Who controls the story?
The final year-end wrap-up wrap-up
Last week on News and Notes, we kicked things off with a jaunt through the local media's "year-in-review" articles. Once upon a time, these would have been "Top Ten" lists that spelled out exactly what you were supposed to love with numerical authority; but, with the the creeping anarchic influence of the internet seeping into every pore of the media, it looks like "Top Ten" is dying out. Since last week, more articles reviewing the year in Twin Cities theater have leaked out, and not a one of them has the dreaded number 10 anywhere.
l'etoile kicked things into high gear with their annual "A Few of Our Favorite Things" best-of-the-arts list, this year naming Walking Shadow Theatre Company their "Company of the Year". (As the leader of last year's Company of the Year, I feel like I should be doing some ceremonial hand-over of a trophy, preferably one that can also double as an alcohol container.
City Pages tickled my grinchy little heart by being the only local publication to not only say what it loved about 2015 theater, but to also have the balls to name the worst of 2015 theater. To Ed Huyck, I say "Bravo, sir!"
If you you're put off by that judginess, then you should turn your eyes instead to the blog Cherry and Spoon. Jill's year-end wrap-up consists of a list of theater things to be thankful for, which, once again, proves the indomitable generosity of spirit from one of the Twin Cites' most avid-theater goers.
But, if you want to be boring and just recap the year in arts without passing judgement on anyone's shows, I guess you could look at MPR's year-end wrap up. I mean, if you just want to know what happened without being told how to think about it.
Actor v. Director
When we last met here in 2015 (my god, doesn't that seem so quaint now that we live in the far-flung future of 2016?), I listed five topics that I was sure that we'd still be talking about this year. My recollection is hazy now, what with 2015 being so long ago, but I believe that one of the entries I included on that list was "Diversity". (I think that another one was "Bacon". Was that right? I feel like that was right, but time has obscured so many things since that bygone year. There have been so many breakfasts since then…) It was the one thing that I ended up writing about more than anything else in 2015, so it's only fitting that the first big theater story coming out of the gate for 2016 should fall right into that wheelhouse and then squirt right back out of it again and land, well… somewhere. I think. Listen, we, the chattering classes, are still arguing over what exactly it means, per se, but we're pretty sure it means something. I think.
Wait, I should probably explain what the hell I'm talking about. Yeah, let's do that.
A while back, Classic Stage Company, an off-Broadway company in New York, decided to stage an updated version of Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children. It would be taken out of Brecht's original staging in the 17th century 30 Years' War and updated to the present day Republic of Congo. They recruited Duncan Sheik, Tony-award-winning composer for Spring Awakening, to recompose Brecht's original songs, and even nailed down legendary Tony-award-winning actor Tonya Pinkins, who has also been nominated for just about every acting award you can think of (even the coveted Soap Opera Digest Awards). All of this would happen under the direction of CSC's outgoing Artistic Director, the much-respected Brian Kulick. Updating a classic, making it less snowy white and euro-centric, applying it to an ongoing concern, with some heavy-hitting, proven talent. Sounds like a winner, right?
Well, since this is the theater world, ladies and gentlemen, step right up and watch it implode before your very eyes!
Last week, Pinkins quietly quit the show before its official January 7 opening (though it has actually been in previews since December 9). She hinted that she had a prepared statement, but that her lawyer had advised against her releasing it. Director Kulick likewise declined to comment on the situation, hinting at your typical "creative differences" situation.
It was all something that would have probably disappeared into the typical churn of New York theater, except that, all of a sudden, almost simultaneously, defiant statements from both Pinkins and Kulick were released to the press. (It was later revealed that statements sent to the Associated Press were both edited before release; Playbill was able to get the full, unedited, statements)
From Pinkins' perspective, we have a situation where a white man was misappropriating a black story, refusing to listen to the black woman involved in creating that story and bending both into accord with his own white viewpoint. From Kulick's perspective, we have a demanding actor who tried to direct the show, refused to work with her director on finding common ground and then dropped out anyway at the last second, leaving everyone else in a lurch. Pinkins has started the #blackperspectivesmatter hashtag to explore systemic racism in the performing arts industries. Others have accused Pinkins of being a narcissist who has a history of trying to bully her way into controlling the show.
This situation raises a lot of questions about truth and representation in race on stage, on the roles of the director and actor, on access to power and on just who gets to tell what story. Notice how I'm talking about how "this raises questions"? It's an old media trick that means I have no real answers for you; which ultimately means it's time to go to the opinionating!
Michael Potts, a fellow cast member in Mother Courage has been vocal on the face books in defending Kulick and CSC in this matter, saying that while he agrees with the concept of #blackperspectivesmatter, he finds everything Pinkins has said about this particular production to be "pure hyperbole."
Playwright and activist Larry Kramer has taken Kulick to task for cutting up the script, saying "doing productions of shakespeare or opera classics in modern settings does not allow for editing out an hour of text." (Which means that Kramer must be reeeeeallly angry at the whole theater world by now)
And then American Theatre Magazine totally scored a juicy interview with composer Duncan Sheik finally getting the all-important insider perspective of a guy who wasn't in the rehearsal room at all: "It’s the theatre, so there’s a little bit of drama."
At least, though, this production will be shut down for a bit while everyone carefully reconsiders their positions and perhaps comes to some new level of enlightenment after truly hearing what their opponents are… oh, what's that? The show has already been recast and will only open two days later than originally planned?
So, after all that, all we have is that everyone's angry and nothing has changed? Status quo achieved.
Hey, here's some fun stuff
So, this week's article was mostly about that one story. You know, the one above this section that you sort of skimmed through, because it looked really long. Here are some other interesting things that fell into my lap this week:
(1) President Obama recently signed the Every Student Succeeds Act, throwing out No Child Left Behind and ushering us into a new American educational paradigm that's either just super peachy-keen and will fix just everything or empty gesturing that solves nothing. Either way, it somehow prompted someone at Odyssey to write an article on why theater should be a core subject in school.
(2) Have you listened to the Hamilton cast recording yet? It's pretty awesome, right? Want to see a conservative writer respond to it and twist himself up in knots trying not to like it (even though he clearly does)?
(3) Get your turnbuckles tightened and your speedos even tighter: here's what theater can learn from the world of professional wrestling. (Besides rampant steroid abuse and terrible labor practices.)
(4) Two actors in the Broadway production of Wicked got engaged on stage recently while still in costume. See? This is what the "values voters" warned us about. First we let the gays marry. Now we have to let the flying monkeys marry.
(5) Minnesota Playlist's 2nd Winter Bash is still steaming ahead on schedule. Something new has been added: an award for "Unsung Heroes of the local Theater scene." Perhaps you should be there to find out what that's all about.
