My parents were very active in the Boston theater scene. I grew up with a lot of Broadway show tunes in the house. I watched movies of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. I really like that stuff.
But some how in the past 50 or 60 years (at least) musical theater has become explicitly homosexual. I don’t think normal people have much interest in it anymore. It’s got an unseemly, sleazy feel now in my opinion. To be a star and to express any sort of Normal opinion has got to be the kiss of death.
Exactly
I have seen previews for the newest version of Wicked with Ariane Grande and Madame Nosering.
It was very well produced and visually striking, but I was kind of surprised at the steady stream of the Lesbian innuendo and hintings throughout that short preview.
Giving the Male lead a subdued, secondary role, the Evil Witch sort of becoming the man, instead. The lyrics in the songs. Seen in other eras as well. It’s making money, though.
The theatre’s so obsessed
With dramas so depressed
It’s hard to sell a ticket on Broadway
Shows should be more pretty
Shows should be more witty
Shows should be more...
What’s the word?
Gay?
Exactly!
No matter what you do on the stage
Keep it light, keep it bright, keep it gay!
Whether it’s murder, mayhem or rage
Don’t complain, it’s a pain
Keep it gay!
The last time I went to see a show on Broadway, there was a huge balloon hung over the theater district that bore the words “Equity Against AIDS” or something similar. Visible all over Manhattan. That was in the 90s.