That’s the ethos at Slave Play, one of the most buzzed-about shows on Broadway. The play, which dissects the legacy of slavery in interracial relationships, has drawn legions of famous fans, from Zendaya to Madonna. Many of them are connected directly to firecracker playwright Jeremy O. Harris, who has become a celebrity in his own right, joining the glitterati at the Met Gala and NYFW.
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Racism and discrimination is not something foreign to the theatre world. The entire play Slave Play discusses this topic. For someone to walk into a theatre and blatantly disrespect common courtesy of a play is rude, whether the person is famous or a typical person. Although it was rude that Rihanna disrespected theatre etiquette, it did spark a quality conversation that should have happened a long time ago. Part of this long needed discussion stems from racism but also from a generational gap. There is a large divide between boomers and millennials in a myriad of topics, theatre being a major one. This can include theatre etiquette or simply the target of a production. This conversation was not started with Rihanna showing up late to a show, nor will it end with it, but it does add fuel to the fire that needs to burn brightly. After reading this article, I now want to see Slave Play to see how important Rihanna is to the production where they would hold the curtain for her.
First of all, I just need to say that I'd hold my wedding for Rihanna. I think what Jeremy O. Harris is completely justifiable, especially since, according to the article, Rihanna inspired him to create "Slave Play". I can see how people would be upset when looking at this situation from a for generalized perspective. People spent a lot of money to see a show, and they sacrificed their time so that they could make it to the theater before the show started. Starting late forces them to sacrifice more time than they planned to. That makes sense, but at the end of the day, it is the playwright's work, and they can extend that work to whichever audience they want. In this case, that audience was Rihanna.
As for the lack of support for black artists in theatre, I acknowledge that that is an issue that people would rather turn a blind eye to rather than fix. Tense race relations are nothing new in this country, and white people in the theatre industry wanting to remove themselves from the situation altogether does not enact change. I can't think of a single conflict in history that was effective because the number of bystanders increased. Theatre is an industry that thrives off of community, so shows such as "Slave Play", which deals with sensitive racial material, must be supported by every race.
As much as Rhianna is an icon, it seems a bit rude to push back the start time of a Broadway show just because a celebrity is arriving late to the show. I also think it is incredibly rude and frustrating that people look at their phones while watching a Broadway show. It is disrespectful to the cast and crew of a production who have worked incredibly hard to look at your phone in a theater. But at the same time if Jeremy O. Harris is okay with Rhianna coming late and texting him during the performance than that’s okay, especially since Rhianna inspired his “Slave Play”. It is also very frustrating that the New York Post was spreading alternative facts about how much money this play has been making. Suggesting that the play is not making money is almost as bad as saying that Black artists do not sell.
As the valume of the play went even louder everyday, it is important for us to think deep in to this sort of phenomenon. Why this play that focus on slaves got so much attention, for better or worse. The second half of the article argued about how racial issue still haunts the industry, such as undermining the sales number for certain people's work. In this context, we can surely see how the play got is justfication of fames and money. Not only we are still facing the same problem occuring between races and classes, in the same manner we are continously playing blind when it's happening around us. I personally have some doubt about how the facts are put in the article, since it seems to be sourced from gossip or unidentified person. However, this would not diminish the fact the industry is treating people differently regarding to standards other than artistic aspect.
I agree with Jillian in the sense that while Rhianna is a super star and an Icon, it was quite rude of Jeremy O.Harris to hold the curtain. Granted if it was for 5 minutes this is not a big deal and I would wait up to 10 minutes for Rihanna. If it was more time then that, its rude to everyone else in the audience. I also don’t agree with taking out cell phones, for me as soon as the glow from screen is active I’m distracted. There should be no reason to be texting during a show. I think it’s not good to be okaying this type of behavior because one thing leads to another and next the whole theater will be using phones during the show. Besides that, I am so excited to see this play. I have read Jeremy’s work before and it is incredible. He had just graduated from Yale in the May and already has a Broadway show opening.
In one hand, If Rihanna was coming to a production she has some part of and was late, I would absolutely hold the curtain for her. But honestly, if Rihanna was coming to anything I was running I would wait for her to begin. I think although I, as others might too, do this without the thought of the rest of the audience we are affecting. It is important, I believe, that it is important for celebrities to be humble and recognize they are simply humans like the rest of us. I do not exactly know how I would react if I were in the audience of that night’s production, if I were to be upset or excited and forgiving to the queen of Fenty. Alas, I do not think I would be raging over the “correct” way to do theatre. I believe theatre, like all art, is always evolving. If everybody believed Baroque was the “correct” way to do music, we would have never evolved as musicians. Most of the music today would not exist. Twelve Tone music was hardly thought of the “correct” was to compose, but pushing the pendulum is the only way to start a conversation and new ideas.
I clicked on this article because I saw Rihanna's name. In the same tone, I first heard about Slave Play when Rihanna went to see it and took a photograph with Jeremy O. Harris. I say that to say, whether her presence was disruptive to the theatre that day and went against proper etiquette or not, it has worked in boosting publicity. She has pulled in at least one new potential fan for Harris in me, and I'm sure others who have become interested in him or Slave Play because of Rihanna's association with them. So maybe sometimes you have to take the good with the bad? I will say, I may be slightly biased here as I am, self proclaimed, Rihanna's number one fan and very obsessed with everything she does so it is hard for me to find faults in anything she does. I know it may sound crazy when I say that I know her (as, personally, I do not), but I know Rihanna and I am 110% sure she meant no harm nor disrespect in picking up her phone and texting him as a form of commenting on his work in awe. I'm sure if she was sitting next to him she would have grabbed a hold of him and expressed herself, but she is the type of person to say what she feels, when she feels it and wants to say it, which happened to be in the moment...during the performance. I'm assuming here, but I am also sure she was against them holding the curtain for her. She is no diva. And whilst the red carpet should always be rolled out at her feet, she does not require it. However, she is a goddess. If Rihanna was coming to see my show, I would hold the curtain until she arrives. If the playwright, cast and the production team were not offended by her texting the playwright and her being late, I think it may be time to let this one go. As I said before, my views may be biased when it comes to Rihanna.
-Apriah
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