| re: It's not a question of happy endings... | |
| Last Edit: Chromolume 01:33 pm EDT 10/30/17 | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 01:31 pm EDT 10/30/17 | |
| In reply to: It's not a question of happy endings... - GrumpyMorningBoy 11:42 am EDT 10/30/17 | |
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| I would propose one reason for the way gays - and all minorities - tend to be portrayed at this stage of the game - and I think it's because we're still at a place where somehow writers feel that overtly celebrating those lifestyles or ethnicities is still needed. Much as I don't like the stereotyping in La Cage, I do appreciate that, in its time, it was an earnest attempt to celebrate aspects of the gay lifestyle onstage, in a way it rarely was at all at the time. But indeed, when will we see a show which has a large cast of gay characters where gayness is not part of the plot? (Even Zanna Don't doesn't quite do that, lol, even in turning the tables.) As much as we should be eternally grateful for August Wilson, for Ain't Misbehavin' (which I consider the king of all musical revues), for shows like Ragtime and Show Boat, for Porgy And Bess, etc - but when will a writer be brave enough to write about black characters without it being about black issues? The same for shows like in The Heights, Pacific Overtures, Allegiance and even Bombay Dreams? We want to celebrate what those shows offer, of course - but could someone have a successful musical that featured an all-Asian cast but had nothing to do with Asians per se? Are we ready for that yet? I think that most people would feel we're not ready for that. That we need more shows that focus on diversity/ethnicity/alternate lifestyles, because we haven't seen enough of them yet. It may be a long time before gay characters who aren't being emphasized as gay will be the norm. As is every conversation about diversity/visibility in theatre, it's not an easy conversation, and there's no easy (or single) answer. But it's important as hell to keep having the discussion. |
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