Strickland on the Boards

"Tarzan star Josh Strickland has an earful to say about the small, nasty Broadway message boards that exist out on the web in his brand-new Broadway.com Q&A.

'People on there are very hateful. Not just to me, but I also see what they say about other actors and other shows, and it’s kind of sad. They don’t know us. They start making up ideas about what the producers were thinking and it’s a lot of lies. It really is. If they’re supposed to be fans of Broadway, then let’s be positive about what everybody’s doing. People coming to New York for the first time to see a show will go online to decide which shows are good, and being negative is not something I feel needs to be happening. I don’t know these people, so I can’t pass judgment on anyone, but I wonder what they’re going through in their lives. I hope something great comes for them so that they don’t have to be so negative. We’re all working for the same team here, and it’s the team of just trying to make it. Let’s all be positive for each other.'"

http://www.broadway.com/gen/general.aspx?ci=536203
Hmm..

He's so right.

From now on, I will only have positive things to say about Tarzan.









OK, it's too hard. I can't.

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The comment left by "Charles"

I agree with Mr. Strickland that people should try to stay positive, but it’s probably a bit easier to stay positive when you’re drop-dead gorgeous and a lead in a Broadway show. I know it must be hurtful to here negative things about a show you’re working hard on or people that you know very well. But for the most part Mr. Strickland, “these people” are just saying the things that everyone’s thinking but just don’t say to your face. As Helen Larson might say,it seems that as an actor and a semi-famous one, you need to “learn to roll with the punches.”

ETA: I mean no disrespect to Mr. Strickland, but as Capn said, shows have always been criticized/loved...the Internet has just made a place for us to discuss our loves and hates, for better and for worse.

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Updated On: 1/8/07 at 04:57 PM

"People coming to New York for the first time to see a show will go online to decide which shows are good, and being negative is not something I feel needs to be happening."

So? That doesn't stop them from being a theater patron in general, but keeps them from wasting their money on awful crap like Tarzan.

People definitely get way to personal with their bashing, especially of individual performers, but I think people should be honest about their show opinions/experiences. People are shelling out a damn pretty penny for these tickets and they deserve to choose a show that is going to be most appropriate for them. Some of the best ways to do that is by reading other people's views on a show.

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Also, I must add that I can see what he means about the message boards having an overall tone of negativity. But that is what a message boards are for - to express and discuss opinions and news.

Do we have to be POSITIVE about everything? Should we have a POSITIVE attitude when the Nederlanders announce food will be allowed in the theatre? When CAROLINE, OR CHANGE closes? When Betty Comden dies? When a critic hates HIGH FIDELITY?

Certainly not! I'm NOT happy about the Nederlander/food decision, I DON'T like TARZAN, I am sad Betty Comden has passed away, and I hated that CAROLINE, OR CHANGE closed! I won't silence my voice to appease Mr. Strickland.

If I dislike a show, I'm going to say why. It's up to the readers and listeners of my opinion if they will then decide to see or not see the said show.

So my advice to Mr. Strickland if he is going to continue with a career on stage, screen, or television, is that he must learn to take nothing personal, art is objective and you are an artist.

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Josh is right. I agree. People on here don't critique shows and say "I didn't like it and here is why". It is a bitchfest and a catty group of queens who try to see who can out inslut the next about any show...

Bobo and broadwayguy2, you do have a point in that some people DO have personal agendas and/or will OVERLY express their hatred (or love) to no end. But even so, it has little to do with the reader's 'final say' making a decision to see a show. All that drama remains amongst the opposing ends.

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You'd be suprised how much the agenda of some people DOES affect things....

I have had friends over the years who have certainly attempted to "outslut" one another -- "insluting" doesn't sound like it would be as much fun.

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"If they’re supposed to be fans of Broadway, then let’s be positive about what everybody’s doing."

That's the line I take offense to. He suggests that true 'fans' are those who are positive aout what 'everybody' is doing. We would all be morons to walk around responding positively to what every performer is doing.

If you have problems with the criticism, find another job. When you get paid by people coming to see your show, you give them the right to publicly express their opinion however bitterly they so choose. (Whoops, I'm being a mean spirited bitch, out to spite you...Sorry Mr. Strickland)

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AGREED aspiringactress. I don't think I could have said it better...

I think that bashing and negativity are two completely different things. If one says something negative, but backs it up and explains why, that's fine. But bashing is when one just says, "That/He/She/It sucked," and goes ahead to say more awful, immature, and unimportant things without back-up. Boards are for discussion, and we might not always agree, but bashing a performer or show is unnecessary.

"People on there are very hateful. Not just to me, but I also see what they say about other actors and other shows, and it’s kind of sad."

I don't agree with Strickland's comments, at least not with regards to this board. (Datalounge's theater gossip threads are another story...). I see just as many threads containing unqualified praise and adoration for various shows and actors as I do negativity here.

Strickland is a professional, and Disney is charging plenty for those tickets. The customers who pay for those tickets have every right to express their opinions regarding whether their money has been well spent. Would Strickland refrain from "hateful, negative" comments if he purchased spoiled food at a gourmet market or an expensive DVD player which didn't work properly?

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