All That Ignorance

Every now and then, I post on Talkinbroadway.com's message board. Yesterday, I got pretty involved in a discussion about the state of Broadway plays. Following are some posts from the message thread, rearranged in topical-ish order. Participants in the discussion like "Katie" seem to be more interested in defending the lack of diversity on Broadway than looking for solutions to it. I hope she doesn't have any real power in the theater community. I also find it interesting that "Big M" thinks that the Broadway production of "Topdog/Underdog"--a Pulitzer Prize winner--struck a blow to diversity. File under: Things that make you go hmmm.

**I've added a few more messages from the thread since this morning.

Posted by: dreambaby 08:50 am EST 12/07/07

It seems to me that someone planning to see B'way theater this weekend could have access to one of the most incredible range of choices and quality of straight plays on Broadway, in recent history at least.

We can get so tangled up in minutiae and bickering around here, we could overlook this remarkable phenomenon. Especially with the death of the straight play on Broadway so frequently announced.

To join with the glass half full crowd for a moment, it would be nicer to have more strong new American plays, and more diversity in creators and performers.

Posted by: omalley 09:35 am EST 12/07/07
In reply to: re: Far from a Golden Age - Dale 09:24 am EST 12/07/07

And in those casts, how many of the actors are not white? Serious question--I haven't seen them yet. I did see Mauritius, and that had zero.

Posted by: Ncassidine 09:56 am EST 12/07/07
In reply to: re: Far from a Golden Age - omalley 09:35 am EST 12/07/07

Does the racial spectrum of a play have anything to do with its worth? I should hope not.

Posted by: omalley 10:46 am EST 12/07/07
In reply to: re: Far from a Golden Age - Ncassidine 09:56 am EST 12/07/07

Nope. But doesn't diversity of voices and talents make for a more truthful reflection of the cultural landscape? White people aren't the only ones who write plays, but their representation on Broadway is, to put it lightly, disproportionately large.

That said, I'm still pumped to see August and Seafarer next week.

Posted by: Ncassidine 10:51 am EST 12/07/07
In reply to: re: Far from a Golden Age - omalley 10:46 am EST 12/07/07

I definitely understand, yes, and agree. So where ARE the plays by/from/featuring non-white creators/actors/characters?

Posted by: omalley 10:53 am EST 12/07/07
In reply to: re: Far from a Golden Age - Ncassidine 10:51 am EST 12/07/07

The Public doesn't seem to have much trouble finding them.

Posted by: Ncassidine 10:54 am EST 12/07/07
In reply to: re: Far from a Golden Age - omalley 10:53 am EST 12/07/07

So then are you saying they are "not ready for Broadway"? I think of the Public as often an incubator for shows that might nor might not transfer uptown.

Of course, some of the best theatre I have EVER seen ("The Normal Heart" being the best example) happened there.

Posted by: omalley 11:19 am EST 12/07/07
In reply to: re: Far from a Golden Age - Ncassidine 10:54 am EST 12/07/07

No that's not what I'm saying. I said exactly what I meant. The Public finds diverse voices. Your thoughts on what the Public is or should be are your own.

Posted by: Ncassidine 11:20 am EST 12/07/07
In reply to: re: Far from a Golden Age - omalley 11:19 am EST 12/07/07

Gotcha.

Unfortunately, Broadway isn't anywhere near as diverse as most of us would like it to be.

Posted by: MargoChanning 11:03 am EST 12/07/07
In reply to: re: Far from a Golden Age - Ncassidine 10:51 am EST 12/07/07

Well, lets not forget that in the coming months S. Epatha Merkerson, Larry Fishburne, Morgan Freeman, and much (if not all) of the cast and creative teams of PASSING STRANGE, INTO THE HEIGHTS and CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF will be people of color.

Also Spike Lee at one point was announced to direct STALAG 17 for this season (not sure that's still happening or not).

Posted by: WaymanWong 11:39 am EST 12/07/07
In reply to: Coming soon..... - MargoChanning 11:03 am EST 12/07/07

That said, there's not a PLAY by anyone of color. In that sense, it's still the Great White Way. We also need producers willing to take the risk. I imagine it's partly due to demographics, too. Broadway audiences are overwhelmingly Caucasian. It's tough enough to sell a play, period, but it's an added challenge if it's by a writer of color.

August Wilson aside, are there ANY African-American playwrights getting done on Broadway?

David Henry Hwang was the first Asian-American playwright to get produced on Broadway (''M. Butterfly'' in 1988), and he is still the ONLY Asian-American playwright who's been produced there. That was almost 20 years ago!

Not counting Rick Najera's sketchlike ''Latinologues,'' are the only Latino playwrights who've had plays on Broadway, Luis Valdez (''Zoot Suit'' in 1979) and Nilo Cruz (''Anna in the Tropics'' in 2003)?

If Broadway is to reflect the diversity of voices and people in our society, it's got such a long way to go.

Posted by: omalley 11:53 am EST 12/07/07
In reply to: We need more diversity of actors ... AND playwrights - WaymanWong 11:39 am EST 12/07/07

Amen amen amen.

Suzan-Lori Parks, in my opinion the greatest living American playwright, is still working. Fucking A and In the Blood, for example, are both better than a lot of what gets produced by the non-profits. If anyone can take a chance, it's them.

Posted by: Katie 01:24 pm EST 12/07/07
In reply to: re: We need more diversity of actors ... AND playwrights - omalley 11:53 am EST 12/07/07

... are both better than a lot of what gets produced by the non-profits

I'm not quite sure what point you're making. In the Blood (which I liked), Fucking A (which I didn't) and Topdog/Underdog were all produced by the non-profit Public Theatre. Topdog/Underdog transferred to Broadway.

It seems to me the non-profits in the last decade have definitely been seeking out and producing works from playwrights of color and there a number of playrights who are establishing a name for themselves and having their plays produced widely in the non-profit world. However most of the plays written don't have the commercial appeal they need for a Broadway transfer where selling 6000+ seats a week means appealing to a very broad audience. That's an issue for playwrights of all races. There are a few commercial producers who are willing to take a chance on new work without movie stars and a straightforward narrative approach but most times it simply doesn't pay off for them. Even the Broadway non-profits find it hard to put new stuff up on their Broadway stages because they are so reliant on single ticket sales in those venues.

Broadway hogs the media limelight but the reality is it's just not that important nowadays in terms of American play development overall and the inherent nature of its economics mean that won't change anytime soon. Success for a play today means good reviews in the major theatre burgs, making the TCG most-produced list, being published and ultimately being read in colleges and schools. There are hundreds of new plays produced every year in the US. Even if you limit the field to the significant non-profits, you're still talking lots and lots of new plays every year. There are maybe 5 new plays on Broadway in a season, 10 in a very good season. It simply isn't and can't be representative.

Posted by: omalley 06:14 pm EST 12/07/07
In reply to: re: We need more diversity of actors ... AND playwrights - Katie 01:24 pm EST 12/07/07

I was referring to the Broadway non-profits.

As for your statement:
"It simply isn't and can't be representative."

Bogus bogus bogus. My simple response is that, yes it can and should be. Moreover, it's statements like this one that underscore one of the major problems w/ Broadway plays. Namely, apathy.

Look at what Sheldon Epps has done at the Pasadena Playhouse. He includes very diverse productions (on all fronts) and has made the PP a bundle of money doing so.

Posted by: Katie 11:35 pm EST 12/07/07
In reply to: re: We need more diversity of actors ... AND playwrights - omalley 06:14 pm EST 12/07/07

I don't believe the Broadway non-profits are apathetic at all. They want to increase diversity but the reality is they have Broadway size houses, Broadway size expenses and a static or declining number of subscribers who can provide the financial cushion they need. They all rely on substantial single ticket sales to cover their production budgets. Contributions (which give them 30-40% of their overall funding) simply can't compensate if you have more than one play that doesn't sell at the Broadway box office.

Like all the regional theatres, the Broadway non-profits have to balance risky productions with productions that are sure to cover their costs but the risk equation is even tougher when you look at the economics of running a Broadway house. MTC tried to be risky with their first Biltmore production Drowning Crow. It was financially disastrous for them and I mean disastrous. That's why MTC mounts one or two revivals at the Biltmore each season rather than a diet of entirely new plays as they had done when they were entirely Off-Broadway. It's why Roundabout puts new plays in its Off-Broadway house and not its Broadway venue. LCT also puts most new work in its Off-Broadway house as well. Unless a play has A-list stars in the cast or has been proven in a regional production and attracted rave reviews, it's a very risky Broadway bet even for a non-profit.

Broadway is not typical of theatre as a whole in this country. Most theatremaking happens away from Broadway in places that are more comfortable, intimate and affordable. Every so often a playwright will break out of the regional/Off-Broadway world and have a transfer to the glitter of Broadway but it's a minority that make it there and often not until well into their careers; Tracy Letts and Therese Rebeck are experienced mid-career playwrights only now making their Broadway debuts. Most playwrights today simply don't write plays that are commercial enough for Broadway and we should be grateful they don't try to. God forbid Young Jean Lee should try writing a "Broadway play". Julia Cho, Robert Aguirre-Sacasa, Tracy Scott Wilson and others may eventually have plays on Broadway but they will not be lesser playwrights if it never happens.

Posted by: BigM 10:09 pm EST 12/07/07
In reply to: re: We need more diversity of actors ... AND playwrights - Katie 01:24 pm EST 12/07/07

I can't tell you how much the bean-counting, how-many-playwrights-of-color mindset bothers me. If you know a playwright of color writing plays COMMERCIAL enough to present a good possibility of making money on Broadway, but who isn't getting produced there, speak up.

Broadway is a commercial arena in which productions are expensive to mount, and are produced specifically to make a profit. In truth, plays like TOPDOG/UNDERDOG, which have very little chance of turning a profit, are presented there by producers who think they are doing something noble and artistic, and striking a blow for diversity.

The real new play action is in the nonprofits, where managements fall all over themselves trying to get the next Parks, Oerlandersmith or Wilson.

Posted by: omalley 01:35 am EST 12/08/07
In reply to: re: We need more diversity of actors ... AND playwrights - Katie 11:35 pm EST 12/07/07

Frankly, it sounds like you're making a bloated argument for institutional racism. And I think you underestimate audiences.

I think part of the problem is that the heads of the three major Broadway non-profits--MTC, LCT & Roundabout--are white. Not to suggest that any of them are racist. Just perhaps not personally invested in seeing diverse voices produced for the largest audience.

As for the bean counting gripe (not yours, Katie)--it's difficult and irresponsible to ignore the blinding whiteness of an otherwise formidable season for straight plays.

Posted by: BigM 04:30 pm EST 12/08/07
In reply to: re: We need more diversity of actors ... AND playwrights - omalley 01:35 am EST 12/08/07

Thank you, I always enjoy the self-righteousness of the left. It is not the job of any producer to bring "diversity" to the Broadway stage (and by "diversity", I assume you mean the usual left-liberal definition: people of different ethnic origins spouting the exact same ideas and beliefs as you).

On Broadway, their job is to present theatre that makes a profit. The nonprofit theaters have different missions; by all means, if you feel it is very important to present plays by people of color, I heartily invite you to start your own theater company with that purpose and see if you can make a go of it. But you can't impose that on other theaters because you think it's important.

If you talk to dramaturgs and others who review play submissions, you find it's really, really hard to get a good script, period. Imposing racial quotas will mean that you force theaters to produce lousy scripts that meet your ethnic criteria. If you know of a talented playwright of color whose very skilled, very commercial plays are being turned down out of racism, feel free to name him. Or her.

Posted by: omalley (tommyomalley@gmail.com) 07:53 pm EST 12/08/07
In reply to: re: We need more diversity of actors ... AND playwrights - BigM 04:30 pm EST 12/08/07

BigM, will you attach a name to your comments? I'm Tommy O'Malley, a "self-righteous left-liberal." I'd rather be that than a passive racist.

Commercial, if your using the word to describe plays like Mauritius, After the Night and the Music, Naked Girl on the Appian Way, Hollywood Arms, Moose Murders, etc... could be interchangeable with mediocre or bad.

Zora Neale Hurston, Suzan-Lori Parks (other than Topdog), Lorraine Hansbury (and not just Raisin), May Miller, Alice Childress, Adrienne Kennedy, and Santha Rama Rau are a few of the non-white playwrights whose work I've read and thought was good enough to be on Broadway.