 

"Girlfriend" review by Washington Post