Lebanese High School Musical: “Thrilling”
“I just saw the production; it premiered tonight after being postponed due to the recent hostilities in the county. My sister plays Sharpay Evans and it was thrilling to be able to watch it in the midst of such an ugly national crisis - very emotional.” That’s the comment that Milia Ayache, from Lebanon, left in answer to my entry about a “Multi-cultural High School Musical.”
Milia also directed me to the event profile on Facebook, which I have happily added to my profile (though I don’t think I’ll be able to make it, sorry). Theatre de Mazitou, the production house exclusively licensed by Disney to produce High School Musical in Lebanon, also talks more about their purpose in producing the musical. They held the objective “to reinforce and enhance novelty in Lebanon, shake up their talents and intellect and give them a chance to express themselves in their country. The lines of work we approach are utterly in respective of the growth of children’s intellect, internal and external development as well as their output.”
The troupe had to overcome a situation not commonly faced by theatrical groups - on May 8th, the country fell into “chaos” as a general strike was called - and by strike, we’re not talking about people holding placards and marching in a line. “You could hear gunfire crackling across Beirut all morning” reports Robert Fisk. In spite of this, they carried on with the premiere a week later, and I’m incredibly impressed and hope they have a fantastic run. Kudos to them for the bravery in the face of very difficult times, and holding to the theatrical tradition of “the show must go on.”
“If the same Lebanese theater group were to put on something by Sondheim, would it bother you less?” asks Milia. I understand the question - the idea that some plays are “classics” and that something of a higher perceived quality, it somehow stops being cultural assimilation and becomes common human experience.
I don’t know if my objection is so much to the author of the show or even the quality as much as the language. I believe that there are probably excellent Lebanese playwrights and stories that, if U.S. theatre goers were more open, would add to the cultural richness of Broadway (not to mention TV and movies). But international cinema remains the purview of upper-class liberal hippy types (yes, I’m generalizing and stereotyping here) and the international theatre scene remains the purview of the Ivory Tower of academia. I think, in the end, we all lose out in the one-way spread of cultures.
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POSTED IN: Backstage & Behind-the-Scenes, Opening Night, Performing Artist Profiles, Performing Arts News, screen to stage
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