Hey theater friends A Broadway show opened last night. This production stars and was guided by some very talented people. It did not get good reviews. Now leave it alone. Social media schadenfreude is not a good look on you!

Sorry but this tweet made after Funny Girl got panned by all major publications was making me mad. A combination of the false sense of community that is implied here, the moral high ground, and the fact that a cis white man was telling everyone to play nice. Now I have no interest in taking down this production - I have no connection to the musical itself and I actually like Beanie and LOVE Sue Slayvester. I adore the show's marketing aesthetic and I'll go see it at a reasonable price. EVERYONE ELSE who's already shelled out $300+ and who will continue to do so through the summer season however definitely has a right to trash or praise the musical online. We all know the show has talented people. We also know that despite the bad reviews it will continue to thrive, even if by name alone.

What I notice when I see this kind of tweet (and there are many) is that people heavily cemented into the professional new york theatre community truly live in a bubble in which they are supported, defended, and uninterested in speaking their mind due to "social media schadenfreude." Maybe they don't even need to speak their mind because everything is so safe and shiny and protected in their worlds? A world where a productions with some issues is put up but speaking ill of it is unnecessary and actually offensive given the talented and hard working crew. Like when you see a high school production of Seussical that is objectively okay (perhaps...bad?) but you can't say anything negative because it's not helpful and everyone just worked so hard. Except this isn't that... this is a major new york production getting reviewed by major new york publications - both unbothered by the quoted retweets of nobodies on twitter. but who ARE bothered are those who fear of being involved with the next 'hated' show.

American theatre and those in the community are often united with a sense of us vs. them. Not in a survivalist way, or even in a spiteful way, but more in a way that recalls the high school outcast. We (the community) are reimagining a kinder world, a hopeful future, a nostalgia-laced dream sequence that everyone else is too hardened to acknowledge or appreciate. There's always been an air of superiority for 'knowing' such an elite art form, disguised as a humble niche interest that nobody pays mind to. And so, the idea that negative press from twitter will completely tank a show or at least severely injure the morale of a cast and crew on Broadway prevails. Reality: production companies and investors pay millions of dollars to put these shows up, actors pay tens of thousands of dollars in training for the chance to audition, and audience members put down hundreds for a night at the theatre. People love the theatre. Many people cannot afford to keep up with the theatre.

This sentiment from the bottom up might be twofold - there's the fear that bad word of mouth will stunt ticket sales. The financial concern is real, as many productions never make a profit, though the absolute destruction of a Broadway show because of a small online faction is... delusional. Then, the sentiment that suggests as a theatre community we must hold each other close through thick and thin, wins and losses, is just not a strong argument for those who are regularly left out of said community. EYE am not a part of you guys. Your status quo leaves a lot to be desired... This tweet prompted conversation asking "when and where is the right time to air grievances with a production, especially as someone in an industry." OP's answer.... do it all in-person, not online. HUH???? wtf are you scared of producer narcs? We should be past the days of "anyone can see what you say on the internet" because we are all very aware of this. i would not be saying these things if i didn't want people to see. i'm not very afraid of having my true voice attached to my professional career because i feel like, if i don't have my ideology what do i have? why should i tone down my perspective for the sake of a multi-million dollar show? sure, actors and playwrights are afraid to upset companies, but i think we should also remember there are change agents in all facets of the industry. if we are all honest about our priorities then eventually a power transition will occur and the old guard's values will have have no weight in the conversation. of course this is all quite wishful thinking, and contingent on white theatremakers plotting against their own supremacy but what else can be done? i'm a little tired of playing it safe, diligently working my way up for years just for a seat at the table, and by then i am sedated and thus content with 'the way things are.' if we all moved as though pillars of white tradition in theatre already experienced divestment, what would our landscape look like? what would are reviews, both professional and amateur, look like?

again, this isn't really about Funny Girl at all, but about the need by the industry (and upheld by its tenants) to vanish any worthwhile discourse at all costs. this can effectively be done by alienating theatre lovers by saying 'if you love the form you won't trash it online, and if you do so, you aren't With Us.' there is no reason to 'protect' a production or an industry that is not interested in protecting me. the value of my opinions and words is already lower than most, being young, asian, and female, so i might as well milk my two cents for all they're worth.