If he could do it all over again, Murray says hed become a Shakespearean actor.
If he could do it all over again, Mayor Ed Murray says he'd become a Shakespearean actor. Courtesy of the Mayor's Office

Sometimes I think, "What does Mayor Murray think?" (Or WDMMT, for short.) Thus I have begun a new series for Slog entitled "What does Mayor Murray Think About...X?" Every month, I'll ask Seattle's current mayor what he thinks about matters of the arts. Given the flurry of theatrical activity at the close of the year, I've focused my first installment of the series on the performance arts. Coming months will feature Mayor Murray's responses to my questions about books, music, visual art, and so on.

Mayor Murray, I always thought A Christmas Carol was for poor people and The Nutcracker was for rich people. What do you think? Do you attend either of these holiday mainstays?

I am not sure which is for rich and which is for poor people, but ever since I was a kid—and I grew up on the working-class side of things—I have loved the Christmas Carol, and over time have collected many versions and productions of the Dickens classic. My favorite is Mr. Magoo's version of A Christmas Carol.



Do you see much burlesque, Mayor Murray? If so, do you think that burlesque lost its edge once the audience lost the ability to 'boo?'

I was born after the Ziegfeld Girls were done, and I guess I am too old to have been around for the current craze, so I don’t know if it’s lost an edge.

Which of the following movie musicals is more important to you and why, Mayor Murray?

a. Mary Poppins
b. Cabaret
c. Funny Girl

I saw Funny Girl nine times in high school, so my parents should have figured out that perhaps I might be gay. Barbra Streisand signing "Don’t Rain On My Parade" while getting on a tug-boat in New York Harbor, I thought, was fantastic. And, of course, she wanted to be "Sadie, Sadie a Married Lady," and as it turns out, so did I.

Mayor Murray, do you think gay audiences should stop falling for Equus?

Equus was a gay '80s thing. Back then you did not see that much live, male flesh on stage. I think we have moved on.

Are you intimidated by the environment of seriousness that surrounds most contemporary dance performances, Mayor Murray?

No. I want to be challenged.

If you had to do it all over again, Mayor Murray, would you rather become a Shakespearean actor, a ballet dancer, or a scenic designer, and why?

I would have chosen Shakespearean actor because I love the spoken word. And maybe if I had been a Shakespearean actor, I would have been better at the spoken word.