SHUT DOWN SLAVE PLAY

Sometimes art is gonna make you uncomfortable. When I saw Blackbird a couple of years ago, I was squirming in my seat, and it was one of the best plays I've seen in recent seasons.

First off, when has a Change.org petition ever actually stopped anything before? I keep seeing them protest so many things, but I've never actually seen anyone follow them.

Second, would this play ever be seen by a racist and have it approve what they think? I haven't seen the play, but reading about it and knowing the writer and director are black, I feel like that would probably have noticed that.

Third, I don't think white people laughing is in a mocking way. This seems like a very raw play so they were probably more uncomfortable if anything. White people should be called out on any inappropriate behavior in plays like this, but I think uncomfortable laughter might be what the playwright is going for. To make the audience uncomfortable and have them rethink how they view the world.

Oddly, the petitioner gives no facts as to why this play is so oppressively and insultingly offensive that it should be shut down by popular demand.
If she wants to convince people that this play is beyond the pale of acceptability and that they should join her in censure, why doesn't she explain what it was that she saw that was so appalling?

The fact that she only provides ad hominem criticism leads me to believe that she might well have no persuasive grounds for her disgust.

Having said that, I'd be open to hearing any facts that might support her position.

I went to college with Jeremy O. Harris and we were pals, so maybe I’m biased, <<edited by BWW staff>>. I don’t live in New York and didn’t get to see Slave Play, but it was pretty universally acclaimed. The best dramas often do make people uncomfortable. Maybe she should have seen Frozen instead?

That said, the petition has almost 5,000 signatures. Then again, how many of those that signed actually saw the play?

Updated On: 6/21/19 at 12:34 AM

This all is very absurd. I think one of the major issues with this petition is that she is inappropriately substituting the word "racist" for "triggering". SLAVE PLAY deals with very intense sociopolitical issues in a very graphic way, but by no means is the piece racist. It dives full front into the exploration of racial stereotypes. I mean that's pretty much what the play is about. Accessing deeply rooted associations of identity that we have suppressed in the evolution of our culture. It's very fascinating and there's a lot to think about. And as for having a predominately white audience laughing, Harris and O'Hara knew that was going to be a thing and they highlight it brilliantly by having a mirror angle down onstage so that the audience sees themselves and become aware of their own tendencies and reactions.

It would be great if people who've actually seen the play make arguments about this debate. There is way too much of "I haven't seen it or read it, but..." This play is way too complicated to talk about if you have not experienced it in some way. I look forward to this debate when it opens again in the Fall.

First of all, your list of black producers is wrong.

Secondly, is there a reason you chose to disregard that both the writer and the director are black? Is their "be[ing] black in America" somehow less entitled to expression than yours?

Third, is there a reason you chose to disregard the words of others who have as much standing as you as "black in America"?

Don't get me wrong: you are totally entitled to your reaction to this show. But you are not entitled to make your point(s) in intellectually dishonest ways. Or by purporting to speak for folks that have not hired you as their spokesperson.

Shutting down the expression of others is never the right result.

troynow said: "I speak for myself not their production.

People sell out all the time. Black or not, the show is wrong. Being Black In America is an understanding. There is a history and understanding. Not all "get it" much like Jeremy. Setting Black in America back! WAY BACK!

Name the other active black producers on Broadway?

Having a black director and writer means nothing about the content."

Have you seen the play?

Huss417 said: "Have you seen the play?"

That seems like the bit that never gets a response...

troynow said: "Having a black director and writer means nothing about the content."

Seriously? Now you're just being silly. What means something? Just your opinion and those of folks who agree with you? I gather you have a monopoly on "understanding" what it means to be black in America. Must be great to be able to erase the worth of humans who don't "get it." Sorry, but no.