Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, pondering the imponderables and especially the interesting conversation that happened with two or three of our cast members at the end of last night’s rehearsal. We were going through the new song, Ode to NoHo that I wrote a couple of weeks ago. It’s a satirical song in the classic revue song mold. Well, apparently a couple of our cast members were confused by the intention of two lines in the second verse, which they thought could be perceived in the wrong way, which is, I think, the way they perceived them. Both young women are very talented and very smart. I guess they wanted clarification as to intention and what I meant. I told them simply it was to get a laugh and that I found it amusing because it pokes fun at the bugaboos and tropes of today. But that’s the thing, isn’t it? It would seem like satirizing stuff is no longer allowed. Satire is no longer a thing. But isn’t the job of a humorist or satirist to poke holes or poke fun at just about everything that’s current in the world? Isn’t that what all the best musical revues did back in the day? Here is the verse in question:
And NoHo’s got theater, diverse, that’s the deal
Multi-racial Miller, woke Moliere, and woke O’Neill
A transgender Hamlet has curbside appeal
Now, I find that amusing – they didn’t. The worry that the audience won’t. I’m pretty good at judging what will and won’t get a laugh and I think it would get a laugh. I’m not precious about such things and I obviously could rewrite the three lines and not have them be satirical at all – that’s not the issue – the issue is do we tailor everything we do to the current generation and what they think at this particular moment in time? If Mel Brooks made Blazing Saddles today, would he have these conversations about everything in the film? Same with The Producers? I worry about these things because when you start self-censoring, I’m not sure that’s a good thing – if you look at the various groups that are removing certain books from their school libraries because someone somewhere might find a word in them offensive, is that what we really want? These nice people thought someone might think I was racist and transphobic because of a satirical lyric, and I find that completely weird, since I’m just about the least racist or transphobic person on Earth. I told them I’d keep an open mind about it and that I’d write an alternate lyric and keep it at hand, and I’d see how I feel as we go along. I’m glad that they knew I’d be open enough to have the conversation.
Otherwise, the rehearsal was fine. We ran some of what we’ve staged, cleaned it up, then people ran solos while I staged a couple of the sketches.
Yesterday was a weird little day. I did get about seven hours of sleep, but my tummy wasn’t so happy due to the Islands disaster, so the sleep was very erratic. Once up, I answered e-mails, had some telephonic conversations, had a turkey sandwich and coleslaw for food (nothing else – very good day, food-wise), shaved and showered, wrote the little scene I needed to, and then I moseyed on over to the mail place and picked up a couple of packages and both important envelopes and a little residual check, and from there I went directly to the theater.
Today, I’ll be up by ten and I’ll go to the car dealer so they can install my navigation module. That should only take a few minutes. Then I’ll go do some banking and hope the lines aren’t long. Then I’ll eat something light, perhaps a sandwich, perhaps a salad, after which I have to do a little interview for LA Now and Then, which I’ll shoot on my iPhone and send to the fellow who needs it. Then we have a rehearsal. Our choreographer will be with us and while she works, I’ll stage some of the solos and duets so that those will be done. And then I’ll come home and relax.
Tomorrow is more of the same. Friday is off, Saturday is our long day, and I was going to stage the wrestling match, but one of the actors isn’t with us so can’t do it. And, of course, we’re still missing one performer. I gotta tell you. Sunday is off.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by ten, get a navigation module installed, bank, eat, do a self-taped interview, and have a rehearsal. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, pondering the question of whether satire is dead?