Slate thinks Washington is a Second-Rate Theatre City. What do you think?
Slate, an online magazine which specializes in telling people how to think about politics and culture, has done President-elect Obama the favor of telling him how he should think about Washington, D.C. – his new home. And, in a stunningly economical move, Slate, rather than surveying the current state of Washington culture, simply recycles the advice it gave to President Clinton in 1993 – with “glaringly dated references edited out”, Slate assures us.
Here’s what Slate says about Washington theatre, then and now:
“The theater is still second-rate at best.”
Hmmm?
Our own belief is that the folks at Slate don’t get out very much (it’s demanding work, telling people what to do all the time) and so they missed Rachel Bayla Taichman’s superb Taming of the Shrew at Shakespeare Theatre and Synetic’s award-winning silent Macbeth. They didn’t go to Arena’s amazing Death of a Salesman or see Jerry Springer: the Opera at Studio. They skipped Signature’s wonderful The Visit, and they didn’t see Bill Irwin and Kathleen Turner in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the Kennedy Center. They were likewise absent for Sarah Ruhl’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone at Woolly. And they sure didn’t see Forum’s magnificent The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.
We also suspect that Washington’s regular theatergoers – who are also the regular readers of DC Theatre Scene – are better qualified to advise the Obama family on the state of Washington theatre than are the editors and publishers of Slate.
So what do you think? Is Washington theatre second-rate at best and the Obama family might just as well stay home?
Let us know your thoughts, and we’ll notify the Obama White House for you.
Time Magazine just announed their Top 10 Plays and Musicals of the year. Signature Theatre’s “The Visit” was named, at number 4 to be exact.
It’s true — the DC theatre scene is second-rate.
Wait, a minute, though — that’s only because theatre is not the city’s primary brand value. In LA, it’s films; in NY it’s theatre (now that banking is all but dead); in DC it’s politics. There are only a scant handful of actors who can support themselves in DC by acting alone. Every new theatre group has to struggle to attract audience — not because the work is not good, but because DC audiences can’t see themselves shelling out $18 for challenging theatre, when they can spend it on more sure things like two tickets to a movie.
The shows that routinely do best, in my humble opinion, are the “safe” ones — touring productions, regional remountings of Broadway hits, musicals, or by-the-book retreading of the classics. In short, what sells like hotcakes in DC is the stuff that people who don’t really emphasize theatre in their lives will be able to tolerate.
That’s not to say there is not amazing stuff happening in DC. Risk-taking theatre is really happening everywhere in and around the city. Exploration and preservation of nearly-forgotten forms and genres, shows mounted for their own sake. Experimental work that defies the buttoned-down conventions of the city.
The Fringe Festival has done a lot to showcase this type of dynamic new work, and more credit to them. It’s just a shame the work has to be lumped under the category of “fringe,” because by definition it relegates it to secondary status. In the political mecca that is DC, the majority of potential audience members just want to fit in. Remember, this is where the word “liberal” was turned into a bad thing.
DC a second-rate theater city? Maybe so. But not for lack of talent, commitment, or first-rate effort.
Dear President Obama and Family:
Having lived in the area for almost 40 years, I find Washington to be an excellent theater town. We have a number of major theaters offering Broadway quality shows, and an even larger number of theaters striving hard to present high quality shows that do what theater is supposed to do, entertain you, make you think, and make you leave the theater pondering what you just saw. We also have an outstanding Fringe Festival that allows for a wide range of playwrights, directors and actors to put on an incredible variety of shows. If you want wonderful theater, you’ve come to the right town. Caveat: As President, you may want to be cautious about seeing a show at the newly renovated Ford’s Theatre.
Yeah. What Kathleen said.
Dear President Elect Obama,
I have no doubt that you will find Washington DC an immensely rich community of arts. I am a Washington Native and chose to come back to DC after years of traveling and experiencing theater around the country. My desire to come to DC was in every way driven by the excellent theater that I witnessed here. I am so happy to expose my young son to the things I love – especially when they are done well. I certainly hope to hear stirring in the city when word gets out that the Obamas are going to see a show and a theater in their back yard. Looking forward to meeting you.
Michael J. Bobbitt, Producing Artistic Director
Adventure Theatre
DC’s Longest Running Children’s Theatre
Dear President and Mrs. Obama –
As your “neighborhood theatre” nearest to The White House, we welcome you to the city.!
Presidents and their ladies have been coming to the National Theatre since our doors opened in 1835.
We will celebrate your home city soon after your arrival, with the renowned musical CHICAGO. We hope you will take time out from your brdensome schedules to be with us for a performance. It would make your “folks back home” proud.
We hope, too, that Sascha and Malia can slip over unnoticed for one of our free SATURDAY MORNING AT THE NATIONAL children’s shows. It would be our pleasure to have them, and we won’t make any special fuss.
Your responsibilities will be heavy, and all the more reason to lift your spirits on occasion by geting away and treating yourself to some top-notch entertainment!
With every best wish for your presidency, and for your happy residency around the corner.
Donn B. Murphy, Ph.D.
President
The National Theatre
Dear Obama Family,
Welcome to your new home and to Washington, DC! We hope you will have some wonderful experiences at Washington theatre, and I am writing to let you (especially Malia and Sasha) know of a first-rate professional children’s theatre in nearby Bethesda. It’s called Imagination Stage. I know you will be busy when you first arrive, but think you would LOVE the show we’ll have running from January 24 through March 8. It is called ZOMO THE RABBIT: A HIP HOP CREATION MYTH. It is written and directed by talented DC hip hop artist Psalmayene 24 and is set right in DC. It’s a world premiere, so we know didn’t see it in Chicago–and we guarantee you’ll be dancing in your seat!
Sincerely,
Imagination Stage
Dear President-elect Obama:
DC probably has one of the most diverse theatre scenes, besides NOT being second-rate. From the hispanic community to the asian community to the african-american community to the deaf and disabled community. And a great deal of it daring and of the highest quality. We have everything from Ford Theatre’s traditional ‘Christmas Carol” to swarms of Zombies at Laandless to our company, Open Circle Theatre integrating artists with disabilities in popular shows. There’s tonse for everyone. I would guess the people at Slate may spend a little too much time online and don’t get out much 😉 Welcome!
Sincerely,
Someone who has made her theatre career here in Washington DC!
Dear Obama Family,
We are delighted to welcome you here to Washington, D.C., and I am confident that you will find our excellent theater to your liking. In D.C. we have high-quality, varied, and–compared to NYC–very affordable theater.
I love D.C. theater; I hope you will be able to get out and see some of it.
Sincerely, a former Brit and now a proud American and Washintonian.
Dear President-Elect Obama, Slate, Washington Theater-Makers and My Own Navel,
“Glaringly dated references have been edited out” means jack if the greatest changes to be acknowledged are additions. So maybe Slate took out “my taxi had to cross three zones to get to the d*#ned theater already.” But they know and we know that the article is a period piece – not just in terms of when it first ran but also in that the writer has been dead for years (they acknowledge this in the intro). Her name can be used to give the article weight but her journalistic standards are no longer available to give the article any meaning other than as an oddity.
For example, she died before, among other galvanizing additions to the DC theater scene, the inaugural CapFringe Festival – but this glaringly dated non-reference cannot be removed. From what I gather from her Slate obit, she was a keen journalist and relentless in pursuit of what was really true about someone as opposed to what that person chose to present. I presume the irony speaks for itself.
(And Landless, your comment made me laugh for an hour. Thanks!)
Slate is a second-rate (that high?) online magazine.
I agree with your mom Mike, especial after seeing the video of you singing from “Secret Garden”
Mike your mom is lying to you. 🙂
I am guessing that Slate magazine came and saw one of my performances. My mom still thinks I am first-rate.
Dearest President Obama and Family,
Welcome to DC! The Theatre you will encounter here covers the spectrum from mainstream hits to obscure marvels, from traditional to avant-garde, from text-based classics to devised, physical, new works. The amazing Capital Fringe Festival every summer is full of affordable surprises; Round House Theatre in Bethesda incorporates literary adaptations into their season and has a long standing reputation of excellence; Woolly Mammoth pushes the limits, etc. There are numerous large, well established Theatrical institutions here as well as dozens of smaller companies, not necessarily in brick and mortar dwellings, which present some of the strongest work in various venues:
The Taffety Punk Theatre Company, Dog and Pony, Venus Theatre, The Hegira, Spooky Action Theatre, Rorschach Theatre, African Continuum Theatre, and our company, Happenstance Theater, and on and on.
Hopefully you will have time to see some of the work that we do and we look forward to seeing the work you do. Visit us at http://www.happenstancetheater.com
Much love and all of the best for you in this incredibly complicated time.
For family entertainment check out http://www.markjaster.com
Dear Obama:
Our theatre unleashed a band of ravenous zombies upon the Governor of Alaska this Halloween. She put up a good fight, but the smell of red meat was overpowering.
That could only happen in a FIRST RATE Theatre City.
Unfortunately, she will now continue to roam the country forever as One of the Living Dead. Look out in 2012.
Sincerely,
The Landless Theatre Company
Dear President-Elect Obama:
Theater-goers Paradise – THAT is what D.C. is! (Apparently even Slate can make mistakes!) We know Chicago is a great theater town, but D.C. takes a back seat ONLY to London and NY. It may have been second-rate 30 years ago (when we arrived here), but no longer. We would know. We are government attorneys, not theater professionals, but we attend the theater here at least two or three times each week. And we love it!
The theater scene here explodes with quality, quantity, and variety. The concentration of highly-educated persons with solid incomes allows a strong audience base and attracts amazing talent. The quality of the acting and directing is exceptional. Nowadays shows that open here go to New York, not just the other way around. As for quantity, you could attend a different production each day of the year, and still not see all of them. And the variety is to die for! Whatever your tastes, you will find satisfying fare. There are large theatres with more assets for sets and costumes, and smaller ones offering wonderful opportunities for intimacy. There is plenty of serious (and humorous) political theatre. “Specialty companies” include those specializing in classics, G.B. Shaw, dance and movement, world premieres, local playwrights, and others with special missions involving some of D.C.’s vibrant communities: African-Americans, Hispanics, Jews, GLBTs, the handicapped. There are exciting offerings aimed at young people and families. There are also fabulous musicals, and we are not referring to the touring companies, but homegrown productions. Speaking of touring companies, D.C. far exceeds the norm, offering productions from world-class companies visiting here from countries including Japan, Great Britain, Israel, Ireland, and France. And don’t forget fine college productions, including the annual American College Theatre Festival.
PLEASE do yourselves a favor and sample the feast on your doorstep! And please feel free to call on us for some specific suggestions – we would be delighted to advise you on an ongoing basis about the cornucopia that is the D.C. theatre scene.
Sincerely,
Alison Drucker and Tom Holzman
Bethesda, MD
Dear Obamas,
Washington, D.C. has welcomed almost every president and his family, and, with the exception of Bess Truman, they all leave thinking more highly of Washington than when they arrived. You’re in for a treat. Because you’re probably very busy choosing your new dog, and packing, I will limit myself to a few words about DC Theater:
The H Street Playhouse, where Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” still keeps me awake at nights, and
and
The Studio Theater, whose location and superb productions are helping to revive an entire neighborhood. For children’s theater, go to the Roundhouse.
There is much, much more. Please don’t go to bed before 10 PM as the previous tenant of the White House did. Get out and enjoy our city–the red carpets are already being rolled out, and not just at the Kennedy Center: about 95 percent of DC’s residents voted for you.
As a senior world traveller and theatre lover, I consider Washington DC as the best place to enjoy first-class theatre, accesible to all economic levels and targeted to all ages. Anyone who signs-up to the appropriate websites can get invitations to various events, many of them pro-rated for students, seniors etc. I encourage the Obama family to make room in their busy schedule to judge for themselves, accepting some of the many invitations to the Theatre that they will certainly receive. They are in for a treat!!!
An invitation for President-Elect Obama:
Dear President Elect Obama, Michelle and the girls:
Welcome to DC, your new home. We are very blessed to have many wonderful theatres that present all kinds of productions, and we have lots of Children’s Theatre. You can see all the websites and offerings by clicking on the theatres’ names here in this website under Kids Stages and Theatre Companies. As a working actress in the DC area, I’d like to invite you to come to out theatres and enjoy great drama, musicals and children’s musicals and puppet shows, and too many others to list here. It will be a great way to escape the stress of your new responsibilities, and you’ll have a great time!
The Slate editorial staff is, obviously, stacked with New Yorkers, who see Broadway as the only “first rate” kind of theatre. Broadway is largely a fossil, and a Disney theme park for the Mid-Atlantic. They also have a vested interest in promoting NYC tourism, and Broadway is a critical — maybe the most important! — element of NYC tourism. But please — DC or Chicago both are vastly superior to NYC if you consider a “first rate” theatre ranking in terms of producing new shows, experimental venues, provocative troupes, improvisation, classical theatre (NYC for example has NOTHING to compare to the Shakespeare Theatre in DC)…all the things that make theatre valuable. Heck, even Minneapolis is better at pushing the envelope. What we need is somebdy in DC to set up a National Regional Theatre Awards show to compete with the Tony Awards to show the rest of the country that there is ALOT more to American theatre cities than the Great White Way (I like Forbidden Broadway’s title for it: “The Invalid that Just Won’t Die”), much the way the Golden Globes are vastly more interesting than the Oscars ever are. I know exactly the person to put in charge of thie endeavor. His name is Joel Markowitz! Bubby, get on the phone to the Kennedy Center, and set up a meeting with somebody at CNN….
yes, second rate-look at the first rate ones around the country–
probably be better if a few fewer with more concentration — resources spread thicker that way. but we do fine, anyway.
http://forumtheatre.wordpress.com/2008/11/10/here-we-go-again-defending-our-dc-theatre/
Mr. Obama:
Theatre in the DC metro area is not “second rate.” I’ve seen many a good performances, not just in the larger houses like the Kennedy Center or Shakespeare Theatre Company. I’ve been thoroughly entertained as well by the offerings of smaller companies such as Catalyst, and Journeymen theatre companies, as well as MetroStage in Alexandria (don’t forget to visit us in beautiful Alexandria!!). I can’t leave out community theatre either. The shows don’t even have to be award winners to still be fabulous.
Some of our theatre companies have programs that are geared towards children (Folger, National Theatre, and Arena Stage, and others).
Mr. Obama, since you’re in D.C. for awhile anyway, and if you and the family enjoy theatre, please make some rounds to the various theatre companies to sample what we have to offer. I think you guys will have fun exploring.
Sincerly,
Paula Y. Bickham
Dear Mr. President-Elect:
Slate’s introduction to its “primer” for you and your family takes care to say that “glaringly dated references have been edited out.” Unfortunately, Slate missed a big such glaringly dated reference.
Reasonable minds might differ as to whether “the theater is still second-rate at best” was an accurate assessment back in 1993. But no one can seriously suggest that it’s true today. Washington is now recognized locally, nationally, and internationally as “a theatre town.” With more than 60 (yes, 60!) professional theatres mounting 8,000 performances of over 450 productions each year, the Washington area is the second most prolific generator of theatrical work in the nation — second only to New York in the breadth and depth of its professional theatre offerings. (Yes, Mr. President-Elect, even more than Chicago.) And the work here is regularly lauded, including by New York critics, as top quality. Indeed, sir, some would argue that Washington theatre is more adventurous, challenging, and enriching than much of what one can see these days in New York.
Washington, D.C. in 2008 is a theatre destination site, drawing tourists from all over the country and beyond to see original and innovative work on our stages. In addition, while it was once difficult for a theatre artist to make a living in the Washington area, Washington now actually attracts theatre artists, nurtures them, and enables them to earn a reasonable income and actively participate in the economic life of this community.
The annual Helen Hayes Awards, one of the nation’s most prestigious cultural awards, recognize excellence in Greater Washington professional theatre. When you open virtually any theatre program around the country, you’re likely to see Helen Hayes Awards recipients and nominees proudly include in their bios their stamp of approval from the Washington theatre community.
So, among the catalog of “common criticisms” offered in the Slate article, please jettison the truly and glaringly outdated notion that Washington, D.C. is an amateur at theatre. Far from it. Our professional theatre is — and rightly should be — a source of great hometown cultural pride. And if you don’t believe it, just go see some plays! We’ll be delighted to see you and Michelle — and, yes, Malia and Sasha too — soon at any of the 60+ theatres easily accessible from your new home on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Glen S. Howard
Vice Chair
The Helen Hayes Awards