Euthanised on Broadway

The New York Times hails a brave new dramatic production seeking to confront theatregoers with the grim truth of the carbon-rich energy sources that illuminate the stage and power the vehicles transporting patrons to their night out on Broadway:

“The Great Immensity opened on Thursday. The latest production from the frisky, inquisitive theater company the Civilians, this witty but unwieldy show features some hilariously depressing tunes about the decaying state of the world and its beleaguered creatures, with music and lyrics by the company’s gifted in-house songwriter, Michael Friedman.

Grim dispatches about the extinction of species, the acidifying oceans and the uselessness of global climate summits have been turned into perky postmodern show tunes. Each falls lightly on the ear as it plants a black seed of knowledge about our imperiled planet.”

That was then. Now comes this update:

“The Great Immensity … produced … with a $700,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, ended its run early amid a storm of criticism from reviewers and lawmakers alike. It opened a year late, reached just five percent of its anticipated audience and likely fell short of its ambitious goal of informing a new generation about the perceived dangers of man-caused climate change.

Plus, it apparently wasn’t very good.”

To read just how woeful the play really was, click the link at the bottom of this item.

As to the cast and crew, they should not give up hope. Were they to ship their show across the Pacific, the Australia Council would almost certainly produce a generous grant or three. Bad, ridiculous, expensive and ideologically canted to the green left, how could an Australian arts administrator resist?