Theatre Today: Blood, Sweat, & Tears
Preface
The following article is not a plain recap of my favorite shows (that’s next month). It is also not a review of shows or a critique of the shows themselves or the performances (many good performances, could’ve gushed, will do in my own way). This article is an interesting observation of trends and themes.
When I was in grad school (not long ago at all), an administrator said that vulnerability was a core value expected of us.
I came back to New York to find that vulnerability is really what the people are after—kind of. Even though I have spent many years navigating a world that was cruel to any signs of weakness, divulging, or vulnerability, it never quite lands how I want. That’s fine. This is not just about me (though I did write this piece because my mostly autobiographical cabaret about gender roles has been canceled due to a very low seat count).
It’s a ROUGH time to be a theatermaker. Right now, if things flop, they flop hard. And, right now, when things are succeeding, they are SUCCEEDING. I’m in my flop era, and I’m here for both.
I’m not the Trauma Porn Star du jour right now. I don’t feel like my voice matters, and I feel disheartened by this cancellation, but I’m also seeing a lot of stuff, mostly good. I look forward to the time when we find a healthy balance and make art- and I hope I get to be a part again someday instead of just feeling apart.
So, I figured I would do what I do best and look at some of the things I’ve seen and why they work. (I will be talking more extensively about some shows in a 2024 recap next month).
BLOOD
(is red as sunset). Just kidding. Though, Sunset is the talk of the town, for good reason.
Feminine rage, something my younger self was obsessed with back in 2013, is really one of 2024’s biggest things. Specifically, though, the image of a woman covered in blood is EVERYWHERE.
In a time where violence is nonstop, I understand the desire for the macabre, for revenge fantasy. I do hope we level out someday and find a way forward, but I get and honor the rage.
I’ll highlight two shows,
Sunset Boulevard: I got the honor of seeing one of my faves, Mandy Gonzalez, on for Norma, as well as two other alternates/understudies, all of whom excelled. The iconic images of a blood-soaked Nicole or Mandy or Tom or any number of H&M-clad he and they Joe Gillis understudies and people’s recreations for Halloween are the talk of the town.
Not to mention the sequence at the top of Act II. From start to finish, I was on the edge of my seat in disbelief at what I was seeing. I saw and heard raw, unfiltered, multidimensional rage that somehow felt grounded in reality and also much larger than life. Neither Norma Desmond nor Joe Gillis is a relatable/sympathetic character, but they felt lived-in and also extreme in this bold revival. Due to the impeccable sound design and other design and directorial elements of Sunset, it dawned on me how young Norma was when she met Max and how she is repeating a cycle of violence not unlike many other artists who turn out to be… unwell. Let’s go with that. I could say more, but I have other shows to discuss.
Teeth: Another bloody show that is more and less realistic than Sunset. The power dynamics are different; the era depicted nearly everything, aside from the desperation, rage, and blood-soaked leading lady. The politics of this show in this era are ever more relatable, with an enduring fundamentalist obsession with body policing and rape culture in the face of alleged morality.
They are not alone. Romeo & Juliet, Gypsy, Oh, Mary, and many more rage-filled reimaginings of the past and present.
SWEAT
Not Just by Lynn Nottage.
The body keeps the score, so who is winning? Everyone, everywhere, on- and offstage, is working HARD. Let me be clear. I’ll talk way more about last season’s Cats: the Jellicle Ball and Illinoise in my next piece (I’m sure no doubt one could look at The Outsiders, Water For Elephants, or any number of other plays and musicals for other examples of sudorific shows.) but truly, some shows you can feel the feats of strength and agility from the audience.
There is also In the Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot, a show about laborers and crises and the hard work of banding together and community building. That show is a labor show, a show that may not feature sweat but embodies hard work. Maybe Happy Ending is another brilliant new show with many moving pieces that, in its way, is about labor and love (AND ROBOTS!)
Shout out to my sweatiest show to date, HIIT.
TEARS
No, this is not about the Notebook tissue box.
The shows that predate current events carry the baggage of current events whether they are revised to mention them or not, whether there is a program note, an epilogue, or a prop nod of some kind. It’s always going to hang over them. Theater doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
Some shows lately hold generational trauma, personally experienced trauma, and the hope or promise of a better future.
I can’t think of shows that feel more like that than Ragtime and Soft Power.
The kind of tears you cry when watching a show like Ragtime or Soft Power are not only sad tears because of the evocative music. Nor are they simply tears for the fate of the characters, but for the history, the present, and the future, for better or for worse. Even if you are hopeful, there is an understanding that hope comes on the heels of years of pain that can never be erased. And that hope and joy are also built by hard work and the possibility of the artists making the art and many other unsung heroes. You can walk away feeling inspired to do better while understanding that there are so many systems* in place that want to harm people.
- Some of those same systems of racism are also why the original book, the film, and the five major NYC productions of Ragtime (2 Broadway, City Center, Avery Fischer Hall, and Ellis Island) were all written and directed without Black people in those positions (not to say they weren’t wonderful productions, or erase the incredible contributions of other Black production and cast members or Black directors elsewhere, just worth noting it may/should be a future potential thing to happen).
Ragtime does so much by itself, but every new group of people and new era brings new things to the surface. This one brought up Shaina Taub’s connection to the legacy with Suffs and Brandon Uranowitz’s journey with the show. There are also a number of things in the playbill of note, including a program note from Joshua Henry, a cast member’s dedication to multiple Black women killed by police, and Brandon’s dedication to the late Gavin Creel and Marin Mazzie.
Soft Power. I’m never going to shut up about Soft Power, particularly the one from Signature. The epilogue added to this new production acknowledges COVID and its relationship to anti-AAPI, especially anti-Chinese racism and violence in the US. Soft Power is special for many reasons, but here are a few.
- Its relationship to the anti-Asian racism in the musical theater canon and its willingness to flip the script and explore new, potentially risky territory, including whiteface.
- It is a political satire about the arts and government influence, as well as the US and China. It was written during another election year, and this election mirrored the 2016 election in many ways.
- Its deeply personal aspects about DHH (David Henry Hwang), who is able to write firsthand and write a Chinese-American musical about Chinese people, Chinese-American people, non-Chinese-American people, as a Chinese-American person.
The message of these two shows mixes criticism and love with reasonable fears from people who immigrate to the US, people who experience racialized violence, love, and hate for leadership. There is a lot of reverence AND irreverence toward real people (I’d love to see a Henry Ford-esque send-up of Elon Musk). And women on the writing teams, yay! We cry because we care. But these shows definitely work because we cry.
You’ll hear more about these two and plenty more works like Third Sex, Surrogate, and See What I Wanna See next month, but there’s so much beautiful work out there. Tommy also definitely falls into this category.
A Note of a show bringing ALL THREE
Speaking of Tommy! Again, many shows are doing Blood, Sweat, and Tears, but We Live in Cairo is really capturing something special. It’s fresh. It’s living history.
Most importantly, it reveals complex truths. After seeing this show, I am encouraged by the state of musical theater. I also feel concerned for the well-being of artists reliving and embodying such painful realities. Like, yes, it’s happening no matter what, and stories need to be told, AND. I pray that we take care of our storytellers putting themselves out there. I pray that we use art to heal and make change and not to retraumatize marginalized people for the sheer entertainment of the privileged.
So many shows are LEAVING EVERYTHING THEY HAVE ON THE STAGE, demanding SO MUCH EMOTION AND ENERGY from the artists and the audiences. I am grateful for all the art and support it fiercely.
More to come,
❤ S
