Feminist Play “Respect: A Musical Journey Of Women†Must Be Protested
If radical feminists are not burying us under fakeumentaries about domestic violence, they are rolling out sexism-as-art
Such is the case with a new play titled “Respect: A Musical Journey Of Womenâ€, appearing in playhouses in Atlanta, Detroit, Green Bay Wisconsin, Minneapolis, Melbourne Australia, and Brisbane Australia.
The play is based on a book by Dorothy Marcic, a feminist professor at Vanderbilt University. The theme is merely a ruse for insulting and ridiculing men in profoundly sexist ways not seen since the movie “First Wives Clubâ€.
Reviews of the play have been careful not to quite nail the catfish to the tree. One reviewer called it a “self-help concert†– a “one woman soapbox (with backup vocals) dedicated to the struggle of females through 20th century music†– saved “from being a complete disaster by forwarding into each era with medleys, solos and group numbersâ€.
One gentleman found himself at the play as part of a class reunion activity with his girlfriend. Here is an excerpt from his report to me:
“This show touted itself as an anthology type display of women’s roles in theater over the past 100 years. We were looking forward to performances of the most memorable roles and songs performed by women.
Instead we were subjected to a two hour feminist screed against men. The opening line said it all “Oh my Johnny I love him so, but why he beats me I don’t know”. It gets worse from there. Scene after scene details in painful minutia how men are to blame for every ill that ever befell the authors life, and the life of every woman in history. Her Grandfather the alcoholic, her Father the abuser, the boys she dated, the boys who dated her friends, even the boys who dared to not call her in high school. We were both sickened. We stayed to support our friend, but I refused to applaud. Looking around, I noticed that almost every man in the audience was sitting stock still, a look of pained tolerance on his face. None applauded but the outwardly gay man in the front row.
Afterwards we went to a local restaurant for drinks, and ran into some of the cast members and chatted with them about the play. I went to the restroom where I spent about 15 minutes just trying not to vomit. An uncomfortable silence ruled the rest of the evening. Later, I heard girls in the cast apologizing about how show made us feel. One said that she felt the show was just “blatant male bashing”, but she desperately needed the paycheck.â€
Now, if the actors know the show is sexist, perhaps a little activism can shut the show down. If the actors won’t put on a dud, the show won’t go on. While acting is fun, there is much more money to be made waiting in fancy restaurants, without destroying men for a living.
Back in 1996, the Men’s Movement protested “First Wives Club†by doing an information picket. We were there every night with signs and handouts asking everyone to come see the movie – not as a comedy – but as the best documentary ever filmed on sexism in America. We sent press releases to all the local media in the 25 cities we protested in.
The protest was a smash success. Universal Studios killed the sequel to First Wives Club because they “got the messageâ€.
Here is the truth: Sexism is no more acceptable than racism. If these theaters would not put on a production D.W. Griffith’s “Birth Of A Nationâ€, which glorified the Ku Klux Klan, they have no business even thinking about this play.
These theaters need to get the message. I sincerely hope men’s groups in these cities will organize informational protests, and let everyone going into the theatres know that it is OK to boo and hiss when the play steps over the line. Perhaps some “BOO” signs could be handed out as mementos to playgoers. If this play is as bad as I am told, I will bet that it won’t take more than one or two men in the theater to get most of the room booing.
If men want Respect, these theaters need a solid college-level education about sexism.
| More from David R. Usher
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