Theater Nov 5, 2013 at 3:37 pm

The Twilight of the Blue Hairs

Brendan Kiley
Back to article

Comments

1
Clairol #5 blue rinse. Do they even sell that stuff anymore? I think it may have gone the way of Dippity-Doo, chicklet dentures, and Carter's Little Liver Pills.
Dr. Z on November 5, 2013 at 3:44 PM Report this
3
When I was a Freshman theatre major at Iowa, I worked on a play for the Iowa Playwrights Festival that was, in retrospect, so juvenile and pointlessly provacative that people routinesly got up and left. We thought we were presenting something brave and orignal, but it was just garbage. I don't remember the plot, but it had a large amount of sex toys and everyone died in a mass shooting at the end.
Catalina Vel-DuRay on November 5, 2013 at 4:05 PM Report this
4
@3 - Catalina, darling, if you ever make it to a Slog Happy, I insist that you bring a copy of your play so that we may do an impromptu reading from it.
MacCrocodile on November 5, 2013 at 4:42 PM Report this
5
To be sure, it was not *MY* play (I just ran the lighting board) but it would be interesting to contact the Theatre Department at Iowa just to see if they keep copies of those scripts. I'd like to see it myself, just to see fi it was as odious as I remember it being.

That same year they also did a mainstage adaptation of "A tale of Two Cities" that was also quite.....unique. The set was all subway grating and metal piping.
Catalina Vel-DuRay on November 5, 2013 at 4:48 PM Report this
6
@5 - Oh, that sounds so delightfully horrid. You simply must come.
MacCrocodile on November 5, 2013 at 4:53 PM Report this
7
@3
That play sounds just like one I saw at Intiman last summer. Lysistrata?
on November 5, 2013 at 5:15 PM Report this
8
Blue hair went out with my grandmother, who was born in 1882.

It's "bogeyman", not "boogeyman".
sarah70 on November 5, 2013 at 5:42 PM Report this
9
The older audiences have really started buying out The Habit, which I think is great, but it's a little tougher for comedy, cause they sure as hell don't laugh out loud as much. Maybe it's not because they don't "get" the jokes, more like they've "been around the block a few times" and it's harder to surprise them...
marxiano on November 5, 2013 at 7:22 PM Report this
10
I want to chime in and say that a glut of pointlessly provocative theater might be the price we pay to ensure the existence of pointedly provocative theater.

Aside from that, I've always felt like using age as the primary marker for conservatism among theatergoers. I'm not interested in the work I do as a performer or a writer appealing to a certain demographic, unless that demographic is "people who find the same stuff interesting that I do" (which can still be unduly limiting, but I really can't imagine why an artist would suffer the indignities of art to make something he or she wouldn't want to see).
thelyamhound on November 6, 2013 at 9:05 AM Report this
11
Each generation has its own trends. There is the myth that people start out more liberal in youth and become more conservative as they get older. This myth exists primarily because it was true for a generation, but that was that particular generation's trend. Some generations become more liberal as they get older. Aging is affected by culture, unsurprisingly, and culture is constantly changing. And, of course, I'm only discussing the US, because I don't know much about the generational trends outside of the US, but you'd expect different trends in different cultures, with lots of cultures being influenced by the US these days. Basically, we need to stop thinking in universal terms, like there is one way that growing up happens.
on November 9, 2013 at 10:58 AM Report this
12
I think people who are conservative in their youth/middle age become more so when they're old. Same with liberals. I used to be a liberal; I'm now full-fledged socialist. If you have a modicum of intelligence, you'll become more disgusted with prevarication as you age and state your strong views; if you don't have a modicum of intelligence, you'll be desperately clinging to stereotypical fundamentalist crap.
sarah70 on November 9, 2013 at 11:47 AM Report this

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview
Posted by (your name here)

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.

Editors' Picks

Everything You Need to Know About Monkeypox—and Not Just You Gays
CHOP Plunged Seattle into a Long Identity Crisis
Seattle Doesn't Need Therapy, We Need SPD to Drop Its Temper Tantrum
Matthew Mitnick’s Campaign Meltdown
The Downtown Jail Is Overflowing
Killer Prophets?
The Stranger
is a proud member of the media network
Masthead Ad Info & Rates Jobs at The Stranger Contact Privacy Policy Terms of Use Takedown Policy Find The Stranger Near You
Support The Stranger
All contents © Index Newspapers LLC
800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134