Gay artists seek boycott of Sacramento theater

[Kadie]

Gay artists seek boycott of Sacramento theater

Tuesday, November 11, 2008


(11-11) 10:39 PST Sacramento, CA (AP) --

Gay and lesbian artists are seeking a boycott of Sacramento's oldest performing arts company after its artistic director contributed toward Proposition 8.

Campaign records show Scott Eckern of the California Musical Theater contributed $1,000 to the voter-approved initiative, which wrote a ban on same-sex marriages into the state Constitution.

"Hairspray" composer Marc Shaiman is among those leading the boycott effort, The Sacramento Bee reported Tuesday.

California Musical Theater is the state's largest nonprofit musical theater company. It produces Sacramento's annual Music Circus and plays at Broadway Sacramento and the newly opened Cosmopolitan Cabaret.

more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/11/11/state/n103927S55.DTL&tsp=1

Sacramento Bee Link...

Prop. 8 gift gets theater's leader in a ruckus
By Marcus Crowder
[email protected]
Published: Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008 | Page 1B

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/1387273.html



just found this link too...

California Music Theatre Artistic Director Eckern Issues Apology Following Prop 8 Backlash
By Adam Hetrick
11 Nov 2008

snip...
In response to the words of Shaiman, Egan, Whitty and numerous individuals who contacted the theatre company, Eckern released an apology and has donated $1,000 "towards the fight for equal rights for all."

"I understand that my choice of supporting Proposition 8 has been the cause of many hurt feelings maybe even betrayal. It was not my intent. I honestly had no idea that this would be the reaction. I chose to act upon my belief that the traditional definition of marriage should be preserved. I support each individual to have rights and access and I understood that in California domestic partnerships come with the same rights that come with marriage," Eckern said in a statement.

He continued, "I definitely do not support any message or treatment of others that is hateful or instills fear. This is a highly emotional issue. I have now had many conversations with friends and colleagues and I now have a better idea of what the discrimination issues are, how deeply felt these issues are and I am deeply saddened that my acting upon my religious convictions has been devastating to those I love and admire… I am deeply sorry for any harm or injury I have caused."

more...
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/123235.html

[David__77]

1. Wow.

My bf is in musical theater here in Sacramento. He recently completed and performance and there was tension on the cast because a couple of people were expressing their anti-gay viewpoints around Proposition 8.

[XOKCowboy]

2. Ye reap what ye sow...

looking around for my violin to play Hearts And Flowers for Eckern

As a theater owner he works daily with many GLBTs yet he not only voted for but donated to a proposition to deny them "equal protection under the law". His apology rings hollow though I truly hope that he now see how destructive his "religious beliefs" can be.

[roody]

3. Money trumps beliefs.

[juno jones]

4. I know a couple of pro actors in Sac who have worked with

the musical theater before. I will be letting them know about this.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

5. Apology NOT accepted.

I'm sorry, I can ALMOST understand the bigotry of the ignorant. By "ignorant" I mean people who don't have truly "out" gay friends, acquaintances, family and co-workers.

Let's face it, a lot of "ignorant" people think our "lifestyle" consists ONLY of hanging out in truck stops, forest preserves, bathhouses and the occasional flamboyant hairdresser mincing about their wife's hair salon (not that there's anything wrong with mincing about :) ).

This guy presumably knows several gay people that have families, homes, mortgages, pets, hopes, and aspirations to live normal lives in loving committed relationships. In 25 years, he had to have witnessed the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic and the impact it had on gay families.

Yet he decided to commit a LARGE sum of money to make sure his gay "friends" and co-workers drink out of the "colored only" drinking fountain.


Fuck him!