The theatre-going public tells the art community what’s tasteful — it’s not the other way around.
Public outcry is causing sponsors for New York City’s “Shakespeare in the Park” production of “Julius Caesar” to go down faster than the emperor did on the Ides of March, all due to its not-so-subtle depiction President Trump as the Bard’s Caesar.
UPDATE: @BankofAmerica pulls out of Shakespeare in the Park over “Julius Caesar” depicting Trump assassination https://t.co/xqFS2jSDCe
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) June 12, 2017
The producers’ intent was in-your-face obvious and brutal — to depict the assassination of the president by aggrieved minorities and women.
Delta Airlines was the first corporate sponsor to pull out after previously expressing reservations for the tasteless production. It made its announcement in a quartet of tweets:
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No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of Julius Caesar at this summer’s Free Shakespeare… 1/4
— Delta (@Delta) June 12, 2017
…Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines’ values. Their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the… 2/4
— Delta (@Delta) June 12, 2017
…standards of good taste. We have notified them of our decision to end our sponsorship as the official airline of The… 3/4
— Delta (@Delta) June 12, 2017
…Public Theater effective immediately. *ATJ 4/4
— Delta (@Delta) June 12, 2017
Shortly after the air carrier dropped its funding Bank of America did the same and announced it was unaware of the production’s intent until it was presented onstage.
“Bank of America supports art programs worldwide, including an 11-year partnership with The Public Theater and Shakespeare in the Park,” a spokeswoman told the New York Daily News. “The Public Theater chose to present Julius Caesar in a way that was intended to provoke and offend. Had this intention been made known to us, we would have decided not to sponsor it.”
The banking giant’s decision was also a nod to public pressure.
We do not condone the Shakespeare in the Park interpretation of Julius Caesar and its depiction of political violence in a modern context
— Bank of America News (@BofA_News) June 11, 2017
The public, in the main, expressed gratitude to the sponsors for pulling its funding and wondered how long before the remaining corporate patrons followed suite.
You did the right thing. I do business with @BofA I did not want to drop you but I was going to my bank tomorrow to take my ? thank you
— 1richcat (@1richcat) June 12, 2017
Congrats to Delta and BOA for their courage to stand up against egregious theater. It’s about time.
— jdsnake (@accmd) June 12, 2017
Thank you @Delta and @BankofAmerica for standing for decency. @AmericanExpress? what you say?
— Brian Bóroimhe (@Brian_Boroimhe) June 12, 2017
Public theater and the “Shakespeare in the Park” series doesn’t rely solely on corporate donations — it also receives funding from taxpayers, prompting a question from the president’s eldest son.
I wonder how much of this “art” is funded by taxpayers? Serious question, when does “art” become political speech & does that change things? https://t.co/JfOmLLBJCn
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 11, 2017
12 Democrat staffers arrested, charged with voter fraud
It’s easy enough for individuals and corporations to drop its funding for public theater. The question now is how will the public get its money back?
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