By all rights, theatre ought to say its prayers. According to most origin stories, theatre emerged out of religious ritual, not once, but twice: initially courtesy of the ancient Greeks, and then again in medieval Europe, where many scholars trace the rebirth of theatre to the Quem quaeritis, a short section of dialogue in the Easter liturgy. But in New York, a city of 6,000 churches, 1,000 synagogues, and more than 100 mosques ”“ to say nothing of the other faiths ”“ drama often puts religion on stage only to criticise it.
Admittedly, Godspell continues a Broadway run, just as Jesus Christ Superstar prepares to preach its rock gospel on the Great White Way, joining the faith-cased good vibes of Sister Act. But in smaller houses this season, believers rarely get a round of applause….
Soloski concludes that drama demands its own kind of worship. That would be true only of the Lib/Progs who are trying to substitute drama for religion. They are afraid of real religion and would like to supplant it. Good thing they can’t. Ever notice that the people they deride as hicks have a kind of counter-cultural entertainment biz of their own? And the nastier the Lib/Progs get the more people will desert them. I suspect they’re already preaching mostly to the choir.