tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post6017172500416021488..comments2024-01-07T06:59:04.212-05:00Comments on The Playgoer: Ish Sets OOB back 30 YearsPlaygoerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02994724588504353485noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-33197600307084419542008-05-09T15:00:00.000-04:002008-05-09T15:00:00.000-04:00Hardly a SHIFT for the NYT. It has always targeted...Hardly a SHIFT for the NYT. It has always targeted an upperclass readership. Look at the ads -- not just now, but 10, 20, 50 years ago. And the things promoted in the Living (what a friend of mine called, 25 years ago!, the "Having") sections.Just yesterday,bedroom chairs from $2800 to $8500. And bathtubs for five figures. This is nothing new. Check the restaurant reviews from FOREVER - always for people who can drop a nanny's daily pay on a dinner.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-44809306831272935392008-05-09T13:38:00.000-04:002008-05-09T13:38:00.000-04:00Point taken, Anon. I confess: I'm a self-hating Z...Point taken, Anon. I confess: I'm a self-hating Zabar's eating Upper West sider myself. Actually I can't afford Zabar's anymore, and moved further uptown.<BR/><BR/>And I agree, I should not fault stereotypes with yet more stereotypes. My bad.<BR/><BR/>Still, I do believe the shift of the Times target readership toward a more and more affluent demographic is not just my opinion but a manifest policy of theirs.Playgoerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02994724588504353485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-57047409063792852222008-05-09T12:54:00.000-04:002008-05-09T12:54:00.000-04:00Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for thi...Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for this. <BR/><BR/>You nailed it to the wall. <BR/><BR/>Thank you, thank you. <BR/><BR/>Thank you.Philuciferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16677432259206550338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-30800243412979426022008-05-09T12:45:00.000-04:002008-05-09T12:45:00.000-04:00Slightly off point, but as long as you're (rightly...Slightly off point, but as long as you're (rightly) condemning Isherwood for sweeping and stupid generalizations about OOB, could we agree that maybe it's time to retire the stereotype of NY Times readers as Zabar's-patronizing walking emblems of cultural complacency? I go to Zabar's, I read the Times, I even (brace yourself) live on the Upper West Side. And yet, I go see all kinds of OOB shows, read other publications (and even blogs!), am not a thousand years old, and don't like the Roundabout.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-67153441692952294542008-05-09T11:21:00.000-04:002008-05-09T11:21:00.000-04:00Ok, ok. I'm not going to (if you will) pile on poo...Ok, ok. I'm not going to (if you will) pile on poor Charlie for his porn book. Let's not hold that against him here, shall we? From the amazon description it sounds utterly serious and respectable.<BR/><BR/>Amusing, yes. But not relevant!Playgoerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02994724588504353485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-90229769450295851932008-05-09T10:44:00.000-04:002008-05-09T10:44:00.000-04:00Maybe I'm the only one, but I had no idea what Ano...Maybe I'm the only one, but I had no idea what Anonymous was talking about, so I googled it. Result here:<BR/><BR/>http://tinyurl.com/2bb5yeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-46097473161677161912008-05-08T22:13:00.000-04:002008-05-08T22:13:00.000-04:00Perhaps some OOB company should dramatize Mr. Ishe...Perhaps some OOB company should dramatize Mr. Isherwood's only foray into high literature:<BR/><BR/>"Wonderbread and Ecstasy: A Biography of (dead gay porn star) Joey Stefano." <BR/><BR/>That is, assuming an OOB company can be found with enough Pulitzeresque credentials to tackle such heady matter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-51656894363657542632008-05-08T21:34:00.000-04:002008-05-08T21:34:00.000-04:00I've found myself defending Isherwood here now and...I've found myself defending Isherwood here now and again. But I'm with you--what a wasted opportunity.<BR/><BR/>You get the sense from the first few paragraphs that he doesn't really know anything about the off-off scene and, worse, doesn't have any interest in it.<BR/><BR/>I know people have accused Isherwood in the past of not really <I>liking</I> theatre, but his tone here seems to prove it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-59533876780814094242008-05-08T20:24:00.000-04:002008-05-08T20:24:00.000-04:00To be fair--if you're seeing a "2nd grade teacher,...To be fair--if you're seeing a "2nd grade teacher," at least in the context of that article, you're probably seeing the invaluable Suzie Sokol of ERS, who (the article implies) was actually required to join Equity as part of ERS's co-pro with NYTW. <BR/><BR/>Which just brings up another of Isherwood's missed points with this piece: the inadequacy of the Equity agreement to deal with new/non-traditional methods of theatermaking. ERS is able to create the kind of work they do precisely <B>because</B> they are unencumbered by restrictions on rehearsal periods, actor roles, etc., prescribed by AEA.<BR/><BR/>Not to mention the loooong history in the NY avant garde of using non-professional/non-traditional actors as an aesthetic choice, not a compromise (Living Theater, Foreman, Richard Maxwell, Target Margin, ERS... to name just a few). But that's a whole other article for the Times to botch.sbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11921638956699494000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-15258138006506073772008-05-08T18:05:00.000-04:002008-05-08T18:05:00.000-04:00Hey Garrett,I had a couple actor friends who did O...Hey Garrett,<BR/><BR/>I had a couple actor friends who did Off-Broadway shows, shows which charged 35 to 45 bucks a ticket, something like that, and their pay was so small as to be insulting (I think my friend told me his latest paycheck was something like $379 a week after taxes and dues, but I don't know for certain). <BR/><BR/>There are Off-Broadway houses which are bigger, and some that aren't, so it could be the pay scale varies . . . but I think many of the actors at OB level aren't really making a living most of the time, much as we'd like to think they are. <BR/><BR/>But hey, I could be wrong. I'm only telling you what they told me, heh.Joshua Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08239067667651048280noreply@blogger.com