Griffin Matthews’ Post- Page 2

[Luminaire2]

Posted: 6/2/20 at 9:00pm

Wow. What a video. I heard every word loud and clear.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 6/2/20 at 9:15pm

I'm interested to see if any discourse comes of his last statement about Book of Mormon. I always viewed it as a parody of "white savior" narratives.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/2/20 at 9:40pm

OffOnBwayHi said: "Anyone who would question Griffin's post just might be racist themselves —they just might bepart of the problem."

Well, I question the part about commenting on the age of the actors vs the characters. That's always being debated whether it's the recent My Fair Lady or basically any shows with teens (Mean Girls, Heathers, Wicked, etc.) Even if it's not in critic reviews, it's being discussed somewhere.

But the rest of it? Yeah, that feels about right. I enjoyed Invisible Thread. It's terrible to know what he went through behind the scenes. I'm curious what the show he originally planned would have been like. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 6/3/20 at 11:23am

His post has really soured my opinion of Diane Paulus. I still think the shows she has directed are great, but it really makes me question some of her choices. She has directed some of the most diverse shows on broadway, from hair to pippin and even an all black show, Porgy and Bess. So I wonder if any of her other collaborators can corroborate Matthews’ stories.

Updated On: 6/3/20 at 11:23 AM

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 6/3/20 at 12:17pm

Matthew's comments about Diane Paulus - even without the racial perspectives - are pretty much in alignment with what I've heard from industry insiders for years -- so many stories from those who have worked with her essentially saying she is a slightly mentally unhinged creative bully: a brilliant but lazy academic, whose greatest strength is surrounding herself with brilliant collaborators who she essentially wears to the ground (unkindly) with no innate decision about creative quality until she is 'told' something works.

On the precipice of her directing a radically and racially reconceived 1776, I suspect she will have to answer to this.

Updated On: 6/3/20 at 12:17 PM

[mpkie]

Posted: 6/3/20 at 12:33pm

Alex Kulak2 said: "I'm interested to see if any discourse comes of his last statement aboutBook of Mormon. I always viewed it as a parody of "white savior" narratives."

I actually came to see if anyone could expound on this. Or I hope he shares a follow-up. His video was super powerful and I was all but ready to share it until he decided to drop this offhanded remark. So I didn't. I want to hear more of his thoughts on it. My conclusion from the show was that the elders were a bunch of savior wannabe idiots and we were laughing at them.

Schele Williams shared her thoughts on West Side Story Revival (I haven't seen it) during Monday's Stars In The House, and helped me think about the revival in another way that never crossed my mind. I hope Griffin decides to do the same because it felt like he was dropping a controversial, saucy comment for the sake of doing so, which I know cannot be his intention. Crappy way to conclude a powerful video and overshadow the core message.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 6/3/20 at 1:20pm

VintageSnarker said: "OffOnBwayHi said: "Anyone who would question Griffin's post just might be racist themselves —they just might bepart of the problem."

Well, I question the part about commenting on the age of the actors vs the characters. That's always being debated whether it's the recent My Fair Lady or basically any shows with teens (Mean Girls, Heathers, Wicked, etc.)Even if it's not in critic reviews, it's being discussed somewhere.

But the rest of it? Yeah, that feels about right. I enjoyed Invisible Thread. It's terrible to know what he went through behind the scenes. I'm curious what the show he originally planned would have been like."

I think there are a few things he mentions that are issues that might come up in any commercially produced production - the commercial viability of the title of a show; the ages of the actors playing teens, the demands of producers to have creative input -  but as Mr. Matthew's is a theatre professional, I suspect he knows this, and the examples he chose to cite were ones he felt, in his situation, had specific racial implications. 

[binau]

Posted: 6/3/20 at 2:34pm

There are some specific points I do wonder if they are examples of racism or not. For example, a Director saying that he is working for them rather than the other way around. Wouldn't this be a common dynamic with all shows? The hierarchy is often Producer>Director>Creatives>Actors, I thought. Not always the case, but common.

 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/3/20 at 9:45pm

LaneBryant said: "What a freaking time to be alive! Black people and people of color have been silent for WAAAAAAAY too long. Broadway is one of the most racist environments to ever exist. It's why we laugh every time "diversity" or "inclusion" roll off of a tongue. It's a lie. BURN IT DOWN. The entire structure and institution should try again!"

(Emphasis added.) This has certainly been a week for hyperbole.

Broadway is more racist than a slave plantation? Than states and cities with Jim Crow laws? Kern and Hammerstein integrated a Broadway stage in 1927; it took Harry Truman more than 20 years later to integrate the U.S. military. Even today, many banks won't give a mortgage to black people; I haven't heard of a theater refusing to sell tickets to people of color in decades.

I'm not saying racism has been eradicated, on Broadway or anywhere else. But wild-ass assertions don't help the discussion.

 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/3/20 at 10:29pm

I finally figured out how to watch Mr. Matthews' video, and color me impressed! What a thoughtful and cogent statement.

I do have to add, however, that having been through an MFA program in playwriting, I have heard the exact complaints from many a white writer about white directors and producers.

THIS IS NOT TO SAY the behavior Matthews' identifies didn't stem from racism. I think the problem is how is anyone to tell? I certainly don't blame black artists--who confront special treatment based on their skin color every day--for thinking derogatory treatment is rooted in race. It may well be!

But it also may be a tendency in the theater for everyone to treat the writer's work as if it were communal property once production begins. (The situation is even worse in film where the producer or studio owns the screenplay, including the copyright thereon.) The Dramatist's Guild does its best to protect members of any race, but the reality is that unless the writer is producing with his own money, s/he risks being shoved aside. This is especially true with musicals, where the past half-century has seen the director/choreographer become the "boss", at the expense of what is often a team of writers. Matthews says the unnamed director (whom we assume to be Paulus) was "working for me", but that isn't necessarily the case, especially not with musicals.

Nonetheless, a very thoughtful assessment of his experience. We discount it at everyone's peril.

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 12:05am

qolbinau said: "There are some specific points I do wonder if they are examples of racism or not. For example, a Director saying that he is working for them rather than the other way around. Wouldn't this be a common dynamic with all shows? The hierarchy is often Producer>Director>Creatives>Actors, I thought. Not always the case, but common."

Well, for an artist who loves to extoll the virtues of collaboration so much, pulling the "You work for me!" card is kind of aggressive. Even if it is factual, it's not a very respectful or productive way to win an argument. And it should be noted that at least in America, the contracts generally give the playwright final say on their material and provide them the right to revoke the rights to their work. So, when the show was at ART, Diane Paulus's position as Artistic Director technically means she was everybody's boss, if you want to speak purely hierarchically, Griffin Matthews's rights as author protect his text from decisions he doesn't sign off on. And if these words were spoken during the run at Second Stage, Paulus was not Matthews's boss.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 1:14am

Ravenclaw said: "Well, for an artist who loves to extoll the virtues of collaboration so much, pulling the "You work for me!" card is kind of aggressive. Even if it is factual, it's not a very respectful or productive way to win an argument. And it should be noted thatat least in America, the contracts generally give the playwright final say on their material and provide them the right to revoke the rights to their work. So, when the show was at ART, Diane Paulus's position as Artistic Director technically means she was everybody's boss, if you want to speak purely hierarchically, Griffin Matthews's rights as author protect his text from decisions he doesn't sign off on. And if these words were spoken during the run at Second Stage, Paulus was not Matthews's boss."

I agree it was a crappy remark, if said as quoted. Matthews also mentions that he was threatened with the withdrawal of the show entirely if he didn't agree to changes in casting and text and I don't know what all.

It's like the famous story about Ethel Merman refusing to learn a new intro two weeks before opening night ("Call me Miss Bird's Eye, the show's frozen!": yes, the Guild will back the authors' control of their material, but nobody can force the producer to go forward with a project s/he decides isn't working. Nobody can force a star of Merman's wattage to go on stage if she declines. Oh, sure, the writers could sue her, but in the process they'd lose several years' work and perhaps all their earnings to the lawyers.

A relatively young playwright--however talented--in a disagreement with a well-established artistic director isn't likely to come out ahead, regardless of the color of anyone involved. But Mr. Matthews is obviously smart and articulate; perhaps he has good reason to think the friction was race-based.

 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 1:18am

A whole lot of whitesplaining in this thread. In case you haven’t been paying attention, this is our time to LISTEN. Stop questioning and just try to understand the perspective that is being shared. Jesus.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 1:18am

A whole lot of whitesplaining in this thread. In case you haven’t been paying attention, this is our time to LISTEN. Stop questioning and just try to understand the perspective that is being shared. Jesus.

[LaneBryant]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 2:13am

GavestonPS said: "LaneBryant said: "What a freaking time to be alive! Black people and people of color have been silent for WAAAAAAAY too long. Broadway is one of the most racist environments to ever exist. It's why we laugh every time "diversity" or "inclusion" roll off of a tongue. It's a lie. BURN IT DOWN. The entire structure and institution should try again!"

(Emphasis added.) This has certainly been a week for hyperbole.

Broadway is more racist than a slave plantation? Than states and cities with Jim Crow laws?Kern and Hammerstein integrated a Broadway stage in 1927; it took Harry Truman more than 20 years later to integrate the U.S. military. Even today, many banks won't give a mortgage to black people; I haven't heard of a theater refusing to sell tickets to people of color in decades.

I'm not saying racism has been eradicated, on Broadway or anywhere else. But wild-ass assertions don't help the discussion.

Based on everything that's happening in the world, and my low tolerance for White people's mouths, I really just want to tell you to shut the hell up, but I won't. Trying to survive as a Black actor on Broadway and in theatre and in America all at the same time, is hard. That's the weight I carry around every damn day. I've done 3 Broadway shows and those spaces have been almost intolerable. It may seem like a "wild-ass assertion", but you don't know what the fukk it feels like, you're not even in the discussion. You don't know what that trauma feels like - White people telling you how to be Black, White people having no respect for or knowledge of Black culture but making millions off of Black bodies, being paraded around in front of rich white people at galas and parties while you feel like cattle (cuz. the only other Black people there are serving you drinks), White people grabbing your hair, commenting on your skin, asking dumb-ass questions, calling you out of your name, watching White people be continuously promoted and celebrated for doing mediocre work, pointing out "hyperbole" instead of just listening.... Broadway is exhausting and some days it absolutely feels like walking onto a plantation....maybe as a house slave and not a field negro, but you get it. 
 

 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 2:37am

I’ve heard stories even from the “Porgy and Bess” revival of black creatives telling the black actors to “be more Black onstage.”

[binau]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 4:19am

Thank you LaneByrant and others who have engaged in a civil discussion to help people listen and understand when questions are asked. These are complex issues that require discussion and details to help understanding. I’m not sure why anyone would think that a short video with limited details is enough information to really understand the issues here.

Updated On: 6/4/20 at 04:19 AM

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 9:42pm

And now a message from Diane Paulus 

https://americanrepertorytheater.org/a-message-from-diane-paulus-june-4-2020/

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 10:04pm

qolbinau said: "Thank you LaneByrant and others who have engaged in a civil discussion to help people listen and understand when questions are asked. These are complex issues that require discussion and details to help understanding. I’m not sure why anyone would think thata short video with limiteddetails is enough information to really understand the issues here."

Since when is telling people to "shut up" a "civil discussion"?

The short video is all most of us have to work with, so some of us tried to engage seriously with Matthews' remarks. In my world, that is called RESPECT.

Apparently the times call not for respectful engagement with people of color--the same way white people might engage with one another--but a sort of condescension where we treat people of color as angry children who need to scream until they tucker themselves out and quiet down. (Myself, I don't for a moment believe this is helpful or appropriate, nor am *I* comparing people of color to children.)

There is and has always been a lot of $hitty behavior in show business; I don't doubt that some of this derives from racism and sexism and even homophobia. But if nothing can be discussed, we can never unpack what is lousy treatment of everybody and what is specifically targeting individuals on the basis of immutable characteristics.

[joevitus]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 10:23pm

Don't agree most of his examples are "Amy Cooper." I find the whole thing hard to take seriously, and I hate to say that because I don't doubt for a moment that he is seriously triggered and means every word he said. But rationally, most of what he's talking about are power play issues that go on in all shows among the createive, even where everyone is white. The director works for the writer? A lovely dream, but no, just no; not reality.

Don't agree that Broadway is racist either (Hadestown and Hamilton wouldn't be where they are if it were), to whatever extent an abstract entity can be racist to begin with. It seems to me Broadway has gone further to break down color lines and give representation to all people than any other entertainment venue I can think of. Hollywood and television are certainly way behind Broadway when it comes to this.

 

[joevitus]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 10:27pm

qolbinau said: "Thank you LaneByrant and others who have engaged in a civil discussion to help people listen and understand when questions are asked. These are complex issues that require discussion and details to help understanding. I’m not sure why anyone would think thata short video with limiteddetails is enough information to really understand the issues here."

Because Griffin Matthews seems to think it is? 

[latitudex1]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 10:47pm

I need a lot of time to collect my thoughts on that, but I will say that neither the commercial theater industry, Broadway, nor the audience that enjoys it deserve anything more than a speck for granting Hamilton a Best Musical award. Especially in comparison with two of the most racist and misogynistic industries in human history.

Everyone has blindspots. Everyone has areas in which they need to learn. Everyone needs to listen until this is truly heard: Broadway is racist.

Any industry consumed by a predominantly white audience, funded by overwhelmingly white men, and created by predominantly white people is going to have blindspots. Broadway is not a safe haven.

Updated On: 6/4/20 at 10:47 PM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 10:58pm

I worry some people are confusing racism with racial insensitivity.

[latitudex1]

Posted: 6/4/20 at 11:08pm

CATSNYrevival said: "I worry some people are confusing racism with racial insensitivity."

It is all one.

Both from the sociological definition of racism to the impact that insensitivity has on people of color (not just black people) as they try to navigate the experience of doing live theater professionally for a living. 

Racism is a spectrum of learned and observed behaviors and experiences that lead to negative behaviors. It is not necessarily hate. It touches everyone's viewpoint. And, again, everyone has something to learn through experiences like Matthews'.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 6/5/20 at 12:24am

You don’t have to be actively hateful to be racist. Why that is so hard for people to understand is beyond me.