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*andrew barth feldman grandpa voice* I have questions https://twitter.com/BroadwayWorld/status/1391724829632614404">https://twitter.com/BroadwayW...
also tw/ for transphobia in this thread
One of the things that& #39;s always rubbed me a little weird about protests about Broadway is that since there isn& #39;t really an overarching CEO or leader of Broadway, these responsibilities fall mostly on the individual theaters and shows, who have different objectives than others.
But Mrs. Doubtfire ACTUALLY HAS SOMETHING that it can do if it wants to return better: hire trans and nonbinary consultants to make the show as anti-transphobic as a "man in a dress" show can possibly be.
By the way, I do want Doubtfire to reopen. Rob McClure has been one of the most active white Broadway celebrities to raise money for Broadway for Racial Justice. There are kids who have put years into this show who need to get back before they age out of their roles.
And after the passing of Doreen Montalvo last year, the show deserves at least one performance that can be dedicated to her memory, and it feels like a slight insult to that memory to close that door so quickly.
And Doubtfire, to its credit, has started doing the work. Before the shutdown, McClure and the show& #39;s writers were adamant that they didn& #39;t want the show to become a "man in a dress" show, focusing more on the family and the relationships between characters.
It& #39;s not a coincidence that two of the three songs released to the press were songs that have to do with family and what happens when it& #39;s broken apart - not the Doubtfire plot. (Also, "What the Hell" has been stuck in my head for the entire pandemic, thank you for asking)
But after a tumultuous winter where trans kids are told they can& #39;t play school sports and supportive parents are told they may have their children taken away from them, it bears the question: is this the time to have ANY "man in a dress" story, however anti-transphobic it may be?
I can& #39;t answer that. I& #39;m not transgender. And I& #39;ve heard different opinions from transgender people in the industry about whether the show should return or not. But if it does, it should listen to those people even more closely than before - they deserve it.
(OK, back to crying about Alex Boniello and April Lavalle getting engaged, BYEEEEE)
