Today is Black Friday, the day when businesses can usually count on leaving the red and going into the black (if people spend money, of course). What better way to celebrate such an occasion than to give my readers clips from 50 Broadway musical flops, shows that never went from red to black. I promise you a few delightful hours of pouring through wonderful content that will make your holiday weekend.
With Thanksgiving almost upon us, I cannot help but reflect upon the things that make my life worth living. At the top of that list will almost always be my Broadway music. There is nothing like the escapism and emotional catharsis brought about by listening to a tuneful, poignant Broadway musical score. They keep me energized, smiling and moving forward.
You would have to be living under a rock if you are not aware that our Vice President Elect, the monstrously bigoted Michael Pence of Indiana, the man who has done everything to mock minorities and spit in the face of gay rights, attended the Broadway musical Hamilton recently. THE Hamilton that tells the story of our forefathers in an artistic stroke of revisionist history that employs diversity in its casting to underline the disparity in crediting everyone who helped to shape America. Kudos to the cast of the production who gently and respectfully schooled His Royal Highness on his hypocrisy by actually welcoming him for coming and suggesting he might learn something. Once again the power of musical theatre had the potential to change minds and open eyes. As Vice President Elect Pence left the theatre, he was booed by people who didn’t like the way he thinks and it had to be a hard pill swallow for this poor, misunderstood wolf in Christian clothing.
The Broadway revival of William Finn’s and James Lapine’s Falsettos produced by Lincoln Center has been eagerly anticipated. Indeed, the musical that explores the modern definition of “family” is a much-needed tonic in a world where hate and homophobia are rearing their ugly heads at every turn, and where compassion and understanding are derided as “un-American” by so many friends and neighbors who would support a Trump presidency. Yes, the story of Falsettos hails from a different time, an era where fear ruled our thoughts as a mysterious disease began to kill-off predominantly gay men as conservative politicians chose to ignore the death tally in favor of religious retribution exacted by an Old Testament God of spite and smite
