THE CULTURE WARS IN THEATRE EDUCATION
Plus, your weekly round-up of theatre news you may have missed!
Welcome to The Scene, your weekly round-up of theatre news you may have missed. In this week’s email:
THE BIG IDEA: The Culture Wars Heating Up in Theatre Education
THE BROADWAY BEAT: The passing of Broadway legend Angela Lansbury, ‘A Strange Loop’ announces Broadway closing date, and ‘Death of a Salesman’ opens!
TIPS, LISTS, LINKS & RESOURCES: 28 Theater books for your fall reading list, Jobs for Drama Graduates, and the official trailer for the upcoming Netflix production of ‘Matilda the Musical.’
SHOWS YOU SHOULD KNOW: The Broadway Shows of Angela Lansbury
THE CULTURE WARS IN THEATRE EDUCATION
In this hyper-politicized climate, it can feel like each week a new controversy erupts over how race and gender are tackled in schools. With each new controversy, the tightrope around what teachers can and can’t discuss about LGBTQ+, Black, and Indigenous people become even smaller. Two recent national news stories caught our attention because they put theatre programs at the heart of the controversy.
It was reported that a high school in Newton, Massachusetts was hit with a federal civil rights complaint after the school’s Theatre Ink program announced they were putting on a production titled "Lost and Found: Stories of People of Color by People of Color.” The complaint, made by a national advocacy group, on behalf of a mother within the district began after this mother reached out about the production, telling the group she was distressed over how "very clearly" it was spelled out that only students of color were welcome to participate. The complaint states the school is in violation of both Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. The district denies these allegations.
Then the following day, The Daily Beast published a story titled “How a High School Production of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Erupted Into an Ugly Culture War.” The story details how a gender-neutral production of Jesus Christ Superstar, slated to be presented at a North Carolina High School, came under fire after the program announced on its Instagram page, along with the image of the school’s logo in rainbow colors, that “We have officially received the rights to produce an all-gender cast [Jesus Christ Superstar] where anyone can play any role.” The backlash to the announcement has “ripped a North Carolina town apart, with critics blasting it for peddling a so-called LGBTQ+ agenda—and students countering that their outrage is just the tip of an anti-trans, homophobic iceberg.”
These stories highlight just a couple of the many challenges currently facing theatre teachers across the country. These issues impact an ongoing changing landscape, affecting everything from show selection to casting to community involvement. These issues also raise other questions, such as how are Theatre programs, usually considered a safe space for diverse groups within a school, impacted by the direction to stay neutral? How can any theatre program succeed when it’s forced to deny or ignore truth? What impact will today’s culture wars have on the next generation of theatre artists? There is no easy answer to any of these questions. No one-size-fits-all solution, but there are resources that can help.
The Dramatists Guild Legal Defense Fund has created a downloadable Toolkit for Producing Stage Works on College Campuses in Turbulent Times. While this toolkit was designed for college theatre programs, the resources and information presented are helpful to any educator, at any grade level, producing theatre. Click on the toolkit title above to be linked to the Dramatists Guild Legal Defense page to download your copy of the toolkit today.
CALLING ALL THEATRE FANATICS!
Are you first in line at the box office when Hamilton comes to town? Did you fangirl over Six before it transferred to the US? Become a reviewer for The Scene!
We’re looking for knowledgeable and personable HS and MS theatre teachers to join us in reviewing Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional productions. To apply: send us a 2-minute video telling us why you’re a good fit and what theatre means to you as an educator.
Selected educators will receive 2 free tickets to shows in their area.
THE BROADWAY BEAT
Catch up on the major stories coming out of Broadway.
BROADWAY LEGEND ANGELA LANSBURY HAS DIED - The six-time Tony honoree and Broadway legend passed away October 11 at age 96
ANGELA LANSBURY - A CAREER IN PHOTOS - Check out production photos and Playbill covers from Angela Lansbury’s decades-long career
A STRANGE LOOP ANNOUNCES BROADWAY CLOSING DATE - The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical will play its final performance in January 2023
DEATH OF A SALESMAN OPENS ON BROADWAY - Check out the reviews of this Arthur Miller classic, told for the first time on Broadway from the perspective of a Black family.
THE SCENE WAS AT LAST WEEK’S OPENING OF DEATH OF A SALESMAN
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TIPS, LISTS, LINKS, AND RESOURCES
28 THEATRE BOOKS FOR YOUR FALL 2022 READING (AND LISTENING) LIST - From theatre biographies to theatre fiction; theatre books for kids to theatre history check out this list!
JOBS FOR DRAMA GRADUATES: WHAT CAN I DO WITH A PERFORMING ARTS DEGREE? - Check out this great article from Backstage that can help answer the question
CHECK OUT THE OFFICIAL TRAILER FOR THE UPCOMING NETFLIX PRODUCTION OF MATILDA THE MUSICAL
SHOWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
To celebrate the life of a Broadway Legend, this week in Shows You Should Know, we cover the Broadway career of Angela Lansbury. Listed here are all the Broadway shows, in chronological order, that Angela Lansbury appeared in. The dates listed are the original production dates. Click on each title to learn more.
Hotel Paradiso by Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallierès; (Apr 11, 1957 - Jul 13, 1957)
A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney; (Oct 04, 1960 - Sep 09, 1961)
Anyone Can Whistle by Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim; (Apr 04, 1964 - Apr 11, 1964)
Mame by Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee, and Jerry Herman; (May 24, 1966 - Jan 03, 1970)
Dear World by Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee, and Jerry Herman (Feb 06, 1969 - May 31, 1969)
Gypsy by Arthur Laurents, Jule Styne, and Stephen Sondheim; (Sep 23, 1974 - Jan 04, 1975)
The King and I by Richard Rodgers, and Oscar Hammerstein II; (May 02, 1977 - Dec 30, 1978)
Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler; (Mar 01, 1979 - Jun 29, 1980)
A Little Family Business by Jay Presson Allen; (Dec 15, 1982 - Dec 26, 1982)
Mame by Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee, and Jerry Herman; (Jul 24, 1983 - Aug 28, 1983)
Deuce by Terrence McNally; (May 06, 2007 - Aug 19, 2007)
Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward; (Mar 15, 2009 - Jul 19, 2009)
A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler; (Dec 13, 2009 - Jan 09, 2011)
Gore Vidal's The Best Man by Gore Vidal; (Apr 01, 2012 - Sep 09, 2012)