Friday, February 28, 2020
'That's Rock 'n' Roll!' Get Inside Madison Square Garden as 18,000 Students Cheer on To Kill a Mockingbird
Broadway Buzz | Broadway.com: The roar of the 18,000-member crowd as the players took their places at Madison Square Garden was enough to knock you back. But this wasn’t a Knicks game; this was an audience of New York City public school students cheering for a play. Madison Square Garden—known more for concerts and sporting events than theater—presented its first-ever play on February 26. Students from across New York City’s five boroughs assembled for a free performance of Broadway's best-selling To Kill a Mockingbird.
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7 comments:
It is crazy the ways in which venues alter the reception of the entertainment we are witnessing. I went to a concert for one of my favorite bands in a gym of a small college in Pittsburgh. Their music is slower and has more hints of indie/folk, and even then the concert felt out of place with the visible basketball goals and advertisements on the wall. While To Kill a Mockingbird is a play that is worthy of abundant cheers from the audience, especially in the context of today’s social climate, I can only imagine that the air of Madison Square Garden provoked those cheers. What an amazing moment it must have been for the “curtain” of such a beloved story to open in one of the world’s most beloved stadiums. The fact that the audience was composed of high school students makes it even more captivating; this story is fresh in most of their minds. I say “most” because it is a banned book, so this performance of it to such a large audience of kids who otherwise would never read it (in an educational setting) is incredible.
This was an extremely special opportunity that was put on for students in New York City, and such an important story to tell to these kids. We’ve been learning a lot in school about why theatre is made, and why it is made when it’s made—what about the times calls for that particular story to be told. Reading Bill de Blasio’s pre-show speech made me cry, hearing him tell the young people in the audience that they have the agency to make change in the world and be voices of reason is so deeply powerful, and it’s so important to instill that philosophy in children. For Spike Lee to also send the message to these kids to follow their artistic dreams is important, especially when you hear stories of arts programs being cut from schools, these kids need support because as they were seeing before their eyes, art has the power to create change and put powerful messages into the world. I can imagine that it was an experience like no other for the actors to perform in that arena, knowing the impact that they were leaving on the students, being watched by 18 thousand instead of 1. I know for a fact that this event was a success, especially in reading how drawn in the students were with their reactions to the story. Reading that some kids signed “thank you” when Boo Radley exited made me cry again. And the fact that this event was free to the kids really shows me that the intention was based in exposure in education, and not a money-making scheme, which I’m extremely thankful for. I hope this becomes a repeated event, with important stories for young people to know.
I really love this concept. Bringing students to the arts is vital because many of them would not go be exposed to it on their own. Personally, I saw my first Broadway production in Madison Square Garden (Annie), and while it is definitely not the same as the theatre experience, it is exciting to be with such a large crowd of people. The added technical element definitely adds to the vibrant stadium experience. One thing I do wonder is if this takes away from the intimacy of the staged production. Theatre etiquette perscribes to the notion that audiences should not make vocal reactions (aside from maybe laughter). The elements of TKM in Madison Square Park encourages a kind of rowdiness that was interpreted as positive, but it's definitely an adjustment from the what the cast is used to. Regardless, I would have loved to experienced a show like this, especially with my school.
Rethinking the way we present media to students is so important in a time where kids have a screen in their pocket at all times. Watching the play brings energy and excitement to an educational text. Even in the college environment, this style of learning is encouraged. For instance in Musical Theatre history instead of reading a musical, we are assigned a filmed production or a movie adaptation. This allows you to see a work in a way that is most associated with entertainment and you are looking at the work from a viewer's perspective, not an academic one. Bring on the academics after you have taken in the work. This production also represents bringing a new style of performance forward with the goal of accessibility for all. I started this comment a week ago and I have found myself bringing up this performance surprisingly often. It simply amazes me. I hope to see more things like this in the future.
Growing up - at least in my school district - there were many chances for school aged children in Houston to experience the arts through their schools. Ballet, opera, and even some touring Broadway shows were made available to students of a young age at most Houston-area schools. I think that opportunities such as these and the event that To Kill a Mockingbird hosted are integral to childhood development, especially for those children who would not otherwise have a means to watch these types of productions. I think we have been talking a lot recently - both in and outside of class - about the timeliness of shows or pieces of work and how they were relevant when they were written but tend to carry their relevance into today. This production of “To Kill a Mockingbird” certainly helps to do that and, by making it accessible to thousands upon thousands of the next generation, they are encouraging the spread of ideas that the show sought to impress.
I remember reading about this back when it was happening and it seemed like such a great idea! I read To Kill a Mockingbird back in seventh grade like I’m sure a lot of people on this blog did. It is a pretty fundamental piece of our middle and high school educations and it teaches a lot of really great lessons that we all take with us for the rest of our lives. Being able to see this in person was probably such a great experience for all of the students of the New York public schools. Like the article mentions, this was probably a lot of their first experiences with professional theatre. While it was quite different from the typical theatre experience on broadway, they were all still presented with all of the same quality of the broadway theatre just in a much bigger space. I love all of these organizations trying as hard as they can to make this really expensive industry into something that is accessible to people from all different backgrounds.
I remember reading about this back when it was happening and it seemed like such a great idea! I read To Kill a Mockingbird back in seventh grade like I’m sure a lot of people on this blog did. It is a pretty fundamental piece of our middle and high school educations and it teaches a lot of really great lessons that we all take with us for the rest of our lives. Being able to see this in person was probably such a great experience for all of the students of the New York public schools. Like the article mentions, this was probably a lot of their first experiences with professional theatre. While it was quite different from the typical theatre experience on broadway, they were all still presented with all of the same quality of the broadway theatre just in a much bigger space. I love all of these organizations trying as hard as they can to make this really expensive industry into something that is accessible to people from all different backgrounds.
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