Broadway Will Dim All Theater Lights For Gavin Creel, Maggie Smith, Adrian Bailey After Outcry

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As a seasoned theatergoer who has witnessed the magic of Broadway for over two decades, I can’t help but feel disheartened and frustrated by the inconsistency in the dimming policy for honoring our beloved artists.

In response to uproar from theater enthusiasts, all Broadway theatres plan to pay tribute by momentarily darkening their stages in remembrance of Gavin Creel, along with Adrian Bailey and Dame Maggie Smith.

The group overseeing Broadway theaters has announced that they will be examining their existing dimming policy and practices, in response to the increased attention being given to this process.

A Tony Award-winning actor and frequent performer on Broadway, named Creel, passed away on September 30 at the age of 48 after a recent cancer diagnosis. Following his unexpected demise, The Broadway League declared that some Broadway theaters, not all 41, would momentarily dim their lights in remembrance of him.

The decision faced considerable opposition from the Broadway community, with figures like Rachel Zegler, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Audra McDonald, and others expressing their disapproval on social media platforms, urging a darkening of all theaters.

In a comment on a Playbill post regarding the initial dimming, Zegler expressed: “He was a Tony award winner and boasted a career spanning over 20 years, motivating his contemporaries and those who looked up to him as role models. As one of those aspiring individuals, I wholeheartedly echo this sentiment: why should there only be one exceptional person? This idea seems absurd.

Adam Feldman, a theater critic from Time Out, launched an online petition that garnered over 20,000 signatures advocating for complete dimming. Furthermore, Actors’ Equity, the union representing actors and stage managers, has expressed their stance that a partial dimming should not be considered an option.

The actors and stage managers’ union, Equity, has communicated their worries to The Broadway League regarding the tradition of dimming the lights in select theaters as a tribute to those who have passed away. They believe that everyone honored in this way deserves a complete and respectful tribute.

Moreover, performances such as “Moulin Rouge!” at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, where Creel previously starred in a 2009 revival of “Hair,” were among those that parted ways following the announcement. They expressed their intention to turn off their lights as a symbolic gesture.

As a gamer, I’d rephrase it like this:

Initially, Broadway theaters had decided against dimming the lights following Joan Rivers’ death in 2014, a decision that faced criticism from the public and was eventually changed. When asked for an explanation, Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, stated that their stance was due to their connections within the community.

According to St. Martin, individuals must either have been quite engaged in the theater lately, or be essentially associated with Broadway – those who built their careers here, or maintained it consistently. This was shared with the Times.

The group of theater proprietors had not initially declared any dimming of the lights for Bailey, a Broadway performer who passed away on September 27 at the age of 67 following performances in Sophisticated Ladies, Jelly’s Last Jam, Smokey Joe’s Café, and The Little Mermaid. Similarly, Smith, an actress who won a Tony Award and was nominated three times for this honor, as well as having roles on screen, also passed away on September 27 at the age of 89.

On October 17th, I’ll find myself gaming in a slightly darker room, as we’re dimming the lights for my character Bailey. For Creel and Smith, we’ll work out a schedule that suits their families best before we dim their respective gaming environments.

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2024-10-10 00:26