The theatrical awards season is upon us. First up, the Drama Desk Awards, which last Monday chose the best from Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway, and then the Tonys, tonight, which stick to the big commercial productions on Broadway itself.
Theater professionals wait with bated breath for these events, which can make or break shows and careers. At the same time, they’re a fun excuse to celebrate the best of the best.
But while the Broadway show “Stereophonic“ took Outstanding Play in the Drama Desk Awards, with a few exceptions the rest of the evening was heavily skewed to Off- and Off-Off Broadway, and we can glean a lot from that result.
And one unfortunate takeaway could easily be: Off-Broadway is where the creative energy is, where the talent is, where boldness and vision reside. At least, you could think that from the Drama Desk Awards.
The inference is that these shows — which are put on by nonprofits — are somehow artistically purer than those on Broadway, which for the most part are proudly for-profit. Even the aforementioned “Stereophonic” got its start at a nonprofit Off-Broadway theatre.
But now the Tonys are upon us. I’m here to make a clarion call for the importance of Broadway in the New York theatre scene. I don’t need to mention the economic importance of Broadway to New York and our economy. Broadway is equally important as a stage for American theatre, and many of this season’s shows will play in roadhouses and regional theatre across the country because of a Tony endorsement.
For 40 years, I’ve run the nonprofit Inside Broadway that takes Broadway shows to public school kids and brings public school kids to Broadway. We have exposed thousands of kids to the magic of theater.
Since I’ve seen most of this season’s shows, I can say with some expertise that there appears to be a strong undercurrent of snobbishness in the Drama Desk’s choices.
They seem to favor the intellectual, the cerebral, over the just plain fun and entertaining. Since when was it wrong or unartistic to be entertained? There also appears to be a bias against big budget commercial productions that have a wide audience appeal. There is nothing wrong with trying to attract the biggest audience by writing the most appealing songs and embracing emotions and excitement.
The comparison is unfair to Broadway.
While some might consider an Off- or Off-Off-Broadway show to be the underdog, in some ways they have it easier. With their nonprofit status, they are under less pressure to make money. It is apples and oranges. They can push the envelope — often wonderfully so — on what they put on stage, playing more to the critics than audience members who are just out for a little evening enjoyment.
Many of these shows also play in theatres who have a built-in subscription audience, meeting a certain percentage of the seats will be filled no matter what’s on stage.
I don’t mean to suggest that good entertainment can’t be intellectually engaging. In the last year I’ve seen two strong plays on Broadway that were powerful and true and intellectually rigorous.
One was “Patriots,” starring the powerful Michael Stuhlbarg (who nabbed one of this fine work’s only two major Tony nomination nods). This is an important play about an important issue, about the way society has enabled Vladimir Putin to have the presidency of Russia and now threaten the free world.
And another was “Lempicka,” about a Polish feminist painter of the 1920s — you’re surely seen her work without perhaps knowing it — with a driving pop rock score.
Both these plays are seriously done, and both are about serious contemporary subjects. “Lempicka” got its start in regional nonprofit theatres in Williamstown and San Diego, and “Patriots” came to us from London’s West End, having been created by a British subsidized theatre.
Yet both have been snubbed for the most part when it comes to nominations. I just don’t understand why. Could one reason be the anti-Broadway bias that seems to have crept into organizations meant to celebrate all of New York theatre?
Furthermore, let’s also look at this competitive award race thing. In the world of the arts, as opposed to the sports world, there really is no “best” of anything. There are many “bests” and it is entirely subjective. Whatever you prefer is the “best.”
Maybe we should really be celebrating the tremendous diversity of American theatre being showcased on these award shows. Let’s leave the scorekeeping to the ballpark, and just enjoy the show.
Presser is the founder and executive director of Inside Broadway, an arts education organization.
