"Straight White Men" incident tonight

[Elegance101]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 1:31am

Saw nothing on this, but Armie Hammer tweeted this out tonight:

https://twitter.com/armiehammer/status/1027357556405100550

Disgusting behavior. Was anyone there?

[OnBroadway4]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 1:48am

Really? For real though? 

I mean if you feel that bothered by a trans individual then why attend a production with a trans cast member. It makes no sense to me. And if you are that bothered, keep your mouth shut - did they really think their actions would have gone over well?

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 1:53am

Not to defend ****ty behavior, but I can't imagine this person knew trans-people were involved when they bought their ticket... 

[Alexander Lamar]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 7:28am

Imagine feeling this f******g entitled...to have the audacity to go someplace like this and do that.

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 8:07am

This was despicable no doubt but tweeting about it later to call more attention to it? Yeah, it brings this horrific behavior to light but it also emboldens others to do the same thing.  Had he not tweeted about it chances are we wouldn't have heard about it except for the people in attendance.  It become a domino effect.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 8:28am

For those of us , who don’t really know too much about the show. In what context was the tweet about?

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 8:29am

BuddyStarr said: "This was despicable no doubt but tweeting about it later to call more attention to it? Yeah, it brings this horrific behavior to light but it also emboldens others to do the same thing. Had he not tweeted about it chances are we wouldn't have heard about it except for the people in attendance. It become a domino effect."

I can't fathom how this tweet "emboldens" anyone. While it is true without the tweet we likely would not have heard about it, I don't understand the "domino effect" you fear. Do you think Jewish shopkeepers should have kept quiet when Nazis harassed them? How about their Christian neighbors? Even here, sometimes we need to think about what we are saying.   

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 8:31am

Alexander Lamar said: "Imagine feeling this f******g entitled...to have the audacity to go someplace like this and do that."

Welcome to tRump's America.

[quizking101]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 9:46am

I wonder how Bornstein handled it during the show, if at all. I remember she came to speak at my college years ago when the documentary on her life was coming out (I was on the board of my college QSA that brought her in) and she was a funny class act, and the sweetest person you could ever talk to.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 10:00am

No, BuddyStarr.

[haterobics]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 10:10am

BuddyStarr said: "This was despicable no doubt but tweeting about it later to call more attention to it? Yeah, it brings this horrific behavior to light but it also emboldens others to do the same thing. Had he not tweeted about it chances are we wouldn't have heard about it except for the people in attendance. It become a domino effect."

You really think people are going to buy a ticket to a show just to yell at a trans woman?!

[PJPan]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 12:20pm

quizking101 said: "I wonder how Bornstein handled it during the show, if at all. I remember she came to speak at my college years ago when the documentary on her life was coming out (I was on the board of my college QSA that brought her in) and she was a funnyclass act, and the sweetest person you could ever talk to."

I was there - Kate did not seem to react to it. There were people shushing the woman (I heard her say something but wasn't sure what). The crowd was for sure on Kate and Ty's side.

[BuddyStarr]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 12:35pm

yes, there are a lot of crazy people out there.  Just in this past year there was someone that unfurled a banner during the curtain call and an incident at the Parisian Woman.  Last year saw people shouting during Shakespeare in the Park.  I've been hearing more and more that these things happening.  Whether it's always happened and not reported in social media or it's a new fad, we seem to be hearing a lot more about it.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 1:07pm

I am not sure I am prepared to condemn ALL audience reaction that extends beyond the ovation (or boos, which has gone out of style pretty much). I don't approve of disruptive interaction, or hate speech, but beyond that, I think there are possibilities that are actually positives for the theatre. It's something to be thought about. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 1:15pm

adamgreer said: "Welcome to tRump's America."

This. No one emboldens this behavior more than the guy in the White House.

[geoffreyC]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 5:32pm

People are coming out from under their rocks in droves, emboldened not only by the atrocities in DC but by the silence of individuals around them.  Speaking of social media, how many huge stars with millions of followers and with such great reputations for socially relevant roles, have stayed totally silent about what is happening in the country?  Quite a few, sadly, quite a few. At least people like Hammer have the guts to speak their minds and not be afraid.

[A Director]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 7:09pm

Kate Bernstein posted this on Facebook.

I’m deeply touched by the outpouring of love and support in response to an attempted shaming of me that happened during a performance of Young Jean Lee’s “Straight White Men” on Broadway last night. It’s true what people are saying: a woman, in response to my opening line of the show, “Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, and the rest of us,” called out from the audience “You’re not welcome here.”

She could not have been more wrong. The cast, crew, and company of “Straight White Men” have been warm, welcoming, and inclusive of me and the other trans actors in the show, Ty Defoe and T.L. Thompson. The production company, Second Stage Theater, have only expressed delight in welcoming us aboard. And the staff of the Helen Hayes Theater could not be more welcoming—we all of us give and receive nightly hugs. So, I don’t know who she thought she was talking about when she claimed that I’m not welcome. I was not shamed by her. I was puzzled. What could have caused this woman’s outburst?

I’ve been chewing that over, and the best I can come up with is that one of her children or grandchildren has gone through a gender transition that troubled her greatly, to the point that she just boiled over when I took the stage. Look, “Straigh White Men” is a great work of art. And great art does upset people. It happens all the time. Please know that I’m not upset, or afraid. I’m more than ever proud to be part of this show.

Again, thank you for your love and support.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 7:34pm

BOrnstein

[EllieRose2]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 8:10pm

All strength and class. Love her.

"This. No one emboldens this behavior more than the guy in the White House."

It's so regnant, these racist, bigoted a$$holes think they can say or do anything now.  I'm surprised she was let in with her MAGA hat on.  Hateful people don't belong in special places like the theater.  

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 8:31pm

Some people on Facebook are saying it was a publicity stunt on the part of the producers. I guess that is possible, but I don't think Second Stage would resort to a David Merrick-esque type thing like this.

[yesraccoons]

Posted: 8/9/18 at 8:50pm

Don’t know if this happens every night but Bornstein was in the orchestra section handing out ear plugs and was very sweet.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/10/18 at 10:26am

At least link to Kate's post (though I realize this not being clickable isn't super helpful):
https://www.facebook.com/KateBornsteinGenderOutlaw/posts/2093495537392459

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/10/18 at 10:27am

What exactly is Bornstein’s role in this show...?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/10/18 at 10:30am

She and Ty DeFoe each play a Person in Charge, where they mill about the audience before the show and then both do a friendly introduction on stage before the action gets going. They also appear onstage (silently) between scene changes.

[SueBee06]

Posted: 8/10/18 at 10:53am

Matt Rogers said: "Some people on Facebook are saying it was a publicity stunt on the part of the producers. I guess that is possible, but I don't think Second Stage would resort to a David Merrick-esque type thing like this."

I can't imagine them doing that, let alone in a way that was an attempt to shame Kate.