Friday, April 23, 2010
Broadway has a new play about Enron. Where's the one about Madoff?
Slate Magazine: The plot of an engaging play debuting on Broadway this week is ripped straight from the Wall Street Journal. In the opening scene, high-living finance types celebrate an accounting technique that promises to make their business a fortune. There are off-balance-sheets, conflicts of interest, credulous Wall Street analysts, a hands-off CEO, and a dorky, greasy-haired finance jockey who becomes a buff stud before crashing. When they're not screwing each other, the venal, vain executives are screwing over shareholders.
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2 comments:
This article points to an interesting issue. The lengthy process that brings a play from a script to a full scale broadway production takes a very long time in today's world where most media develops by the minute. As great as it is for broadway to be presenting modern commentary, it would be really nice if it was a more timely forum. Certainly more timely plays exist about the financial crisis, but it will take them a while to get this sort of press coverage, and even then, they only will if someone thinks they are financially viable.
While the idea of an Enron play is amusing, especially since the actual Eron was in some ways the early warning about the upcoming finacial pit America has found itself in. The play just seems to be coming about too late. I get that the process of turning idea into theatrical performance is a long one, but the fact that this play is only seeing day nine years after the events that inspired might indicate that this is an idea better left to TV and movies since they seem to be able to mobilize faster and take advantage of more current events.
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