The current show at Circle in the Square is CHICKEN & BISCUITS. And it’s a big success. Here’s what so surprising about it to the Broadway community:
It’s a comedy.
God forbid!
And not just a comedy — a conventional comedy.
Kind of a familiar plot — relatives fighting after a funeral. But apparently it’s funny.
Blasphemy!
While every other play on the Great White Way is heavy, experimental, and “important,” audiences are turning to a show where they can laugh.
As disturbing as this concept might be, people occasionally want to go to the theatre to enjoy themselves.
They don’t always want to be challenged, to be lectured, to be made to feel guilty.
What really surprises me is how this is always a surprise to Broadway. For every THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG there are five award-winning OSLO’S that close. They named a theatre for Neil Simon yet don’t seem to remember what his contribution was.
The big issue in theatre this year of course is diversity. And that’s fine. But that shouldn’t dictate subject matter and genre. Douglas Lyons, the playwright of CHICKEN & BISCUITS is Black. So what? People are going because they want to be entertained. And Lyons delivers the goods.
I congratulate everyone involved in the production of CHICKEN & BISCUITS for taking the daring courageous step of staging an actual show that people want to see.
from By Ken Levine
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