AMERICAN THEATRE: You don’t have to convince a queer child to go into the theatre. And if they are fortunate enough to find it, most refuse to leave. The compelling stories of two gay Jewish boys who made a life for themselves in the theatre are chronicled in the new memoirs On the Boardwalk by Martin Sherman, author of the groundbreaking play Bent, and Theater Kid, A Broadway Memoir by Jeffrey Seller, producer of the landmark musicals Rent and Hamilton.
5 comments:
Immediately this article had me hooked from its opening line: "You don’t have to convince a queer child to go into the theatre.” I often think it’s so unfortunate that so many people in theatre will never be talked about even though they have such incredible impacts on the industry. Playwright Martin Sherman and producer Jeffrey Seller are the definition of perseverance. They’ve both gone through so much in their lives, but found a light and path through theatre that has helped them be a part of the creation of countless iconic Broadway productions. In learning about these two, I’ve come to understand why an art such as theatre attracts so many persevering people. They feel a need to create and be a part of something which allows people to experience and feel impacted by art. A lot of it is entirely selfless too, as figures such as these two aren’t necessarily known or showcased by many. I’m definitely interested in reading more about Seller particularly in his memoir titled “Theatre Kid: A Broadway Memoir”.
Rent and Hamilton are two musicals that have shaped the landscape of how we view theater and were groundbreaking in terms of how we talk about and reframe social issues. I loved listening to Rent and watching the Hamilton proshot when it came out and it showed me how theater can transform and respond to audiences in new, innovative, and exciting ways. The stripped back, almost industrial vibes to both help lead to the human experience of the characters and the stories they are telling shine that much brighter. I am glad that Sherman and Seller were able to find their own voices in the theater world and I hope they continue to find success in their future projects and allow for more interesting and needed stories to be told. Their memoirs both sound very interesting and I think it would be fascinating to take some time to read through them and hear from veteran theater makers perspectives on theater making right now.
This article was super cool to read and I very much enjoyed it. I find it super interesting to see how different people got into theater. Being in theater the way that I am, most of my friends are also deeply committed to theater, but often for all sorts of different reasons. Some people have been doing it their whole lives because their parents are in theater, and some people walked into the wrong room after school during their freshman year of highschool, got given a task and then never looked back. Other people watched a show once and got inspired, or loved to read and discovered theater through reading shakespeare. Regardless of how we all got into theater though, we're united by our love for the craft, and the creation of art which I think is very cool. To connect with other people through the storytelling of theater is an incredibly human instinct.
What I liked about this article is how real it felt when looking at the early lives of Martin Sherman and Jeffrey Seller. Both of them grew up in homes that were not easy, Sherman dealing with a father who had mental health struggles and a mother who was distant, and Seller raised in poverty in Michigan with a lot of instability around him. What stuck with me is how theatre became their way of making sense of the world and a way to build a future when there was not much certainty at home. It shows how being creative is not just about talent but also about pushing through rejection, trusting your instincts, and turning personal chaos into art. I thought it was powerful that the article did not sugarcoat their experiences but let the complications and setbacks stay in the story. It made their success feel less like a straight line and more like something they fought for piece by piece which makes their voices and contributions to theatre even more meaningful.
This was such an interesting article to read, both of their lives are so interesting. I feel like there’s a clear pattern to the kind of people who work in theater; there’s a search for a certain kind of connection that you only really see here. Theater is weird. We’re the silly outcasts, who don’t fit into traditional worlds so we create our own. Both of them faced hardships and certain life experiences that lead them to craving a certain outlet for community that theatrical work happens to be really good for. I believe wholeheartedly that theater exists to share empathy, to tell stories and develop relationships with both characters and the artists. Queer kids are drawn to the theater often, and I think a large part of this is the lack of other communities for queer folk- so of course, theater is quite appealing; to see so many other people who don’t conform to social standards in the same ways you don’t. I’m very interested in learning more about both of their stories, I love so much to hear anecdotes about why people love theater, it’s so interesting because it always leads back to the same thing; community.
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