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Thursday, August 22, 2019
Who Calls the Shots on Broadway? She Does
The New York Times: After the talk of taxi ads and touring, what to do about scalpers and what’s up with the cast recording and how much will the investors be repaid, the conversation turned, improbably, to artificial flowers.
Broadway has traditionally been a boys town, and even more so on a general management and producing standpoint. This article provides some pretty interesting perspectives on this industry as a whole, considering that having female presence in the producing office is a relatively new thing. As the role of producer is changing day by day in the theatrical world from less of a person just funding a project and more into a creative who approves and suggests daring choices that revolutionize the way theatre is portrayed and how art aligns with the rest of the world, its highly imperative to have diversity of all kinds in roles like that. What I found to be one of the most poignant parts of this article, is when she talks about how every accomplishment starts feeling like a pat on the back rather than a genuine appreciation for the work she does, yes it's breaking barriers and thats something to be celebrated, but the idea of having women in these roles isn't the same as a newborn first learning how to walk- women have been able to produce all this time.
I really enjoy hearing about women rising to upper levels of management. I particularly like hearing about how these incredible women have had a hand in Broadway shows like “Hadestown”, the most recent revival of “Oklahoma!”, and “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” which have recently gained wide spread acclaim. So often we get bogged down with the gender disparity when it comes to upper management in the theatre world, but this article really highlights the strengths that women are bringing to the table and how they are aware of making sure that there is equality. Additionally, the connection between nonprofit and commercial sectors of theatre are ones that I hadn’t necessarily thought about before, but after reading this article and putting thought to it, am realizing how interconnected all aspects and types of theatre really are woven together. I think there is something to be said about how strong the ties are within the theatrical community, and how once you enter one part of the industry you can float between different areas and be connected to multiple different sections all at the same time.
2 comments:
Broadway has traditionally been a boys town, and even more so on a general management and producing standpoint. This article provides some pretty interesting perspectives on this industry as a whole, considering that having female presence in the producing office is a relatively new thing. As the role of producer is changing day by day in the theatrical world from less of a person just funding a project and more into a creative who approves and suggests daring choices that revolutionize the way theatre is portrayed and how art aligns with the rest of the world, its highly imperative to have diversity of all kinds in roles like that. What I found to be one of the most poignant parts of this article, is when she talks about how every accomplishment starts feeling like a pat on the back rather than a genuine appreciation for the work she does, yes it's breaking barriers and thats something to be celebrated, but the idea of having women in these roles isn't the same as a newborn first learning how to walk- women have been able to produce all this time.
I really enjoy hearing about women rising to upper levels of management. I particularly like hearing about how these incredible women have had a hand in Broadway shows like “Hadestown”, the most recent revival of “Oklahoma!”, and “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” which have recently gained wide spread acclaim. So often we get bogged down with the gender disparity when it comes to upper management in the theatre world, but this article really highlights the strengths that women are bringing to the table and how they are aware of making sure that there is equality. Additionally, the connection between nonprofit and commercial sectors of theatre are ones that I hadn’t necessarily thought about before, but after reading this article and putting thought to it, am realizing how interconnected all aspects and types of theatre really are woven together. I think there is something to be said about how strong the ties are within the theatrical community, and how once you enter one part of the industry you can float between different areas and be connected to multiple different sections all at the same time.
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