Rising voices ensure the show will go on
Independence Day 2021 — what a difference a year makes.
A year ago, I honestly didn’t know if our beloved and normally vibrant Curtain Call in Stamford could survive an extended closure. Today, we are back in action and gearing up for normal levels of activity.
The holiday means so much more to me this year. I had never been more active in government than voting in every state, federal and local election I was entitled to. It wasn’t just the contentious presidential race that motivated me, it was the survival of the industry that I’ve been part of for most of my life — the arts. And more specifically, theater. We couldn’t die.
Mark Twain may have made light with his quote, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” when his obituary was erroneously published, but theaters and other arts venues were indeed dying. And yes, I am well aware of another great writer’s quote, “The theater is the only institution in the world which has been dying for four thousand years and has never succumbed” ( John Steinbeck).
The art form needed for the soul of our world surely would not succumb, but what would it take to survive a global pandemic? Steinbeck’s quote ended with this: “It requires tough and devoted people to keep it alive.”
I saw huge organizations with multi- million dollar budgets ( and their incredibly large lobbying groups) pushing Congress for survival funds. Organizations totally worthy and in need of support. But smaller organizations such as Curtain Call ( thousands across the country in fact) were being left behind. I couldn’t stay quiet. And while I’ve never had a problem being a squeaky wheel when needed, trying to affect change on a federal level was going to take a lot more noise and a lot of devoted people.
Through a chance meeting with U. S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, I made my first meaningful contact with a member of Connecticut’s federal delegation. That inspired me to reach out to Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Jim Himes.
I then spoke to our constituents and begged them to write these legislators and more. I reached out to influential friends in the industry — writers Kristen Anderson- Lopez and Amanda Green, and Drew Cohen, president of one of the largest musical theater licensing agencies ( MTI), and many more, and the momentum picked up from there. I tweeted to more than 100 members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. I emailed and left voicemails and encouraged colleagues across the country to do so. And it paid off. ( Special thanks to Connecticut’s federal delegation and their staff members who stayed in touch with me on a regular basis as the various hurdles of federal funding programs were put in front of us.)
As a nation, we have our problems, many of which may never be solved. Our history is flawed, our founders were flawed, none of us is perfect. But to create a more perfect union, we all must participate. My one voice did not make the necessary changes to the Shuttered Venue Operator Grant happen. Rather it was the small group of artists and patrons who joined in with me. As Margaret Mead said in 1978, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
This July 4, no matter how imperfect our union is, I will be more grateful than ever that I have a voice in our democracy. When I take the stage this fall playing John Adams in “1776” ( Sept. 17 to Oct. 9 at Curtain Call) I will look at these characters in a very different way. Acknowledging their faults and what they got wrong, but appreciating all that they got right in that 1,300- plus word document we celebrate today.
Happy Independence Day!