2023: West Side Story - Dramatic Productions + Canberra CityNews

 

 West Side Story – based on a conception of Jerome Robbins.  Dramatic Productions at Gunghalin College Theatre October 6 – 21, 2023.

Reviewed by Frank McKone
October 6

“Dramatic Productions is dedicated to delivering the highest quality locally produced community theatre in an environment of respect, integrity and positivity.”
https://www.dramaticproductions.com.au/about

It was a surprise, then, for a professional critic to have attached to his complimentary ticket a page full of instructions, mainly about the wording we must use when referring to individual cast members (for example, their correct pronouns; the correct spelling of their names; and referring to them in the same way as they are described in their biographies published in the program).  

 I have since been informed, following research after the publication of the Addendum below,  that the director's name was falsified with a completely fictional CV published in the program.  In these circumstances, my original review is now deleted, except for my comments on the Producer, Richard Block's intentions, as follows:

It concludes rather mysteriously, “The show addresses racial tension.  To avoid this being present in media discussion surrounding the show, we ask that reviewers and media writers aim to cover both sides of the story and cast to avoid cultural bias.”

Apart from the condescending nature of these instructions, seeming to assume that I might denigrate an actor or criticise the casting on the basis of their ethnicity, I am at a loss to understand what “to cover both sides of the story and cast to avoid cultural bias” means......

What is meant by “both sides”, and what is “the story”?  Apparently the Dramatic Productions founder and managing director, Richard Block, writing in his Letter From The Producer, is afraid, because of “seeing various companies around the country cancel their productions, due to a back-lash from the community regarding casting”, since he has chosen to go to and to effusively thank “all the community and performance groups and Embassies who helped us when we were seeking our [diverse multicultural] cast.”  

Does he mean by issuing these instructions that he cannot trust us critics to have “respect, integrity and positivity”?  Yet these, with honesty, truth-telling, and encouragement of the appreciation of the arts, are central to a critic’s aims.  Of course, in modern times, cross-cultural and cross-gender casting is an important part of making new theatre.  

Addendum from Canberra CityNews

Canberra CityNews
 Sunday, October 8, 2023


Reviewers attending the musical “West Side Story” have been issued with a set of “guidelines”, which looked like an effort to pre-empt and restrict negative comment, a clear attempt at media manipulation, writes a furious “CityNews” arts editor HELEN MUSA.

THE reviewing profession in Canberra appears to be under siege, with the latest attack coming in the form of extraordinary document given to selected reviewers attending “West Side Story” at Gungahlin Theatre on Friday night.

The lengthy document, a list of “guidelines” to reviewers, included the following: to refer to cast members using their “correct” pronouns; to avoid grouping the actors by ethnicity while at the same time referring to the actors’ country of origin or heritage; to spell names according to the program; to use the “respectful, gender, neutral term ‘Latinx’”; to comment on artistic choices as having been made by the “collective creative team” rather than individuals; and to avoid cultural bias.

Obviously under such conditions, “CityNews” and other reviewing outlets with professional journalists will not review “West Side Story”.

In a long career reviewing theatre, this is the first time I have ever seen such a missive. It comes in the context of the company’s experiment in casting the famous musical’s Puerto Rican characters with purely Latino artists from the Canberra community.


Given the danger that the experiment would not succeed, the “guidelines” looked like an effort to pre-empt and restrict negative comment, a clear attempt at media manipulation.

Canberra’s reviewers are not known for prejudiced, racist or ethnically-based comment, so the exercise seemed misjudged.

In what producer Richard Block later said had been an error caused by haste, the “guidelines” were handed to some reviewers and journalists, but not others.

He said they had been printed and released at the request of the creative team.

This latest check on media freedom follows the Canberra Times’ recent decision to abandon commissioning specialist arts critics on the doubtful basis that Canberrans prefer previews to reviews.

Once again, the Canberra public loses out, not having access to a seasoned assessment which might help them decide whether or not to attend a production costing $37 to $45 for a seat.

Helen Musa OAM, is the arts editor of “CityNews” and founding convener of the Canberra Critics’ Circle.

Note: At 2pm Sunday 8 October 2023 I received the following from Helen Musa:

Dear reviewers of musicals.

The producer of West Side Story, Richard Block, has now removed the "guidelines" as a condition of reviewing.  But the reviewing should be done not on the basis of Friday night's emotionally charged scenario but by attending another performance of your choice.
 

I record this situation here as a record for future reference, in the event of this company or others taking this unacceptable approach, which included publishing false information to the general public in its program, for which donations were requested at reception on the night.

©Frank McKone, Canberra