Apparently, youre racist if you didn't review the play favorably...


Steppenwolf Theatre's artistic and executive directors said Wednesday they are working on an "official institutional response" to Sun-Times theater critic Hedy Weiss for her "Pass Over" review, which has drawn criticism online.

"We denounce the viewpoints expressed in some of these reviews as they fail to acknowledge the very systemic racism that 'Pass Over' addresses directly. Particularly egregious are the comments from Sun-Times critic Hedy Weiss, whose critical contribution has, once again, revealed a deep-seated bigotry and a painful lack of understanding of this country’s historic racism. Her contribution is actively working against the kind of theater we are striving to be," Steppenwolf artistic director Anna D. Shapiro and executive director David Schmitz said in a statement e-mailed to the Tribune.

An online petition calling for theaters to stop giving Weiss tickets to review their productions because "she is not willing to work with us to create a positive environment" had garnered more than 2,300 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon.

"We're not saying that she can't buy tickets to the show. That is never, ever our intention. We're just saying that maybe no longer open that door by giving her free tickets to come and discriminate against the people that are performing because that happens to be what's kind of going on," said Chicago stage actor Sasha Smith, a representative for the Chicago Theater Accountability Coalition, which created the petition.

So giving a bad review is discriminating against the performers.

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Link: http://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainme ... black-men/

While I think there may be a questionable opinion or two in the middle of her review, she actually praised most of the play, and the actors. I don't see why Steppenwolf felt the need to go over-the-top in their response on this one.

I will somewhat recommend this DBOW.

_________________
Not a mult.

I thought that was a positive review.

_________________

Yeah, it mostly was. Weiss just didn't like the politics of the show. And I think anyone who is upset is looking at it from a purely political perspective. Weiss is a theater critic. Her complaint seems to be about nothing more than the effect the choices of the writer and/or director had on the show rather than the political ideas themselves.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

doesn't the S-T have a total of like 6 employees now ? And one of them is a theater critic ?

Is it owned by Gary Sinise and his family? You would think with his NCIS/CSI money he can keep the thing running.

_________________
favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Nomination supported. BTW, the "Chicago Theater Accountability Coalition"?

http://chicagoist.com/2017/06/14/sun-ti ... _weiss.php

Veteran Sun-Times theatre critic Hedy Weiss is generating some stern, serious criticism of her own. In the wake of her controversial review of Steppenwolf's production of Pass Over, an online petition urging companies to stop inviting Weiss to their productions has emerged.

The Change.org petition, which has more than 2,300 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon, urges theater companies to not provide free tickets to Weiss because, according to the petition, she has engaged in "inappropriate language" and "prejudice." A group called Chicago Theater Accountability Coalition, who created the petition wrote, "She has proven this repeatedly with the racism, homophobia, and body shaming found in her reviews. She has proven this by never, not once, apologizing to a party injured by her words."

“To be clear, we are not calling for a ban on Ms. Weiss attending performances,” the Coalition adds. “We are simply requesting that she not be given a ticket for free. If she wishes to present her damaging views, we ask that she pay for the privilege."

A piece published on theatre blog The Hawk Chicago called out a very long host of Weiss' past controversies. It also takes the critic to task for the following passage in her review of Pass Over, a "Waiting for Godot" riff in which two African-American characters hang out on a street corner and are interrupted by a bigoted cop:

But, for all the many and varied causes we know so well, much of the lion’s share of the violence is perpetrated within the community itself. Nwandu’s simplistic, wholly generic characterization of a racist white cop (clearly meant to indict all white cops) is wrong-headed and self-defeating. Just look at news reports about recent shootings (on the lakefront, on the new River Walk, in Woodlawn) and you will see the look of relief when the police arrive on the scene. And the playwright’s final scenes — including a speech by the clueless white aristocrat who appears earlier in the story — and who could not be more condescending to Steppenwolf’s largely white “liberal” audience — further rob the play of its potential impact.

Weiss could not be kinder to the theater scene in Chicago. Her bad reviews are never all that bad and usually end with a "somewhat recommended" conclusion. I cannot remember the last "not recommended" review I have seen from her.

This is a sharp contrast to the stereotype New York critic that we see in works like Birdman. I don't read NY theater reviews but after seeing this about Weiss, I would imagine some of these Chicago actors would wilt on the East Coast.

It gives some perspective to that hack job they collectively performed on that actor last year for being too demanding.

Sasha Smith deserves her own recognition in this. If you are sufficiently outraged to step out and effectively ask the community to ostracize a person, don't be mealy mouthed by using qualifiers like "maybe" and "kind of" in an attempt to give yourself an out.

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Fuck these whiny thespian types...can't take criticism...

_________________

People are always trying to play the hero, sticking up for the oppressed....

_________________

This is the slippery slope that we have allowed to take hold. If you don't completely agree with someone you are now racist.

_________________
Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

and homophobic, Islamophobic, transphobic, whorephobic...

They will throw any "ist", "ism", or "phobic" they can at someone whose opinion differs from their own.

What's fun is when these belief systems collide. Like hijab wearing feminists.

_________________
Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

Theatre critic Betty Mohr and and Sasha Smith from the Chicago Theater Accountability Coalition were on with Dean Richards Sunday morning on WGN.

Here is the interview. I do not think Sasha came off very well:

http://wgnradio.com/2017/07/02/can-a-re ... community/

Sasha said several times during the interview that she does not want to prevent Hedy Weiss from covering Chicago Theatre, but that seems to be the sole purpose of the Chicago Theater Accountability Coalition:

OUR MESSAGE TO THEATERS IN CHICAGO

ON BEHALF OF THE CHICAGO THEATER ACCOUNTABILITY COALITION, IN REGARDS TO INVITING HEDY WEISS TO ANY OF YOUR PRODUCTIONS NOW OR IN THE FUTURE, WE ASK, SIMPLY AND RESPECTFULLY, THAT YOU DO NOT EXTEND HER AN INVITE.

HEDY HAS ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS EXPRESSED VIEWS THAT REFLECT A CLOSE-MINDED AND OPPRESSIVE VIEW OF OUR BLACK AND BROWN COLLEAGUES AND WE CAN NO LONGER ALLOW THIS TO BE TOLERATED.

THIS THEATER COMMUNITY NOW HAS A CODE OF ETHICS THAT PROTECTS AGAINST SEXUAL HARASSMENT, WE ARE EXTENDING THAT CODE TO PROTECT AGAINST BIGOTRY, OF ANY TYPE, AND HEDY HAS SHOWED US TIME AND AGAIN THAT SHE LIVES OUTSIDE OF THAT CODE.

WHEN SHE HAS BEEN INVITED TO SIT IN YOUR THEATER YOU'VE OPENED THE DOOR FOR YOUR COLLEAGUES TO BE PUBLICLY DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.

IT IS TIME TO CLOSE THE DOOR.

Nobody cares about plays you queers

Bob anytime you want to come out of the closet we're here for you

They certainly act like it.



Maybe you are.

_________________
Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

_________________
Not a mult.

Infuriatingly passive-aggressive. Do they think that if they get her scalp, the dying Sun-Times is just going to go out and hire a new theatre critic? No, they just won't review theatre anymore. That's great for business.

I also love the "Chicago Theater Accountability Coalition," because they couldn't call it the "No Hedy Weisses Club."

_________________

The Sun Times won't be reviewing anything soon. How long will Tronc keep the doors open after the sale goes through?

On the bright side, I can't wait until Laz is gone. He can join his buddy Tim Graham in Buffalo for all I care.

_________________
“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

One review of her reviews starts with this seemingly parodic line: "Hedy Weiss has a long and well-documented track record of being highly problematic, to say the least."

_________________

I don't know if you guys listened to the interview in the link, but according to Sasha essentially any criticism levied at a play involving black or brown people, the most vulnerable members of society, is rooted in bigotry and the long history of institutionalized racism in this country.

So, no matter what a critic doesn't like about play involving black or brown people it's because they're a bigot and because institutionalized racism.

She said she would like theater critics they or the theatre approve of (or something to that effect) to be permitted to review plays. Both Dean and Betty said if that were to happen, why would anyone think the reviews were honest and not just parroting whatever the people who put on the performance wanted them to say? They also said the Chicago Theater Accountability Coalition will make people afraid to give their honest opinion of a performance for fear of being called a racist. Berry also said this smacks of McCarthyism, which Sasha denied.

Sasha also was also upset about Hedy bringing up black on black crime because that is a dangerous stereotype and doesn't exist. Betty Mohr said crime stats provided by the CPD and FBI say otherwise, but Sasha didn't think seem to think that was valid. I guess all the violence, shootings, and murders on the far south and west sides are not actually happening.

The term racist has been thrown around so much over the last few years that it no longer holds any meaning.

_________________
“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

Racist.

_________________

she sounds fun to be around

_________________

Sasha also used the word "complicit" on several occasions, as in theatres that continue to pay for Hedy's tickets are "complicit."

Since the SNL skit about Ivanka's perfume called "complicit" I have seen and heard more people using that word in this context. It's like they can't say anything without it being peppered with certain buzzwords which makes nearly everything they say sound like it came from some automated statement generator.

When did it become racist or sexist or homoist or whatever to just say that you think something sucks?

The best part is Hedy Weiss gave the show a good review!

_________________