Wednesday, September 30, 2009
‘Hair’ Closes for One Day So Cast Can Attend National Equality March
NYTimes.com: "Playwrights and producers have used scathing commentary, heartbreaking drama and sharp satire to score political points about war, torture, presidents, AIDS, race relations and women’s rights with New York theater audiences. Now the Broadway musical “Hair” is expanding the concept of stage activism by taking to the streets and urging audiences to follow. The producers canceled a Sunday matinee so that the cast and crew could attend and perform at a march for gay rights in Washington on Oct. 11."
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8 comments:
this is amazing that a broadway show just will cancel one of there shows to go to a march. i have never heard of a show just canceling a sunday show to go do a public thing. the show will louse a lot of money do this but i think that this will be a great stamen showing that they support this. this will be great publicly for the march and a lot more people will then come to the march because the cast of Hair will be there performing and people will wont to see them perform for free. so this is great this is doing this.
Not only is this a great message to the community, but it's also a great PR move. Of course it's the broadway show "Hair" that goes to an Equality March. I think it's great that the cast has come together to march and are willing to continue working for 16 days straight. The show members are showing that they can send a message on stage, as well as on the streets. That's dedication to the cause.
I thought this story was great. We, as artists, constantly do work that has a message or exists to give a voice to a specific theme/cause etc. This is an opportunity to actually affect a specific situation. Instead of telling a story these actors are getting a chance to be in the story which I think is fantastic. Good for the shows producers for caring enough to take a hit financially in order to make a stand. Go Hair!
Is this a PR move to keep audience attention on this award winning production. Sure they are from "Hair" and doing something for a good cause but no one else is doing this. Just the cast of "Hair" which kind of angers me. Would these cast members be doing this if they were not apart of "hair"? I think not. This is just a publicity move to make the show stay in the headlines and on paper.
Although I attack their motives, they are still doing something good for a great cause. I agree with Ariel, they are sending a great message onstage and in the show.
Production Contract shows on Broadway raising money and/or supporting causes should become common practice. Yes, the producers are in a business to make money, and often the "art" is a fortunate byproduct, but there are a number of shows playing in New York and touring right now that have strong social commentaries and could have a greater humanitarian benefit. Even "Avenue Q", a comedy dealing with social concerns passes around buckets at the end of each show for donations. "Rent" often raises money for AIDS research. The significance of canceling a show on Broadway is profound and, as demonstrated by the stagehand union strike a few years back, can attract quite a bit of press, not only for the cause, but for the production. You may lose a day's worth of sales, but will likely recoup that in free marketing associated with the event.
It is great that the cast of Hair is supporting such a great cause. It's also nice that the management allowed this, although it shows that it can't hurt to ask. I disagree with Bryce that this is a publicity stunt for Hair to get more attention. Although it gives Hair some press, I'm much more a fan that it gives the Equality March such great publicity. This makes me wonder if Rent were still running whether their cast would do a similar thing.
This is so inspiring. Although this decision cost them a lot of money, such a large group in such a public position in the city will draw even more attention to the march and the energy will increase dramatically. However, the audience that Hair attracts probably does not need much convincing when it comes to issues of gay rights. It would be even more amazing if the cast of a show that generally attracted a more conservative audience cancelled a performance to march for gay rights.
This is nice to hear. I'm glad that even on broadway, theatre artists understand that they are just that-- artists. Broadways always seemed so obsessed with making money and selling tickets that I often feel turned off from those productions all together. It's nice to see that someone still realizes that as artists it is our job to help change the world we live in, and this is a great way to do it.
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