Sunday, March 20, 2011
Lessons for ‘Spider-Man’ From the Campaign Trail
NYTimes.com: "It was November 2003 and Senator John Kerry was nervous. Howard Dean, an opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination, had a lead in fund-raising, new endorsements from two major unions, and apparent momentum in Iowa and New Hampshire, where voting was two months away. So Mr. Kerry took one of the few quick actions within his control: He fired his campaign manager, Jim Jordan. The day after, in a five-minute exchange with reporters, Mr. Kerry repeated 10 times that he wanted to “change the dynamics” of the race by overhauling his political strategy.
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It is an interesting connection between political campaigns and theater. True, the removal of a director is a major sign of a floundering production. The director is the main facilitator of concept and design. The only thing I would say is that sometimes the removal of the cause of hemorrhaging can be what saves the show. That is if you remove the right thing, enough of it and in time. However I do not think that this change is going to be enough for the joke that is Spiderman. If anything it just seems like a way to just bring Taymor down further.
I found the observations comparing theatre and campaigning, specifically the press releases, finger-pointing and the horrible gossip, particularly accurate. Slightly terrifying, but accurate, nonetheless. At the same time, I can't help but feel that "firing" Julie Taymor isn't particularly going to save a sinking ship; if, indeed, Spider-Man is sinking. Everyone does love a scapegoat, and there's a large feeling throughout this article that the author feels getting rid of Taymor is no more going to save the production than Clinton firing her campaign advisor saved her campaign. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen perfectly good people or procedures that weren't entirely working completely cut rather than fixed in favor of something new JUST BECAUSE it was new. "The grass is always greener..." I suppose. I'm not suggesting Taymor wasn't a problem with this production; but somehow I suspect her absence isn't suddenly going to save this show.
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