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A Love Letter to the Theater

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A love letter to the Theater:

On Sunday, after a day of shock and despair and grief, we watched the Tony Awards. I’ve watched them since I was very young.

I’m in the theater.

If we needed anything life-affirming on Sunday, and we did, the Tony Awards did that. The pitch-perfect opening where James Corden stood on an empty stage, facing the back wall of the stage with the audience behind him, and spoke about the events in Orlando:

All we can say is you are not on your own right now. Your tragedy is our tragedy. Theater is a place where every race, creed, sexuality and gender is equal, is embraced and loved. Hate will never win. Together, we have to make sure of that. Tonight’s show stands as a symbol and a celebration of that principle.

I’m in the theater.

I have been blessed since I first started acting and working in the theater to work in an environment that is inclusive, that is multi-cultural, that celebrates diversity in every form. For me, because of my upbringing and because I was embraced by the theater at a young age, none of these – race, creed, sexuality, or gender – has ever been an issue. Ever.

Oh, how lucky I am, how lucky we are, to work in the theater. And I have never been prouder to be part of that community than I was on Sunday night, when the love, compassion, acceptance and tolerance I see everywhere in the theater, wherever I work, be it in a big city or a small town, filled the Beacon Theater, reverberated throughout the room.

From Frank Langella’s acceptance speech for Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Play:

…I urge you, Orlando, to be strong. Because I’m standing in a room of the most generous human beings on Earth, and we will be with you every step of the way.

From Lin-Manuel Miranda, the brilliant, brilliant creator of Hamilton, who wrote a sonnet as his acceptance speech:

…We chase the melodies that seem to find us
Until they’re finished songs and start to play
When senseless acts of tragedy remind us
That nothing here is promised, not one day.
This show is proof that history remembers
We lived through times when hate and fear seemed stronger;
We rise and fall and light from dying embers, remembrances that hope and love last longer
And love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside.
I sing Vanessa’s symphony, Eliza tells her story
Now fill the world with music, love, and pride.

(Vanessa is Miranda’s wife.)

“And love is love is love is love is love is love is love.”

I’m in the theater.

I’ve been in the theater for over forty years. So has Don. Those who work in the theater are my ‘tribe.’ I read something yesterday from one of my friends who is an actress. She used the word ‘tribe.’ And she’s right. This community, this everyone-is-welcome-and-equal, loving, and caring group of artists has sustained me throughout my adult life.

I’m so proud to be ‘in the theater.’ I’m so blessed. Thank you for teaching me that everyone is equal, no matter their sexuality, creed, ethnicity or gender. Thank you for allowing me to work in an environment that speaks tolerance, that speaks inclusivity, that speaks love and not hate.

6-14 newdawnrose

Your pretty picture for the day. The first New Dawn Rose to open.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Comments

  1. To you and your ‘tribe’ – thank you – – –
    for an evening that comforted my heart and soul; and, for demonstrating to the rest of the world that love is and always will be the answer.

  3. Beautiful, Claudia. I always watch the Tonys, and I was so taken with the heartfelt speeches, especially Frank Langella’s and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s (who has such an open loving expression, a man not ashamed to show tears). I’m sharing this with my daughter, who is also a member of your “tribe.”

  4. Thank you Claudia! These events have made me so sad and angry and even more sad. My daughter is having a hard time dealing with all of this, the hate is so strong. My heart hurts for her hurt and the many others who have been rejected and hated for just being who they are. I love theater and grew up with tolerance and love for EVERYONE! I’ve been lucky to have much diversity in my life, in my friendships, in my family. Sunday was a tragic day and yet the outpouring of love and support has helped. Thank you for this message. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your friendship.

    • I’ve thought about your daughter in the midst of all of this, Linda. My heart goes out to her and everyone else who has to deal with this level of hate.

      I love you, dear Linda. Thank you.

  7. Dear Claudia,Amazing, and Beautiful,Post .My Love to You and Your family,including your readers,I have come to know and Love thru your blog!
    Love, Judy A-

  9. Wow! I missed the Tony Awards but am grateful that you have shared some of the words from that presentation.

    I was at a local performance of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” Saturday evening – (thought of you and Don, always do when I attend a theater!). It was an amazing show, all four actors were quite mesmerizing in their respective roles. Have I seen it before? Of course I have, but this one is truly memorable. We continue to support our wonderful local theater – the Raleigh Little Theater as we have for over 30 years with annual subscriptions etc. Some of the more modern plays are not quite ‘up our alley’, however the classics such as this one, never fail to thrill.

    My thoughts are with all who died in Orlando, and those who continue to suffer from injuries. . . . . and of course their many loved ones who are going through such heartache.

    The New Dawn rose is perfect for your post Claudia – all we can hope for is a better day as each one dawns around this often very sad and cruel world.

    Mary x

  12. Thanks for reinforcing those positive messages, Claudia. It’s not being done enough, especially by a certain “politician”.

    • No, it isn’t. He wasted no time in fear mongering and making it all about him, did he?

  14. There is a reason I have read your blog daily for a long while now. Beautiful words from you. And the Tony awards show was both touching and comforting. I thought James Corden did a wonderful job hosting.
    You and Don are very lucky to be a part of the tribe. The few times I have been to a theater show it has always been a magical experience. There is nothing like it and I appreciated all of the hard work that went into it!

    • Thank you, Lily. It is magical and it’s full of magical, loving beings as well.

  15. I cry tears for those who died and wish hope for those who survived…Of all the wonderful forms of entertainment in our world..there is nothing like a live performance in the theater…To everyone involved…Don & Claudia…my niece and her husband in Philly…Lindsey & Joe…To all of the amazing actors & people behind them…be it on Broadway or community theater…You don’t just make the the theater wonderful…you make it unforgettable…Thank You!

  16. I think the Tony’s were on at absolutely the perfect moment of time this year. They provided a perfect audience and performers to watch on such an evening.
    Such a sad sad moment in time. Sadder yet, is most of us feel like all we do is wait for the next shoe to drop and see where it happens next. Then everyone in Congress can observe a moment of silence. Not to be crude, but isn’t it time we DO something instead of observing moments of silence??

    • My response to the ‘moment of silence’ was to say “F**K silence! DO something!”

  17. It’s wonderful that you have a connection with theater and it’s work you love. Know how very lucky you are, that this is the course you wisely charted. Too many of us in the world wound up in jobs that didn’t suit us, putting in the hours day after day, year after year, with it never being our passion.

    I did watch the Tonys as you suggested (next day). I don’t know anything about the man who wrote ‘Hamilton’ but what he said made me weep…he got to the heart when our hearts are breaking. And the opening with James Corden was brilliant; pitch perfect.

    Sometimes I don’t ‘get’ things, especially about myself, until you cuff me upside the head (I’m a non-violent person; I need to find another expression). But I have felt completely out of sorts. Like the rug has been pulled out from underneath me. The most disturbing Presidential election of my life. Losing my neighbor Sunday evening, Father’s Day looming, other things in my life not jiving as they should; had a very uncomfortable medical procedure this morning with a irritable doctor and overworked staff; clearly hit ’em on a bad day. I’ve realized, though, that the overriding thing which probably was affecting them as much as me…and of course the whole world… and which keeps putting me into fits of crying, which isn’t very normal for me…is the Orlando massacre. You can’t be a human being and not have this shake you up; preoccupy the mind; cause you to lose sleep. We have morals and principles; stuff we believe in. The good rules to live by. Certain things we’ve felt sure of. And, I dunno; it’s like it’s all being so challenged; as if we’re under a different, insidious, unseen attack. Like tyranny. It doesn’t feel good. It feels scary.

    I feel an obligation to ‘listen’ to the survivor stories from Florida. I was very impressed with the team of physicians who attended the wounded; listening to how they sprung to action and how they did what they did. The bouncer Marine who got as many as maybe 60-70 people to safety when they were frozen with fear; frozen in place. But I caught myself once again (as these gun-related, horrible events indeed occur again and again) caving somewhat to the fear and despair. I don’t like it when I do that. We CANNOT do that. The uncertainty and feeling of being unsafe is what can’t be perpetuated. We can’t live that way. At any mundane turn, having to feel cautious (the grocery store?), proceed with care (the beach?); don’t proceed at all? Never, not, NO. The answer is NO. We have to have faith, hope; courage. On Jimmy Fallon last night, speaking of the unrealness of this crushing tragedy (unbelievable, that anything could come to this…how?…a nightclub? really? – this is how I interpreted what he was saying)…just people wanting to gather and party, listen to music, have fun and dance…he ended his words with this: “Keep on dancing.”

    Live your life. Live for your freedoms. Live for all those in Orlando who now can’t. Keep on dancing. Rise up. Find your strength. Love-is-love-is-love. Good shall overcome.

    So, that’s why I just called someone I haven’t spoken to for a long, long time…and we talked for an hour on the phone with a pledge to see each other soon, talking about her dog, homemade blackberry pie, the lake in summer and the local musical festival. It wasn’t frivolous; it was necessary.

    Sorrow envelops us over unspeakable death, massive hate. Loss triggers memory of loss. We know this pain. Having lost our own loved ones, we can try to imagine what the families of the deceased and the wounded are going through and our hearts go out to them.

    And when people do terrible things and say terrible things and suggest terrible things…have a firmer-than-ever resolve to be and do the exact opposite.

    • I agree. I’m sad and depressed and feeling hopeless but I can’t let myself stay that way. I have to live my life. We all do.

  18. I have to say, I know how you’re feeling about your profession and particularly your theater friends. Your “tribe.” A great word for it too – really perfect. I felt the same way about the teachers at Sandy Hook, both the ones who were lost, and the survivors. That hit home very sharply for me. Although I’m not at all sure I would have been able to do anything close to what they did, I still felt an immense pride to be an educator that weekend. And since then too. 💔

    • I understand. As a former educator, I felt the same way. What brave souls they were.

    • Yes, I am familiar with it and have watched most of it. Very, very funny! Thank you, Maggie.

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