Have you guys ever heard of this?- Broadway Backwards is a charity show that is put together by Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights Aids. It is a night where Broadway stars perform a number of songs, but they sing roles traditionally sung by the opposite gender, and have women singing love songs to other women, and men singing about other men. It was started at the LGBT community center in NYC 7 years ago, in an effort to let people in the LGBT community see their own stories on stage.
The show will be performed at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on March 5th.
We’ve talked a lot in class about how there aren’t enough roles for minorities- which is absolutely true, but this feels like a step in the right direction. Even if it is only done once a year, the exposure of same sex couples and non-traditional gender roles on stage can have an a positive impact on expanding ideas of what is “normal” and what audiences want to see on stage.
Lately, I’ve been reading a lot about how women are portrayed in the media, and how it is impacting current and future generations of women in this country. One of the main points is that if young women and girls don’t see examples of powerful intelligent women, they are not going to believe it is possible.
That’s why I think Broadway Backwards is so great. If more people in the LGBT and theatre community see these stories on stage, maybe we will see a rise in plays that tell the stories of the LGBT community and others.
Watch the video!
