The email from Stages Artistic Director, Kenn McLaughlin was dispiriting, if not altogether unsurprising. It was June 20, and the company was mid-run on two shows featuring drag characters, and things weren't going well. “As you know, we’ve been hosting a wild party at Stages for the past few weeks,...
Photo by Melissa Taylor
What should have been a fun, light-hearted easy-sell block of shows for the company, had turned into empty seats and ghosting from a significant segment of their usual audience. This despite robust marketing efforts and favorable reviews. Then there were those who attended, had a good time, but didn't engage in the all-important word-of-mouth post-performance.
The complaint and resulting cancellation came as a shock to Vivienne St. John, Artistic Director of Main Street Theater's Theater For Youth, who says the company has done crossdressing for years and no one has ever mentioned it at all. “I wouldn’t say that I’m not going to think about it in future, but are we going to change, no,” says St John. “You’re not going to see drag in Theater For Youth, what we do is cross-gender casting and will continue to do that. We couldn’t do nearly the number of shows without crossdressing because we can’t afford 25 actors in a play. And fewer shows would mean kids not being able to see their favorite stories come to life on stage.
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