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| re: Downstate - Transfer? (spoilers) | |
| Posted by: mikem 10:09 am EDT 06/02/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Downstate - Transfer? - Shutterbug 02:48 am EDT 06/02/23 | |
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| Sadly, I think it's extremely unlikely that a commercial run for Downstate would pay off financially, although there are producers who believe in the material and move forward with a Broadway run with their eyes wide open about that (although this doesn't seem to be happening that much nowadays). (spoilers) This seems a natural for a non-profit, except that I think a Broadway run might get tied up in protests and controversy, and a non-profit may not think it's worth it. There are aspects that might cause a social media firestorm: the idea that child abusers have humanity, and that Andy, the man molested by his piano teacher, may be misremembering (which is counter to the idea that one should always believe the victim). I think that the direction also has Andy be the object of a little bit of derision by the audience at some points, and I think he gets more audience derision than the abusers do. Many of these aspects increase the richness of the play IMO, but there are hothead types who would not agree... I'm still hoping for a Broadway run for A Case for the Existence of God with the original actors. It's a relatively inexpensive show to put on that wouldn't be controversial, but sadly I think that if that were happening, it would have been announced by now. |
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| re: Downstate - Transfer? (spoilers) | |
| Last Edit: Shutterbug 07:22 pm EDT 06/02/23 | |
| Posted by: Shutterbug 07:15 pm EDT 06/02/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Downstate - Transfer? (spoilers) - mikem 10:09 am EDT 06/02/23 | |
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| Thanks, mikem, for your thoughtful response. I agree with all that you wrote but wonder if any controversy that occurs might bring even greater attention to the play. A wider group of people, including those less plugged into the world of theater, might become aware of the play. I guess I’m suggesting that any resulting controversy might not be bad for the play. The play is quite, literally, a stunner. The characters and situations are written and performed with so much depth and complexity, by the end I felt like my world had been upended. You think you know how you might feel towards these men, but the play completely subverts your expectations. The ending - although I saw it coming - still took my breath away. It was staged so viscerally. In addition to the primary focus on the ramifications child sexual abuse, this play also exposes issues around class and race, power and authority, memory and its failure. It has so many layers. A Case For the Existence of God is another play I really enjoyed, but it didn’t have the same impact, for me, as Downstate. Lovely direction and effective lighting design as well as two wonderful central performances in that one. If either or both transferred I would see them again. |
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