Hey, Yupette,
I'm as unhappy as anyone else who's not a performing arts fanatic about the Signature bailout. In the event you missed Signature's adaptation of the 1982 film "Diner" - it's a flop. Never mind the Post's review.
Having grown up in Baltimore in the 1950's and 60's I can attest that Baltimore in 1959 was both grimy and grim. Baltimore then was a steel town and my father was a steelworker employed by Bethlehem Steel at Sparrows Point. There was a very long strike by steelworkers in 1959 and we went hungry for weeks. But you won't see any of that in the 1982 urban hipster film "Diner", nor the urban hipster musical adaptation currently playing at the Signature. I have to wonder whether anyone involved with producing 'Diner" at the Signature ever spent more than an afternoon in Baltimore.
My experience attending a performance of "Diner" a week ago was it felt as dated as a late Rogers and Hammerstein musical. Why anyone would put so much time, energy, and money making something so dated "work" as a musical was puzzling, until I realized that it's OUR money, and a lot of it, that Signature is using making "Diner" ready for prime time, meaning Broadway.
The clueless County Board has yet to realize that it hasn't seen the last of the Signature. Thanks for exposing this performing arts country club for what it is. And thanks for your blog and enlightening taxpayers about who's ripping us off.
Joan 22207
37 comments:
Thanks for the review, Joan.
I'm waiting for the Signature to do a revival of "High School Musical".
Why do I get the feeling the Signature is of, by, and for Urban Hipsters?
Baltimore grimy and grim in 1959? No fooling. Also racially segregated.
How about the Signature do a revival of 'West Side Story'? But that would mean having Latinos and Latinas as cast members.
How about the Signature do a revival of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" as a musical?
Do the facts that my 82 year old mother stayed at home to raise us 50 years ago, drove a station wagon, and communicated while she was driving us to little league games with a citizens band radio make her life any less meaningful than that of my 30 year old daughter who's also a stay at home Mom, drives a SUV, and communicates while she's driving via an I-phone while delivering my grandchildren to soccer practice?
What was Hillary Rodham Clinton's Mom doing in 1959, when Hillary was 12?
Cooking supper for the family after they all arrived home from work and school, of course.
Driving Hillary to Young Republican meetings in the family station wagon? Just guessing.
It's LGBT Theater...what can you expect?
Signature is another group of Urban Village Idiots, what can you expect?
I'll pass on seeing Diner at the Signature. My Mom also stayed at home. I did my homework every night. Graduated from Wellesley, like Hillary (a few years behind her). Doing well in my career as a consequence. Thank you Mom and Dad.
Urban Village Idiots? Try ACTA and the Arlington Republican Party.
Hillary got into Wellesley based on Republican Family Values.
Signature is of, by, and for, Club Hedo values.
How about the Signature staging an original rock and roll musical titled "Donna, Donna, Our Prima Donna"?
Staring Donna Migliaccio
Written by Donna Migliaccio
Music by Donna Migliaccio
Lyrics by Donna Migliaccio
Produced by Donna Migliaccio
Directed by Donna Migliaccio
Costumes by Donna Migliaccio
Lighting by Donna Migliaccio
yes, signature is a performing arts country club...to be sheeple-funded from now on.
"Diner" was about Urban Hipsters before Urban Hipsters were cool.
I again ask...where are the Arlington Republican Party and Arlington County Taxpayer's Association when these taxpayer rip offs occur?
Am I supposed to be impressed by a bunch of actors playing post-prep school little s---s from the western Baltimore suburbs acting out their teenage angst when they are 20-something, with apologies for their behavior narrated by an urban hipster who is probably into much worse behavior (out of control pub crawls)?
So I gues this means the Devine Miss D. goes on acting out and the Signature goes on producing experimental flops for the next two decades...subsidized by us.
"Diner" is about as dated as "Flower Drum Song", which was so bad even the politically correct revival a decade ago was panned for stereotyping Asians.
How about a revival of "Annie" with Steven Sondheim as Daddy Warbucks?
I am a fan of the Signature. As a kind of dinner theater. But the comments in this blog are correct. The Signature is of, by, and for a small group of semi-talented amateurs who get paid a lot and have a lot of fun at our (meaning taxpayers') expense.
The Signature's productions are mostly LGBT camp, though the sheeple are supposed to take the Signature seriously.
One thing this blog neglected to state is the Signature's controlling group has repeatedly threatened to move the Signature out of Arlington if Arlington County didn't meet the Signature's demands. Rather than let the Signature move elsewhere the County caved in to the Signature's outrageous demands, like paying the Signature's utilities for the next 19 years.
Again, the Signature is not to be taken seriuously, it's glorified dinner theater at best.
Urban Hipsters have been playing with adapting "Diner" for years. Adapting the film to the stage has become a growth industry.
Like Joan I grew up in Baltimore in the 50's and 60's and the film Diner was about a bunch of 24-going-on-14 little shits in Baltimore's western suburbs. No mystery to me why the Signature-Shirlington pub crawlers latched on to Diner.
How about Signature putting 'Diner' in Arlington's high schools? There is so much f----g off going on in Arlington's high schools that 'Diner' would fit right in.
Next big thing for Signature will be putting "Sweeney Todd" in the high schools.
Signature is LGBT theater at its worst...now a subsidiary of Arlington County Government.
It will be interesting to see how the County Board comps the other performing arts groups via the FY 16, FY 17. and FY 18 budgets and through putting various grants and gifts in consent agendas.
So what will the total cost of the Great Signature Bailout be?
At least $20 million when you figure the County will have to appease a dozen or so other performing arts groups.
I bought expensive tickets to 'Diner' and the Post review completely mischaracterized a high school musical in desperate need of real talent.
'Fiscal Responsibility" is an oxymoron in Arlington County Government.
Will someone from ACTA, the Arlington Green Party, the Arlington Republican Party, CivFed Fiscal Advisory Committee etc. ask the County Manager at tonight's CivFed meeting how much in "public assistance" she's promised to the County's other performing arts groups to keep them from complaining about the Signature's welfare-for-the-wealthy package?
Signature received about the same deal as the County's corporate welfare clients.
Corporate welfare? County gives millions of dollars in bonus density to REITs for buildings that aren't energy efficient.
WORST part of the Signature Steal? Public infrastructure is serving as collateral for the County's giveaway loan of public funds to the Signature.
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