1984, the dystopian novel written by George Orwell in 1949, is now on the Broadway stage, having opened in The Hudson Theater after a preview in London.  In its day, it was a shocker, commenting on the dangers of governmental control when taken to an extreme, and the subsequent impact on its inhabitants.  Today, its message resonates in our modern world, and no one is denying the timely release of the dramatic version.  However, what is in question is the manner in which it is being presented, based on the audience’s reaction to the piece.

One of the greatest musicals ever written is, these days, under attack for being the opposite of what it is. The attackers mean well, but they misquote the script, disregard other aspects of the story, and misunderstand – perhaps willfully – a key point. So let’s today take a fresh look at Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1945 masterpiece, Carousel, and answer the charges being made against it.

“When one person in a family transitions, everyone transitions,” says Shelly, the matriarch of the Pfefferman family, played by Judith Light, during season three of the Amazon series, Transparent. Created by Jill Soloway, the multi-award-winning show centers around a Los Angeles family and their lives following the discovery that the person they knew as their father, Mort, played by actor Jeffrey Tambor, is transgender.

But should it become a musical?

99% of theatre fans are amazing. Let's get that out of the way. They're supportive. Open minded. Forgiving. Patient(How many of you have been waiting for a new Sondheim musical?). 

But then there is that 1%. They are the annoying, unbearable, stubborn and obnoxious who somehow find a way to rain on everyone else's parade. 

Yesterday, the New York times reported on the Actors' Equity Jobs Study which was released a month earlier. We did a series of articles when the report was released in May when it came to the gap in pay among female stage managers as well as the jarring statistics when it comes to the casting of performers of color. I don't know what took the Times so long to report of this, but that's not the point. 

The point is, that with their article yesterday, the report was given a much-needed spotlight on the real issue of casting equality in the theatre industry.

What can I say? It does.

By the way, not a whole lot moves me. In general, the list of things that move me is limited to 1) those Allstate car insurance commercials and 2) when I realize I’ve missed the ice cream truck.

But this show moves me, and here’s why.

Over the past couple of weeks, some of you may have noticed things look a bit different at OnStage Blog. Yes, we changed our logo, added a bit of color to it. Yes, we also changed our name. Going simply by OnStage was becoming confusing with all the other entities out there that shared the same name. So we changed it to match the URL and how we're usually referred to by other outlets. 

But one of the bigger changes, that some of you have picked up on, is that we disabled our comments section on the site. 

I love theatre. I always will. I am still relentlessly pursuing a career in it. Yet we can’t ignore that it is an elitist major and career choice.

No matter how much I dreamed and worked, I will never make it to Broadway, I simply don’t have the money. I have had to turn down several freelance jobs and great opportunities because I had to choose economic stability over artistry, and it stings every time.

Clint Ramos has dressed Jake Gyllenhaal (“Sunday In The Park With George”), Allison Janney (“Six Degrees of Separation”), Lupita Nyong’o (“Eclipsed”) and Bradley Cooper (“The Elephant Man”), all on Broadway and in the last few years. He’s designed costumes for modern, New York commuters (Broadway’s “In Transit”), 15th-century revolutionaries (Off-Broadway’s “Joan Of Arc: Into The Fire”) and mischievous fairies (the upcoming “Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Public Theater’s Shakespeare In The Park).  

When asked about his extremely eclectic resume, Ramos said he is “attracted to projects that are about belonging: a character or a group of characters who are looking to belong.” A broad category, but clearly one that has served him well.

To the graduating Theatre Majors of 2017,

My commencement speaker’s most memorable line:

“Titles don’t matter, it is what you do with those titles that matter.”

Thanks for telling that to a bunch of people that just spent thousands of dollars to get these titles.

“Small businesses are the future of America!”

While that might be true, she was speaking at the College of Arts and Science ceremony.

Graduation is terrifying, and it doesn’t help when your commencement speaker seems to be talking to everyone but you. Deeming titles meaningless and small business empowerment doesn’t help the woman that spent four sleepless years to graduate Suma Cum Laude as a Theatre Major.