Angels in T.O.?

[Jeffrey Goffin]

On Thu, 10 Oct 1996, Glen McQuestion wrote:

>
> > Not everyone in Calgary is "making a fuss" over Angels.  It's turning out
> > to be one of the biggest hits Alberta Theatre Projects has had.  So far
> > a couple of MLA's and some journalists have been upset by it.  Big
> > deal.  Box office alone seems to prove that their response is uninformed
> > and out of touch.  Apparently there has been some controversy over the
> > show even in Toronto.  Speaking for the Calgarians who were looking
> > forward to it all summer, this production certainly lived up to the play's
> > reputation.  The only bad thing about it is we have to wait until next May
> > to see the second part on stage.
> >
> > Jeff Goffin
>
> Does success at the box office necessarily indicate that a production
> is "good"?  It seems to me that successful Broadway shows always
> bring with them a great deal of hype that makes them much more
> "marketable" than our native plays.  This is not to say that *Angels
> in America* is not a show worth seeing - I haven't had a chance to see
> it yet - but the argument that large sales = quality set off a few
> alarm bells in my head.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Glen McQuestion
> gmcquest at uoguelph.ca
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>

And those alarm bells should ring long and loud.  Large sales never
indicates that a show is "good".  However, it does indicate that most of
the theatre-going folks in this town are far from offended by Angels.

Jeff