The New York Times: When it was announced that Zachary Noah Piser would be playing the lead role in “Tiananmen: A New Musical,” he happened to be on a concert tour of five Chinese cities with a group of Broadway actors.
One day later, Piser, who played the title role in “Dear Evan Hansen” on Broadway last year, posted a short statement on Instagram, where most of his posts are bright and colorful.
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This article proves how important our art of theater is. It is not just something fun we do because it’s pretty or sounds nice. Theater can be therapy for some, a way to process traumatic events. Yes, it can often be an escape, but it can also spread awareness of social issues. And it can be dangerous. This situation also cements how lucky we are to have the freedom to produce the art we want, no matter the subject. It’s terrifying for those involved in the show who have to worry about the safety of their families and relatives in China simply for participating in a musical about a historical event. It’s even more sad for those that had to drop out because of that very real threat. It’s difficult to realize that the freedom to produce art that we take for granted isn’t a world-wide freedom, and it makes me feel lucky to be here. I admire everyone in the production and hope it reaches a wider audience and opens the eyes of those in China who may not know of the event.
It is very rare that I ever feel patriotic. I don't think it has happened in the last ten years. But while I can’t say that this article made me feel love and admiration for the United States government, it did remind me that I have the right to type this on my computer. I have never had to wonder if the art I am doing will have repercussions, well at least repercussions directly from the government. I do not pretend to know the details of the power dynamics between China's government and its people but the little that I do know shows me that the fear these actors and producers express when putting on this show is real. I don’t pretend that my government doesn't censor information, I am not that naive. But it is stories like this that remind me to be thankful for the little we do have and to use that power to put on shows like this. I wish this cast and crew the best of luck telling the story and if it wasn’t a regional production I would go and see it.
Shows like this are always special, both about how they bring attention to these more taboo topics that are not as well known, but also the risk that they’re taking to produce this show. As people have mentioned in this article, how their families might face retaliation for them being in the show. I respect Zachary Noah Piser’s decision to be in the show in the first place, but also reaped his decision to remove himself from the show. As someone from China, I know the amount of censorship that the Chinese government has on many more sensitive topics. Even during Covid, the government would not tell the citizens a lot of vital information, and we were constantly living in doubt, and we didn’t know how bad the situation was, and we only heard stories from people sharing on social media. I fully agree that the Chinese government is always censoring things, and there are many topics that are very sensitive to talk about, but as we move forward, I think we should be able to address these topics more openly.
Theater really is an influential thing, it provokes ideas and can spread social awareness, in this case, with the Chinese government, it shines a light on the importance of good leadership and governmental systems. It made me think about the United States, and although it is so far from perfect, it is admirable the amount of freedom we have here. Some states are trying to revert to an older-fashioned ruling style, but the amount of individual freedoms we have seems huge compared to China. Government censorship truly violates people's freedoms and I think it affects creativity in a detrimental way. As an artist, I couldn't imagine having to work within borders when making art. Art is an expression, how could that be restrained? I wonder how it changes what art is made. Does it become more aggressive and targeted– having a similar message? Or is it just less effective, because of the limitations?
I found this article to be an important reflection on the arts and culture's effects on politics and society. While a musical may seem harmless, in the eyes of the Chinese government, it has the potential to spread information and alter people's lines of thinking about the Tiananmen musical. In the same way that books are being banned across the US, theater also poses a censorship threat. I’m curious about how the musical and specifically director are going to move forward in ensuring that the actors feel safe and comfortable. Having a rehearsal room that allows for comfort and creativity is vital in the production of a new musical. My fear with the underlying threat surrounding this musical is that actors won’t feel safe to fully explore the complexities of this plot. I am in no way saying that this should be the reason for this musical not to continue, but am just trying to highlight a future issue that could arise.
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