Can a Broadway performer criticize their own show? (Don't Miss Today's Weekly Blast)1776 cast member calls the show a "relic"; gives only "75 percent"
Here is a FREE preview issue of The Broadway Maven’s Weekly Blast. The full paid version is $5/month or $36/year.
This week, The Broadway Maven has a Weekly Blast but no classes.This Weekly Blast includes:A) an ESSAY about a hot controversy on Broadway from Mickey Jo Boucher, an Internet “stagey content provider” who runs the MickeyJoTheatre YouTube channel (included here FREE in this preview issue);B) an ANNOUNCEMENT about a new Broadway Maven feature: the Archive;C) a Broadway Maven YouTube GEM about why Wicked sounds magical;D) a POLL about continuing Broadway COVID policies;E) a LETTER TO THE EDITOR sharing a memory about Angela Lansbury;F) a YouTube GEM about advanced musical theater terms you may not know; andG) a LAST BLAST about Little Shop of Horrors, Damn Yankees, The Little Mermaid, and Phantom of the Opera. (Do you see the connection?)(Last Blasts are a new FREE Weekly Blast feature: quick witty, thought-provoking, or challenging thoughts about Broadway shows.)
Mickey Jo Boucher: A cast member of the Broadway revival of 1776 provoked outrage this week by revealing, among other things, that she is only “giving 75 percent” onstage. Sara Porkalob, a Filipino-American who plays South Carolinian Edward Rutledge, is a writer and director as well as a performer. She recently described personal frustration about her limited creative involvement in an interview with Vulture. She called the play a “relic,” and “a dusty, old thing”; and when asked what it’s like being in the back seat of decision-making, she said “It’s horrible. I hate it.” Shocking, yes, but also some incisive commentary that evokes Idina Menzel’s 2014 admission that she hits 75 percent of the three million notes she sings in a musical. Perhaps now is the time for audiences to finally see Broadway performers as people doing a job rather than glorifying the vocation to justify holding them to an unattainable and unhealthy standard. Is this a millennial work ethic? Or the unashamed voice of an Asian performer starring in a show that platforms a diverse and trans-inclusive cast amidst an industry which largely considers those same characteristics less employable? Porkalob says she hopes to earn a Tony nomination and “more Instagram followers and more community here in New York.” But as many armchair critics take to social media to predict that she will never work again, she may be lucky to escape this chapter with an unscathed reputation. What do you think? May performers criticize their shows publicly? Must they give their roles 100 percent of their energy? Put your comments below. ANNOUNCEMENT: The Broadway Maven is pleased to introduce an Archive, which will include dozens of clips reels used in class over the 2.5 years the course has been offered. It’s more than 24 hours worth of content in nearly 60 videos — and growing all the time. And starting next month with our Music Man class, every clips reel will be posted to the Archive along with several Bonus Features, which are clips I like but didn’t have time to include in class. Cost and sign-up details to be announced next month.
DO YOU KNOW A HIGH SCHOOL DRAMA TEACHER? High school theater teachers and drama coaches can now get a year’s FREE subscription to the Weekly Blast (a $36 value) just by signing up. Send an E-mail to BenkofStaff@gmail.com with the name of your school and your role there, and we’ll add you to the weekly distribution list.
Join the Broadway Maven and friends for any or all of three challenging and fun FREE trivia parties at the beginning of November. Name that tune, identify the show, fill in the lyric, and much more. Lots of video clips, and as always co-host music educator Mateo Chavez Lewis will be on hand at his piano for added fun. The three parties are all different. Warning: Broadway Maven students can be pretty fierce competitors. ALL ACCESS Passholders do not need to register. Just show up.
Note: links to register for ALL classes are ALWAYS available at TheBroadwayMaven.com.• Sunday, October 30 Mamma Mia! watch party (7 pm ET ONLY, ALL-ACCESS Only) • Tuesday, November 1 Guest speaker Stu Lewis on Jewish Broadway beyond Fiddler (Noon and 7 pm ET, ALL-ACCESS Only) • Sunday, November 6 Trivia Party! (Noon ET, FREE) • Monday, November 7 Trivia Party! (Noon and 7 pm ET, FREE) • Tuesday, November 8 The Music Man (Noon and 7 pm ET) • Sunday, November 13 Hair (Noon ET, FREE, Registration opens soon) • Monday, November 14 Hair (Noon and 7 pm ET, FREE, Registration opens soon) • Tuesday, November 15 Mamma Mia! (Noon and 7 pm ET, ALL-ACCESS Only) Reminder: ALL-ACCESS Passholders do not need to sign up or pay for anything. Just show up!
LAST BLAST: The Faustian legend shows up many times in the Broadway canon. The most obvious deal-with-the-devil show is of course the 1955 Adler-Ross musical comedy Damn Yankees, in which “Mr. Applegate” offers to buy Joe Boyd’s soul in exchange for helping his beloved Washington Senators win the pennant. But Little Shop of Horrors is also Faustian, with Seymour pursuing ever-more-gruesome murders to please the Mephistophelean plant that’s bringing him close to the girl of his dreams. And isn’t The Little Mermaid also Faustian, since Ariel gives up her voice to Ursula the Sea Witch in exchange for the chance to be human? Even Phantom of the Opera involves a bargain with the devil of sorts, as Christine accepts voice lessons in exchange for being in the Phantom’s thrall. The Broadway Maven, David Benkof, helps students further their appreciation of musical theater through his classes, his YouTube Channel, and his Weekly Blast. Contact him at DavidBenkof@gmail.com.
© 2022 David Benkof
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Can a Broadway performer criticize their own show? (Don't Miss Today's Weekly Blast)
October 20, 2022
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