While Broadway is nowhere near perfect as I have stated in previous posts, I do need to give time to cheer. 2015 could be called one of the most diverse years on Broadway in a very long time.
Shows like The Color Purple, On Your Feet, and Allegiance have opened audience's eyes up to different cultures all while uniting people through song and dance. I think that it is great that so much diversity, in its different shapes and forms, is on Broadway now.
The Color Purple tells the story of a battered African-American woman who finds independence. This musical features many African-American actresses as well as the hardships African-Americans faced in the 1930s. Audiences can see a story that many are not familiar with, told by strong African-American women.
On Your Feet is the story of Emilio and Gloria Estefan. The show is about how the Estefans met and how they combined their Cuban culture with American music and dance to become worldwide sensations. On Your Feet, like The Color Purple, introduces audiences to the struggles different cultures had to face in America, only, this time, it is about Hispanic-Americans.
Allegiance was inspired by George Takei's childhood during the Japanese-American internment during World War II. It follows a family who is relocated from California to Wyoming following Pearl Harbor. Once again, audiences can watch the hardships from the perspective of Japanese-Americans as they go through this horrible segregation. This production stars Takei as well as beloved Broadway actress Lea Salonga.
"Whether it's providential, coincidence, or meant to be, the fact is what's happening on Broadway is so diverse it is almost utopian," Salonga said in an interview with The New York Times.
The president of Broadway League, Charlotte St. Martin, also told The New York Times that this was the most diverse Broadway season in the last ten years.
As someone who believes that the theater can and should be used to educate and inform, the diversity on Broadway during the 2015-2016 season is doing just that. Audiences are exposed to different cultures and the varying hardships and struggles that will make them think and hopefully leave the theater wanting to know more.
I believe that Broadway definitely took a step in the right direction with the current season.
To read the full New York Times article featuring the stars of The Color Purple, On Your Feet and Allegiance, click here.
Sydney, you did a good job of summarizing these main Broadway shows, however, I would love to see a detailed opinion review on each one of them. That will offer your audience a more detailed and persuasive argument/review for each show.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great timely topic to write on especially with all of the diversity issues going on in the film industry! I liked how you gave specific examples of plays coming up to keep it from being so general.
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