| Thanks for your passionate response to my post. | |
| Posted by: portenopete 02:01 pm EDT 06/17/24 | |
| In reply to: You (and the others, below) are out of touch with today's theatre generation - GrumpyMorningBoy 10:41 am EDT 06/17/24 | |
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| GMB: People who love Broadway and Theatre and plays were never "the cool kids". A 12-year old in 1977 who knew who Alfred Lunt & Lynn Fontanne were was never a cool kid. I made peace with that fact long ago. It was the distinct lack of coolness that made the Theatre a refuge: I'd finally found a club that would have somebody like me for a member. Where to begin? The opening number was anemic and lyrically-incomprehensible. It felt like it was running at half-speed. And needing to begin the number with a fake newspaper headline "She's Back!!! DeBose Returns as 3rd Time Host" suggests the producers were not completely convinced the audience would understand that she's a "bona-fide star". I'm not "offended" by Miss DeBose: I'm irritated. Irritated by the adolescent smugness of her personality. She combines the inane show biz fakery of Liza Minnelli with a performative and paper-thin take on politics and culture which renders both joyless. And I'm irritated by her hectoring the nominees to "make some noise". (The nominees and audience would be making a bit more noise if they were being treated to a genuinely exciting opening number like "Bigger".) And what seemed like the big coups de théatre (getting hoisted onto that raised box, diving backwards off the back of said box) were inexpertly showcased by the cameras and passed almost unnoticed. The reaction of the crowd seemed largely polite and supportive but not terribly enthusiastic. Some nominees looked downright dubious. And I'm glad she vaingloriously credited herself with the choreography so I know where to place the blame. And also for reminding us how hard she had to work to put it together in a week. "We are in a global moment...but the Theatre is a safe place for us all"? Is that really a good thing? Isn't Theatre supposed to be dangerous? Where the status quo is challenged? I wish there was a decent and good conservative playwright writing in the theatre right now. Someone for us to challenge. Commenting on some of your points: "A bona-fide star"? I suspect her name would be equally unfamiliar in a high school cafeteria or an AARP meeting, Oscar notwithstanding. "Appealing and winning"? À chacun son goût. "Self-effacingly funny"? The only one who laughed at her 'jokes' was herself. "Telegenic"? Agreed: she is a beautiful woman. "Alive"? Well, yes, she does have that over Angela Lansbury. And she may be the perfect avatar for the dynamic, queer, POC generation who's now become the premiere creative class in America. But I'm not sure that the Tony Awards audience or theatre-going audiences in general are quite as on-board with that tone and we have only to look at election polls to realize that that dynamic POC/queer militancy is perhaps paving the way for an unfortunate correction at the ballot box. I don't imagine that there are enough Tony viewers to make much difference, thankfully. And the TikTok feed that you see, Grumpy Morning Boy, is a small slice of the whole. There are just as many - probably many more- young people who are keyed in to other social movements and politics and representation and social currents. And they feel that it's tone-deaf not to acknowledge their points of view. Your invocation of Oscar Hammerstein's immortal lyric with boldface emphasis is interesting. It's not Liat who's screaming at Cable that he has been educated to be a racist, it's poor hapless Joe himself. It's someone who is looking at himself and recognizing his failings and prejudices and is frustrated and disappointed in himself. Rodgers' melody provides a rather whimsical, sing-song tune for Hammerstein's gentle lyrics to sit on and quietly make an audience member question their beliefs. It's exactly the skillful piece of art that has helped push the world forward bit by bit over the last 100 years. To suggest that there has been no positive change in my 58-years is ludicrous. In addition to all the dynamism and energy that young people bring to the table, they often lack perspective on what has preceded their existence. I was glad that Branden Jacobs-Jenkins was heartfelt and witty in in saluting the two other writers in his Best Play Revival category: Ossie Davis, who was a pioneering voice at a time when Black lives were a rarity in American Theatre, and two-time Tony winner Henrik Ibsen, whose stories of women seizing agency and power were genuinely revolutionary. I hope the producers of the next Tonys broadcast- fingers crossed there WILL be a next Tonys broadcast- go back to the irreverence and fun of the NPH era and get Rannells/Gad or Groff/Radcliffe/Mendez to host. If the numbers go down this year I hope they realize that trying to turn it into the Grammys is not a winning solution. |
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| Previous: | You (and the others, below) are out of touch with today's theatre generation - GrumpyMorningBoy 10:41 am EDT 06/17/24 |
| Next: | Hard disagree -- think you're painting with too broad a brush.... - DistantDrumming 01:16 pm EDT 06/17/24 |
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