Three days of concerts, rallies, and protests led by theatre folk around the U.S. and overseas will coincide with the inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States.
As previously announced, the Radio City Rockettes will entertain at the inaugural ball, but management has said that any company member who objects to performing will be allowed to sit out. No word on how many of the precision dancers will actually take part.
The Ghostlight Project (January 19) Some 300 theatres in 42 states are taking part in a variety of activities designed to affirm their commitment to “diversity and inclusion.” Activities at each site will be decided by the participants at each site. At 5:30 PM in each U.S. time zone that day, theatre artists will gather outside their theatres to “create a ‘light‘ for dark times ahead, and to make, or renew, a pledge to stand for and protect the values of inclusion, participation, and compassion for everyone regardless of race, class, religion, country of origin, immigration status, (dis)ability, age, gender identity, or sexual orientation.” There will be nearly 50 gathering sites in New York City alone, including the red steps above the TKTS discount ticket booth in Times Square, the National Black Theatre in Harlem, the Public Theater in Greenwich Village, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in Brooklyn. Participating theatres and theatre programs include the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, American Repertory Theatre in Boston, Signature Theater in New York, the Philadelphia Theatre Company, Stage West Theatre in Fort Worth, Seattle Repertory Theater, and Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Click here to see a full list of participating theatres around the U.S.
Top Trumps (January 19-21) London’s Theatre503 is hosting a series of 12 short plays written in response to the U.S. presidential election of Donald Trump. Here’s how it’s billed: “In the week of President Trump’s inauguration a team of 503 artists offer plays, proposals and premonitions to explore the road that has led to this point and the directions we might take from here. Each show will feature all 12 short plays [including one-acts by Caryl Churchill, Neil LaBute and Lily Bevan], followed immediately by panel discussions designed to provoke thought and action, featuring leading journalists, campaigners, politicians, economists and U.S. theatre-makers. On 19th January we ask ‘Could Trump be a good thing?’ On the 20th, ‘What can I do now?’ as activists discuss practical ways to move forward. After the matinee on the 21st we take on political correctness and discuss the shy locker room Trump supporters, and finally after the evening show on 21st we ask ‘Is the Media to blame?’” For tickets and further information, click here.
Concert for America: Stand Up, Sing Out! (January 20) Betty Buckley, Sharon Gless, Andrea Martin, Jessie Mueller, Bebe Neuwirth, Rosie O’Donnell, Rosie Perez, Billy Porter, Chita Rivera, and Brian Stokes Mitchell are among the stars who will perform at the first in a planned series of benefit concerts produced by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley that are designed to benefit Planned Parenthood, Southern Poverty Law Center, National Immigration Law Center, and the Sierra Club Foundation. This inaugural concert will take place January 20 at 3 PM ET at The Town Hall theatre in Manhattan. For tickets and further information, visit concert4america2017.org.
Women’s March in New York City (January 21) will be simultaneous with the Women’s March on Washington. The contingent organized as #BroadwayStrong will include the Broadway theatre community at large, affiliate service organizations, industry members, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and not-for-profit organizations. The event, according to organizers, will “promote the advancement of equality and human rights for all women, minorities, and immigrants sends a clear message to the incoming cabinet that we are watching. This march also sends a message to the millions of foreign onlookers that the United States of America is not racist, sexist, or anti-gay. We, its citizens, believe in equality and stand ready to fight for it!” The Broadway Group is scheduled to be among the first groups to march. Step off is at 11 AM, so as not to conflict with the Saturday matinee. The New York City march will begin at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza (833 First Avenue) and culminate at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue. Learn more at facebook.com/BroadwayStrongNYC.
