SAVE OUR STAGES

At the first preview of Parade on Broadway @paradebway and there is a absolutely wild protest outside. Only filmed a second because it was genuinely scary. They were insulting patrons as they walked in. #Parade #Broadway pic.twitter.com/kP3iN3eyGS

— Sean O'Connor (@NewSeanO) February 22, 2023

Not since THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS in 2010, the Musician union’s strike in 2003, Manhattan Theatre Club’s heck of a time trying to produce Terrance McNally’s CORPUS CHRISTI in 1998, and 1991 with MISS SAIGON, had I ever heard of a protest at or near a Broadway show.  This was the first preview week of the highly anticipated revival of PARADE.  It was met with Neo Nazi protesters hurling insults and many unimaginable things at the patrons coming to see the show.  Between theater going audiences and their in house hijinks to actual protesters outside, going to the theater is becoming a dicey choice of entertainment.  I think primarily because it is now being infected with entitlement, a lack of propriety, and the increasing political unrest that this country is currently experiencing. 

What makes this moment crazy is that PARADE is the story of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager living in Georgia in the early 20th century who is falsely accused of murdering a 13-year-old factory worker, Mary Phagan. Because of anti-semitism, he was eventually sentenced to life in prison and then subsequently lynched by an angry white and probably “God-fearing” mob. After Frank's death, it was revealed that Phagan was actually murdered by Jim Conley, another factory worker. Frank has since been exonerated, and the fact that Neo Nazis were protesting a show about a Jewish man wrongly accused, unjustly imprisoned, and lynched by an anti-semitic mob is ironic enough for me.  I wonder if this means that LEOPOLDSTADT, THE WANDERERS, and PICTURES FROM HOME, are going to be beefing up their security efforts, too? 

False convictions, unlawful imprisonment, and death at the hands of police and mobs of white people have been ongoing issues with African-Americans and other people of color in this country since before the time of Leo Frank through today.  Nothing really has changed, except now there is DNA and video evidence that could quickly exonerate someone accused of committing a crime. Although in the hands of a crafty and unscrupulous District Attorney, DNA and video evidence can be ignored, altered,  withheld, or “lost."  Needless to say, the human condition is a never-ending battle of “right vs. wrong”, and everything about this week’s protest is wrong.  

Considering protests and potential mob energy can make any production challenging, the producers, the cast, and crew of PARADE are speaking out and doing everything to ensure the personal safety of those involved. They are only telling a story that is absolutely factual and shows what a violent history this country has had in dealing with issues involving those who are not white, Christian, heterosexual, and male. 

When I lived in Texas, I remember reading about the Miss Saigon protests and the big brouhaha that occurred over having an Eurasian character being played by a very white European actor, Jonathan Pryce.  The show was transferring to Broadway from the West End, and poor Colleen Dewhurst as president of Actors Equity had her hands full trying to manage the political bomb that blew open the door on “nontraditional” casting (thank you, David Henry Hwang and B.D. Wong for that fight) .  In retrospect, that protest really did lead to some major conversations and changes, but profit is ultimately the deciding factor when casting is involved in commercial theater. With a show of hands, who would have liked to have seen Norm Lewis in the lead of the MUSIC MAN, as opposed to Hugh Jackman,  especially if they had left the rest of the cast unbothered? I wonder what kind of protest that would have started. 

The Musician's Strike in 2003 was about getting fair wages for the musicians that literally make it possible for Broadway to actually dance and sing. (Okay, IN TRANSIT is an exception).  The actors and stagehands got together to support the musicians, and some sort of equity was worked out.  However, the protest was about treating artists fairly.  Outside of greedy producers, who would argue against them? 

The protest against the Scottsboro Boys was remarkable to me, because Black and Brown folks were upset that the true drama and tragedy of the Scottsboro Boys were being diminished by using the energy of a minstrel show to tell the story. On the surface, I could understand WHY folks may have felt that way. The history of minstrel shows floats in the same White supremacist pool in which anti-semitism, misogyny, homophobia, and xenophobia swim. Add to that a creative team composed primarily of theatrically accomplished  white people using a Minstrel motif as a storytelling device in today's America, and Voila!  A protest materializes.  

I did not see it that way.  I just remember seeing a great show set in a time that allowed racism to bloom while injustice prevailed. Not to mention, a Broadway stage brimming with people of color always makes me happy.  The protest was more like killing the message and shooting the messenger simultaneously. 

I remember talking to Emmy© Award winning, Tony© Award nominated actor, playwright, director, Colman Domingo.  He was nominated for his role in SCOTTSBORO BOYS.  As the protesters formed outside of the Lyceum theater, he actually offered to pay and have the protesters see what they were protesting, and they refused. Somehow, I do not think that same courtesy will be offered to the Neo Nazi protesters. This does beg the question: how can you protest something that you have not seen?      

Anyhoo, thanks to the First Amendment, our ability to publicly protest issues, no matter how unpopular the reason may seem to those watching the protest or those being protested against, is protected. Considering there’s a war in this country on Critical Race Theory, science, and actual history, it is no wonder that a bunch of ill-informed and ignorant people felt empowered to bring their verbal tiki torches all the way to New York City.  Besides a comedy stage, live theater is one of the last places where the truth can be told, and we as artisans and patrons of the arts better do everything to protect it. If these guys are mad now, then perhaps a revival of THE PRODUCERS will really trigger them .