A few days later another friend made an observation. "Rep and theater in general haven’t really made a difference in our society, have they?"
Yes, those are my friends, and they are still my friends because I understand their concern. Besides they expressed the opinion of, I would say, 99.99 percent of our society – that is, if anyone thinks about art at all in these crisis days. At dinners and cocktail parties, many of my friends in business kindly and sympathetically ask how theater is doing because they know for some unfathomable reason I live and breathe it but behind their polite and thoughtful gesture I can feel a distance – a separation between their world and mine. Why is this so? A short time ago another business friend, an old-time expatriate and lover of this country, said to me, "Thank you for what you have given us." He will never know how good those few words made me feel.
But is 99.99 percent of our population right?
In one word – No. Theater may have hardly made a dent in our society but it has made a tiny scratch. No one can tell me that among the hundreds of thousands of men, women and children (mostly women and children but maybe that is our problem and maybe that is why we have a woman president) that have been exposed to some form of the performing arts, there is none for whom the experience has made a difference. Can anyone say that this exposure has not in some way influenced their values, understanding of human relations, their taste or even just their understanding of English and other cultures?
The efforts we make to help the poor and the needy are but a drop in the bucket but does that mean we should throw in the towel and quit? We need to be concerned with the body but we need to be concerned with the mind as well. The problem is that hardly anyone seems to realize that body and mind are not separate and distinct but must be treated as one. Besides, I think everyone will agree that this is not the time to quit!
The Children’s Theater was created to serve the needs of children for better entertainment. Every year for the past ten years, its seats have been filled by thousands of children who – despite the sophistication of cinema, television, and home videos and the questionable attraction of video games which highlight life-like shooting, bombing and killing – can still be thrilled by old-fashioned fairy tales.
Why fairy tales? Who knows? There must be some reason why fairy tales have lasted for centuries and why they are universal in appeal. What are the most successful money-makers on Broadway today? Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.
When Rep started its Children’s Theater, it had no idea that it was going to be such a success. As creator and artistic director, all I wanted to do was to introduce children to literature (the classic story), art (the design and color of costumes and scenery), simple classical music (all the productions are musicals and most require classical voices), dance (every musical has some dance movement) and above all, the structure of a play and the opportunity to know the difference between a live performance and film. All plays allow for the interplay of the audience and the performers.
Since, for most of the children, this would be their first experience with theater we had to make sure they enjoyed it. There are endless versions of all the classic fairy tales and we chose the musicals, those that were lively and funny and didn’t last more than an hour-and-a-half including the intermission. Sets and costumes were bright and of the colors that were attractive to children. Professional actors (children only if the cast required them) were hired and were told that if 500 four-year-olds were noisy it would be the actors’ fault and not the children’s. It was their job to keep the children ages four to seventy-four entertained. Apparently the Rep Children’s Theater has filled a need because the children have been filling the theater.
But, you remind me – relevance?
All right. Let‘s take Cinderella. Besides its artistry what has it got?
1. Cinderella — the symbol of good, of kindness, of lack of vindictiveness, forgiveness, love.
2. Prince Charming — the symbol of good, of appreciation, of goodness no matter what the economic status or political rank, of courtesy and good manners no matter the provocation, of filial love, of true and unbiased romantic love.
3. King Darling — the symbol of fatherly love and concern, of warmth and humor in high office.
4. The Fairy Godmother — a symbol of reward for goodness and the fairness of the universe.
5. The Helpers — all those who help to reward goodness.
6. Stepmother — Symbol of cruelty and selfishness.
7. Stepsisters — Symbols of vanity and self-love.
As in all our Children’s Theater productions, good triumphs over evil, and goodness is its own reward – all wrapped up in a pretty package of music, dancing, color and humor.
Need I say more?