Red by John Logan. In it, Ken confronts the famous painter, Mark Rothko and says "Not everyone wants art that actually hurts." I'm still new to this writing thing so I don't have a segue out of that. Just something to keep in mind if you choose to read on.My all time favorite play is
I spent a week in NYC this past June and ended up getting to catch seven different Broadway/ Off Broadway shows in that time. (I managed to miss all of the Best Musical and Best Play noms though. #nailingit) Ask anybody who's heard a lick about that trip and they'll tell you what my favorite show was. ROCKY. Yes, the Sylvester Stallone movie, on stage, being sung, with music by the team that brought us Seussical. (To be fair, they also brought up Once on this Island and Ragtime so... hasty judgment helps nobody.)
We caught the show maybe a week before opening night but the cast assured us we saw the show in its frozen state. Once it opened, I naturally flocked to the reviews and wasn't all that surprised to see that the rest of the world didn't share the same affinity for the show as I did. They liked it, they agreed that cast was sensational and certain moments thrilling. They raved about the final thirty minutes of the production because the final fight between Rocky and Apollo is the coolest thing you'll ever see on stage. (May be exaggerating... but like, I may be totally serious.)
It's okay that people didn't love it like I did. It makes the experience more special for me because I can't deny having a truly spectacular evening at the theatre. But, this post isn't even supposed to be about ROCKY. My main issue here is that there are still people who are dogging on new pieces that are spectacle based. I respect the Brechtian, educational purpose of theatre as much as the next guy. But, there's a lot to say for theatre that can make us unplug, really disconnect from the rest of the world and hone in on those two to three sacred hours in a theatre. We can argue that it shouldn't take millions of dollars to do that, but is it really so bad if it does? My blog is proof that I have a love of barebones, everybody-is-painting-themselves-where-is-the-set style theatre. I mean, moments ago I admitted to Red being my favorite play! But, I love loving this art. Many have made me love it with $100 and some have with millions. Regardless, if somebody out there loves it, apart from a biased of knowing everybody involved, if a patron can come in and have an experience they are grateful for, how can that be wasted?
I say, "long live the spectacle based musical!" I like having fun at the theatre. I hope we're headed in the direction of more people allowing themselves to do the same. Not everyone wants art that actually hurts. (We're gonna let ROCKY slide, because contact fighting on stage probably hurts a little.)
