"Regular people" love [title of show] - this concern that it's too insider is only held by self-hating theatre nerds.

[benrimalower]

Posted: 7/18/08 at 8:50am

That's right, theatre nerds - as opposed to theatre queens. A queen wears her crown with pride.

Very few people get ALL the references. Most people would consider my obscure musical theatre knowledge to be expansive, perhaps to a fault, and yet I miss several of the references. I've read NOT SINCE CARRIE twice, but some of those Broadway flop titles mentioned in [title of show] weren't even familiar to me.

The insider fun is NOT why I respond to the show.

This is a story of real characters going through a real struggle of passion. That's what theatre is about - you don't have to be an immigrant gang member to "get" WEST SIDE STORY or an East German ex-pat botched trannie song stylist to be moved by HEWDIG.

I think that many, maybe most, of us theatre enthusiasts have felt marginalized in this day and age when theatre often feels, and can be, culturally insignificant, or at least irrelevant to pop culture. Maybe we've been made fun of for our passion for the obscure. Don't forget, in the real world, even Patti LuPone and Bernadette Peters are relatively random.

We see this show and, as we are delighted by all the references we get, we fear, "am I laughing too loud?" "Will this play in Peoria?" "Can something that speaks so specifically to my individual tastes be real art?"

This is like self-hating homophobia or self-inflicted anti-Semitism.

Die, Vampire, Die!

Check out the broadway.com “Word of Mouth” review, it echoes the reaction of the non-theatre people I’ve sent to the production:

http://www.broadway.com/gen/general.aspx?ci=568705

I predict a long and healthy run for this exciting piece of theatre and I think it will be healing for all us.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 7/18/08 at 11:40am

Well said, Ben.

Thanks for that.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 7/18/08 at 12:53pm

Agreed.
I think the biggest laughs are not theater references at all...Hunter's book is quite funny, and he and Susan especially know how to deliver a funny line or reaction.

[Pocketsquared Fanadu]

Posted: 7/18/08 at 1:09pm

Amen to this. I took a friend last night who is not only not a theatre queen/nerd, but she knew nothing about [tos] until I babbled like a brook to her after the first preview. I did give her the Playbill for the show to read (with the [tos] article in it) before we went. She loved it, and like so many of us, felt like "a part of it all" by the end. What she responded to was the heart, talent, and the fact that these people fought their vampires to get their stories out there. After the show, when Hunter spoke to the audience from the stage and said "If anyone ever wondered what it was like to see someone's dream come true in real time, this is it..." she was crying. And his little heartfelt speech was the only reference she really needed.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 7/19/08 at 11:55am

I'm glad your non-theatre friend enjoyed it, Pocketsquared Fanadu.

[Kevinoes]

Posted: 7/19/08 at 12:59pm

Yeah, watching the Broadway.com Word of Mouth on the show had me just beaming. I'm so glad to see the show is being well-received. And like the Georgette said in the segment, I am so thrilled that Broadway producers are taking a risk on a new show that is completely different. I think they are more than aware of the gamble involved. Even if it does have a short run, the point is that they got the show out there and people saw it and, as it seems, many were inspired and touched. Being a commercial success isn't at all what the show is about exactly.

I'm coming up in 3 weeks (my first NYC trip!) and I can't wait to see it!!