What The Madison Square Garden "To Kill A Mockingbird" Performance Means To Me
Ashley Kristeen Vega, Features Writer
Niki Hatzidis, Features Editor
This surely isn’t the first time the theatre community has collectively thought “What in the WORLD is Scott Rudin thinking?”
The driving producer behind this wild reimagining of Broadway’s currently running production of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is no stranger to risks. And while this one was meticulously calculated, a risk is a risk. Rudin, along with Barry Diller, Mayor DeBlasio himself, and the existing team of top-notch theatre professionals already tied to the production, conceived the craziest idea to cross the lips of a commercial New York producer: what if we did a free show at Madison Square Garden for thousands of NYC schoolchildren?
[Cue record scratch] How would that work? Who would fund it? Is it even worth it in this world of instant gratification and ever-present phone screens?
Spoiler alert: Where there’s a will, there’s a way - and Rudin found a way.
Step one: Fund the damn thing. (They say it takes a village, and while capitalization for the event was not widely shared, it definitely happened. This is truly the magic of theatre.)
Step two: Figure out logistics. (Anyone who has ever met a stage manager knows nothing is impossible.)
Step three: Find the audience. (Hello, New York Department of Education? Would you like to bring 18 thousand schoolchildren to see a modern classic that is a staple of American literature and theatre? For free, of course - Done.)
Step four: Secure the current Broadway director and cast, the Mayor and his wife, and Spike Lee himself to create an unforgettable performance.
And what may be quite an unexpected - Step five: Create a fresh, widely-accessible brand of theatre with a tale as old as time.
So how did it work? Did it work at all?
While I myself was not fortunate enough to sneak into a seat, I have a great connection with an incredible educator/playwright. In fact, she was the very person who taught me the tale of Atticus Finch as my high school English teacher in the middle of nowhere in Texas (and, years later would write a play I would direct Off-Broadway at Theatre Row). Small world, huh?
Her name is Stephanie Salazar-Amaro, and her information is as an insider in theatre and lover of the arts, as well as that of an audience member at MSG for the one-performance-only epic event.
AKV: Stephanie, thank you for agreeing to share your insight! Let’s get down to brass tacks. What was it like on the inside of Madison Square Garden that afternoon?
Stephanie Salazar-Amaro: Chaotic is the best word I can use. I've attended my fair share of theatrical events, and there is usually a buzz of anticipation in the air, but the energy of 18,000 school children in one arena is beyond insane. It's already a struggle to settle 200 students down for a school assembly, so trying to get them situated for a play was a challenge.
AKV: I couldn’t even imagine that kind of energy! What were you expecting upon invitation to this unprecedented performance?
SSA: I knew most of my students had little to no experience in attending events involving the performing arts. The other teachers and I were thrilled about exposing them to something new.
AKV: Did you realize this was a historic event? According to multiple news outlets, this was the largest gathering of people in modern history to see a performance of a play.
SSA: It was literally the one sentiment that everyone expressed before the show, and it shocked my students. We all felt lucky to be a part of such a momentous event, and my students were proud to share that information all over their social media platforms.
AKV: I’m sure these young students were thrilled to share this! How monumental that this particular story has evolved so much that it can be shared via social media to be a part of these modern lives. That being said, what does the MSG Mockingbird mean to you?
SSA: The show itself was already meaningful because I love the novel and I'd only ever seen the film version. The live performance on such a grand scale shattered my previous expectations because I shared it with my students and seeing them transition into theatre lovers was so rewarding. My heart soared when they thanked me for convincing them to go to the show.
AKV: What did it mean to the students?
SSA: By intermission, I had students crowding around me to ask questions about the plot, the characters, and the staging. These same students were the ones who had previously expressed their disinterest in the show. They went from apathetic to rabid over the course of an hour. In fact, they're still talking about the show to their friends at school. They connected to the characters, invested in the plot, and made their emotional responses well known to the actors on the stage.
AKV: What do you think this means for the future of the American theatre?
SSA: Live performances will always mean more to an audience than a previously recorded show. The engagement with the actors and the instantaneous feedback from the audience is unparalleled in performance art. I can't even imagine how this particular show impacted the cast and crew compared to previous performances, and the immediate validation they received from an audience of this size was immeasurable. If this type of show is made available to the public, then we are providing more opportunities for people to experience live theatre. If 18,000 NYC school children can sit and enjoy a play in a packed arena, then anyone can.
In our current Broadway climate where a brilliant story has to match a Broadway-level production value, we as a community must understand what this particular event means. We can tell a story simply and truthfully and drastically move an audience.
We can seat high school children who have no interest in theatre and by intermission transform them into patrons of the arts. In doing exactly that, we can shift perspectives, affect change, and change lives. Forgive me if it sounds trite, but these are things worth believing in and worth fighting for.
Will this create a nation-wide arena tour of this particular show? Will new scripts spring forth to fulfill this new, yet ultimately incredibly old, brand of theatre? Will Scott Rudin have crazier ideas than this? None of these answers are clear and no one can predict the future, but this may rock the theatre world as much as it rocked those children that day.
If that single performance proved anything, it is that there is a previously untapped audience who would gladly jump at the opportunity for a show if the price were not a factor. Since this interview, Stephanie has shared with me that her students are interested in seeing Mockingbird at the Shubert, something none of them have previously experienced. The caveat is the lack of accessibility for these often marginalized students, i.e. the steep average ticket price in the $150+ range. However, with Rudin’s recent announcement of $50 tickets to his shows for the remainder of this month (to combat COVID-19 drop among the Broadway houses, but that’s a whole other story...) maybe these students will finally have that opportunity.
The Madison Square Garden performance certainly had the desired effect on this oft-overlooked demographic, and if their interest in theatre holds, we may be able to further introduce them to a world previously inaccessible to these children.
And for the sake of the American theatre, we need to try. .....
Ashley Kristeen Vega is an actress, director, and writer based in New York City. Stream her latest, award-winning short film PSYCHASTHENIA at PsychastheniaFilm.com. @AshleyKristeenVega // AshleyKristeenVega.com
Photo from NBC News