Fans love it. Critics don’t. After Tyler Perry, can urban theater cross over? -9
He auditioned for the Tony
Award-winning Broadway play
"Kinky Boots" only to be cast as a
member of the show's drag queen
chorus. In the end, the part didn't
appeal to him. "I'm sorry, I don't do 'the extra,' I'm going to need a
leading role," he recalls thinking. In urban theater, Sellers got the
chance to really be seen. And he
pays no mind to critics who
characterize plays such as "I'll
Always Love My Mama" and
"Momma Don't" as less than. His theory about the circuit sounds like
a line from one of those plays: "My
grandmother said it best," he says.
"They talked about Jesus Christ, but
in the end they had to call him
savior. It is what it is." "It is what it is" is the intangible
earworm repeated by many of the
actors, writers, producers and
publicists who make their living from
the art form, promoting and
performing three-night stints in major cities with tickets starting at
about $40 a pop. But will the niche genre ever be
more than "what it is"?Washington post
Award-winning Broadway play
"Kinky Boots" only to be cast as a
member of the show's drag queen
chorus. In the end, the part didn't
appeal to him. "I'm sorry, I don't do 'the extra,' I'm going to need a
leading role," he recalls thinking. In urban theater, Sellers got the
chance to really be seen. And he
pays no mind to critics who
characterize plays such as "I'll
Always Love My Mama" and
"Momma Don't" as less than. His theory about the circuit sounds like
a line from one of those plays: "My
grandmother said it best," he says.
"They talked about Jesus Christ, but
in the end they had to call him
savior. It is what it is." "It is what it is" is the intangible
earworm repeated by many of the
actors, writers, producers and
publicists who make their living from
the art form, promoting and
performing three-night stints in major cities with tickets starting at
about $40 a pop. But will the niche genre ever be
more than "what it is"?Washington post
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