* The following was written on the April 25th 2012 *
Back by popular
demand. It’s not a phrase I like. It annoys me, if I’m honest. What exactly
does it mean? Have you ever seen a protest march calling for the revival of a
play? Signed a petition to show that society just won’t be the same without
that production of whatever returning to the stage? I didn’t think so. And yet
a lot of the time, we are going to see plays that the populous have demanded
come back. The last production that I paid good money to see has returned for a
second run. Seemingly, the theatre-going public have demanded it. Why, I’m not
sure. It wasn’t much cop the first time around and I can’t imagine anyone who
saw it really wants to see it again. But posters don’t lie, do they?
Back by popular
demand, in actuality, has nothing to do with the public. But it sounds great.
It sounds like your production was so good, so very very good, that people have
been beating down your door imploring you to stage another run. In truth, the
production company wants to run the show again and back by popular demand is a
sure-fire way of letting people know that your production is great. So great
that they have one more chance to see it again. It’s bullshit.
Which is why you
will not find back by popular demand on the flyers and posters for the revival
of L.A. Blues – A Musical Noir. Not because it doesn’t deserve to return but
because we at Neon Fringe are trying to be honest about what we do. Yes, we do
think the show is great and yes, we have had people ask us if we would be doing
it again. But we have not been inundated by petitions or had protests staged
outside our offices and houses. Any small theatre company who claims they do is
probably lying.
At the end of
the day, the show is back because we feel that it deserves another shot. The
response to the first run was overwhelmingly positive. And we know there is an
audience who missed it the first time around. Also, we enjoyed it. We want to
do it again because we had fun.
So there you
have it. L.A. Blues is back. But not by popular demand. Please come and see it.
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