The thing about theater kids is that they *think* they are the cool kids. No one else shares that delusion. But that's what makes them great. It's my definition of a nerd: Someone who likes something without realizing they are in the minority.
I have no problem with Shakespeare. It's people who love Shakespeare who are the problem. Shakespeare was a great writer for his time and place. The best playwright of his time and place? The argument can be made. I disagree with it, but I don't have a problem with it. He most clearly isn't the best playwright of his time and certainly not the best playwright of any time! Frankly, Shakespeare has become a fetish. It's like Christians who think their holy books are sui generis because they've never bothered to read other holy books of that time and place. And I really wonder: why does anyone want to see Romeo & Juliet or Hamlet again?! There are so many other great plays to see! (Note: I do *not* think Hamlet is a great play. It is, in fact, a mess. Everyone knows this. But they pretend that the mess is part of its brilliance!)
Okay, in keeping with your substack, I just ordered the complete Slings & Arrows from my library. I've recently been enjoying Mark McKinney in Superstore, which is a great show with an amazing cast. I look forward to seeing him before he started looking like me at my advanced age!
Exactly that notion comes up as a plot point, eventually; that to some people, working in theater is like playing in the minors.
I hope you enjoy this. I'm positive you will enjoy the humor in it. And McKinney, although his character gets more and more cringe-worthy as things go on. But that doesn't bother me; and keep in mind, when you watch him mistreat his assistant -- she co-wrote this with him. (She's a hugely respected theater actor, too.)
There's *maybe* too much worship of Shakespeare as the theater ideal, here; I think that's because the writers were writing about life in the theater in general, so they picked plays people at home would be familiar with. (At one point in the interviews, they talk about making a conscious effort to avoid, say, "Troilus & Cressida.") If you gave me free theater tickets to any play performed in the next year, I'd want to see a play I'd heard about but never read before -- there's lots of those!
I remember seeing some Shakespeare performance in Ashland as a teenager in high school. And even then, being annoyed at people who laughed at the jokes -- it was like their way of announcing to the world that they were educated enough to *get* the humor. OK, yuck. But I do love the kind of people who make it happen, and hope to do something neat together.
I feel the same about classical music. There is so much to love but most of the season ticket holders have little appreciation. The library tells me it is in transit, so I should have it by the end of the week. I'm glad to hear that McKinney plays a very different character than the one he plays in Superstore!
The thing about theater kids is that they *think* they are the cool kids. No one else shares that delusion. But that's what makes them great. It's my definition of a nerd: Someone who likes something without realizing they are in the minority.
I have no problem with Shakespeare. It's people who love Shakespeare who are the problem. Shakespeare was a great writer for his time and place. The best playwright of his time and place? The argument can be made. I disagree with it, but I don't have a problem with it. He most clearly isn't the best playwright of his time and certainly not the best playwright of any time! Frankly, Shakespeare has become a fetish. It's like Christians who think their holy books are sui generis because they've never bothered to read other holy books of that time and place. And I really wonder: why does anyone want to see Romeo & Juliet or Hamlet again?! There are so many other great plays to see! (Note: I do *not* think Hamlet is a great play. It is, in fact, a mess. Everyone knows this. But they pretend that the mess is part of its brilliance!)
Okay, in keeping with your substack, I just ordered the complete Slings & Arrows from my library. I've recently been enjoying Mark McKinney in Superstore, which is a great show with an amazing cast. I look forward to seeing him before he started looking like me at my advanced age!
Exactly that notion comes up as a plot point, eventually; that to some people, working in theater is like playing in the minors.
I hope you enjoy this. I'm positive you will enjoy the humor in it. And McKinney, although his character gets more and more cringe-worthy as things go on. But that doesn't bother me; and keep in mind, when you watch him mistreat his assistant -- she co-wrote this with him. (She's a hugely respected theater actor, too.)
There's *maybe* too much worship of Shakespeare as the theater ideal, here; I think that's because the writers were writing about life in the theater in general, so they picked plays people at home would be familiar with. (At one point in the interviews, they talk about making a conscious effort to avoid, say, "Troilus & Cressida.") If you gave me free theater tickets to any play performed in the next year, I'd want to see a play I'd heard about but never read before -- there's lots of those!
I remember seeing some Shakespeare performance in Ashland as a teenager in high school. And even then, being annoyed at people who laughed at the jokes -- it was like their way of announcing to the world that they were educated enough to *get* the humor. OK, yuck. But I do love the kind of people who make it happen, and hope to do something neat together.
I feel the same about classical music. There is so much to love but most of the season ticket holders have little appreciation. The library tells me it is in transit, so I should have it by the end of the week. I'm glad to hear that McKinney plays a very different character than the one he plays in Superstore!