‘Hair’ Closes for One Day So Cast Can March in NEM Rally

When the boyfriend took me to New York earlier in the month after a prior meltdown, we had the good fortune to be able to see the musical "Hair" and I posted about the experience and the activist work of lead actor, Gavin Creel, who co-founded Broadway Impact. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to get a message from Creel himself. As the New York Times is reporting, the musical will close down for one day so that the entire cast can travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in the National Equality March. Once again, the momentum for this action came from Creel (pictured at left). I am excited about attending the March - the boyfriend bought us bus tickets on buses being run up to D.C. by HROC, a local LGBT groups for which I prepared the organizational documents. I expect it should be a long and crazy day. It will be especially fun since I will have press credentials! Here are some highlights from the New York Times:

*

Playwrights and producers have used scathing commentary, heartbreaking drama and sharp satire to score political points about war, torture, presidents, AIDS, race relations and women’s rights with New York theater audiences. Now the Broadway musical “Hair” is expanding the concept of stage activism by taking to the streets and urging audiences to follow. The producers canceled a Sunday matinee so that the cast and crew could attend and perform at a march for gay rights in Washington on Oct. 11.

*

That unusual — and expensive — decision to skip a popular weekend performance at the beginning of the theater season originated with the show’s star, Gavin Creel. “I said, ‘My God, we have to go, we have to go,’ ” Mr. Creel recalled when he first heard about the rally late last spring.

*

[I]n May Mr. Creel met Cleve Jones, creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, when he came to see “Hair” with Dustin Lance Black, author of the Oscar-winning screenplay for “Milk.” At a party afterward for the release of the cast recording, they all talked about the Oct. 11 National Equality March that Mr. Jones was helping to organize. The rally’s organizers say they are seeking “equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states” for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people.

*

[A]t the heart of “Hair” is a political message about equality, justice and freedom, and that everyone involved “knew what they were signing up for.” The Sunday matinee was canceled and a Monday-evening performance on Oct. 5 was added. Ticket-buyers could trade in their seats for another performance or get a refund. The cast and crew were essentially given the day off, although, as it turns out, Mr. Creel said he thought that nearly everyone in front of the curtain and many who work behind it plan to go to Washington.

*

Blunt appeals from the stage to attend the rally seemed inappropriate, but during the final number, when the audience is invited to dance onstage, cast members now hold up homemade signs about the Oct. 11 rally that say: “Our tribe is going. Are you?”

*
At the same time, Broadway Impact is organizing at least 20 free buses to take people from New York to the rally and back. Performers like Sutton Foster, Audra McDonald, Jonathan Groff and Neil Patrick Harris, as well as the casts of “Hair” and another Broadway musical, “Memphis” (opening Oct. 19), have each donated the $2,400 needed to rent a bus. The tribe will be on one of them.

*

Again, it should be an interesting adventure. At times, I truly believe that activism and this blog have saved my life - with help, of course from the boyfriend, my youngest daughter and my family and office staff.

*

NOTE: Others seeking to attend the March from the Hampton Roads area can still purchase bus tickets at the HROC website.

Hair - And Broadway Impact

The musical Hair last night was wonderful and played to a sold out house. Having been in my mid to late teens in the late 1960's I identified with the issues raised, particularly opposition to the Vietnam War and my own days of having shoulder length hair that I often wore in a ponytail. I also recall sweating bullets over maintaining a student deferment and then where one fell on the draft lottery - I was lucky and my birth date that year landed as 269 and safety from being drafted. The cast of the show was great and there was a great deal of cast interaction out amongst the audience and at the end of the show the stage was crowded with the cast and audience members.

*

One cast member, Gavin Creel (pictured above), who played the role of Claude, stood out for a other reasons besides his terrific voice and looks: he is openly gay and has helped co-found Broadway Impact, which supports marriage equality for all citizens, gay or straight. The organization describes itself as follows:

*

We are a community of actors, directors, stage managers, fans, producers — pretty much anyone who has ever seen, been in or worked on a Broadway show — united by the simple belief that anyone who wants to should be able to get married. Excited by the election of President Obama and angered by the passage of Prop 8, a group of friends came together with a hope to educate and inspire our community into action towards equality.

*

We hope Broadway Impact can be a place for anyone and everyone out there who loves theatre, is passionate about equality, and wants to know how to sing out and make their voice heard. It's time for us to join together and use that voice in a way to make a huge difference. Join us on this journey to equality. It's time for action. We are ready. Are you?

*

One of the activities that Broadway Impact is working on currently is organizing transportation from New York City to the National Equality March on October 10-11, 2009. Tickets are $20.00 round trip and are available through September 25, 2009. I hope people will take advantage of this option to join us all in Washington, D.C.

Rainy Day in New York City

Well, the trip to the Guggenheim was a bust - a long, long line combined with wind and rain. We soon bagged that idea and ended up going to an amazing Titanic exhibition on 44th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. I am a Titanic buff and this was the best exhibit I've ever seen with lots of artifacts and even recreated rooms such as the Grand Staircase shown above. It was interesting because among the items on display was one of the ship's whistles which I had seen unloaded in Norfolk when the very first artifacts were retrieved. A friend had been counsel for RMS Titanic, Inc., and invited me down to the dock when the expedition vessel came in. I highly recommend the exhibition to those in town or coming to town.

*

Breakfast with the boyfriend's young client and one of her friends was pleasant and it was interesting hearing them talk as the begin careers with mega firms. I do not envy the hours they will be putting in, but given what has been happening in the legal industry, they are lucky that the have jobs as some New York firms have slashed associate attorneys and staff personnel. Tonight we are headed to Hair and hopefully the rain will abate somewhat. Vendors selling umbrellas on street corners have done a brisk business since the wind has destroyed countless umbrellas, including one of ours.

*

Any bloggers in New York can drop me a line and perhaps meet us for a drink or something. We will be in town through Monday.