- Ray Bradbury in coda to his novel Fahrenheit 451 [buy book]. On page 20 of the sixth draft of Glyn O'Malley's play-in-progress, "Paradise," is a line that has proved prophetic for this unfairly thwarted playwright: "Point of view is everything." Spoken by one of the play's five characters, that phrase has never been truer than in recent weeks as test audiences and insta-critics have reacted to O'Malley's play before it has been performed or even completed. In January, the play was stopped from being performed for Cincinnati high schools by outraged Muslims who deemed the play pro-Zionist. O'Malley and Ed Stern, producing artistic director of the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, which commissioned the play, had invited the Muslims, as well as a Rabbi and a professor of Middle Eastern studies, for a private reading in hopes of inspiring a constructive exchange. What they got were fiery accusations of racism from the Muslims and intimidation sufficient to force cancellation of the high school tour. If the purpose of theater is to engage dialogue, O'Malley might feel gratified by the response. People are talking. The problem is they're not saying much that is true. As Mark Twain observed, a good lie will have traveled halfway around the world while the truth is putting on her boots. Today O'Malley, somewhat shell-shocked by the reaction and subsequent distortions, sits in his Manhattan apartment developing a new work: "The Play About the Play They Couldn't Do in Cincinnati," and wondering whether he hasn't become an accidental actor in some farcical Kafka drama. What he hears and reads about his play these days bears little resemblance to the words he wrote. Or to those I've read. For example, word now circulating is that the play is considered anti-Semitic as well as being pro-Zionist. Quite an accomplishment for any wordsmith, which suggests that O'Malley has written something that, as theater people say, has "landed." He hit a nerve. But "Paradise" is no more anti-Semitic than it is anti-Palestinian. It is true that Bert Goldstein, Playhouse director of education, voluntarily stepped down as director of the play to avoid any impression of bias, but that's the extent of any Semitic correlative. By my reading, the play isn't pro or anti anything. Here's what the play is and isn't. It
All we are saying is give art a chance
- Ray Bradbury in coda to his novel Fahrenheit 451 [buy book]. On page 20 of the sixth draft of Glyn O'Malley's play-in-progress, "Paradise," is a line that has proved prophetic for this unfairly thwarted playwright: "Point of view is everything." Spoken by one of the play's five characters, that phrase has never been truer than in recent weeks as test audiences and insta-critics have reacted to O'Malley's play before it has been performed or even completed. In January, the play was stopped from being performed for Cincinnati high schools by outraged Muslims who deemed the play pro-Zionist. O'Malley and Ed Stern, producing artistic director of the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, which commissioned the play, had invited the Muslims, as well as a Rabbi and a professor of Middle Eastern studies, for a private reading in hopes of inspiring a constructive exchange. What they got were fiery accusations of racism from the Muslims and intimidation sufficient to force cancellation of the high school tour. If the purpose of theater is to engage dialogue, O'Malley might feel gratified by the response. People are talking. The problem is they're not saying much that is true. As Mark Twain observed, a good lie will have traveled halfway around the world while the truth is putting on her boots. Today O'Malley, somewhat shell-shocked by the reaction and subsequent distortions, sits in his Manhattan apartment developing a new work: "The Play About the Play They Couldn't Do in Cincinnati," and wondering whether he hasn't become an accidental actor in some farcical Kafka drama. What he hears and reads about his play these days bears little resemblance to the words he wrote. Or to those I've read. For example, word now circulating is that the play is considered anti-Semitic as well as being pro-Zionist. Quite an accomplishment for any wordsmith, which suggests that O'Malley has written something that, as theater people say, has "landed." He hit a nerve. But "Paradise" is no more anti-Semitic than it is anti-Palestinian. It is true that Bert Goldstein, Playhouse director of education, voluntarily stepped down as director of the play to avoid any impression of bias, but that's the extent of any Semitic correlative. By my reading, the play isn't pro or anti anything. Here's what the play is and isn't. It
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