This is Drama Masks, a Bay Area performing arts column from a born San Franciscan and longtime theatre artist in an N95 mask. I talk venue safety and dramatic substance, or the lack thereof.
I recently recalled my 2022 appointment with SF Opera being partly felled by pro-Ukrainian protests objecting to the Russian ballet within. I never did see that show, but frequently returned to the Opera House afterward. I can’t recall which show it was, but an opening night bow saw several production members unfurl the Ukrainian flag onstage. The applause was deafening.
SF Opera picking a Russian story when they did can be forgiven: There’s no way they could have predicted Putin & Co. would go full super-villain around showtime. Given the millions of dollars in production costs, donations, and sponsorships, one can see the board’s rationale in not cancelling the show outright. (Not saying I agree, just that I can follow their logic.) Using the later show to unfurl the flag was a welcome reminder that actual people exist within the organization, people who are proud to take stances on issues that are important to them.
The Ukrainian flag was also projected onto the War Memorial itself at SF Ballet’s 2022 opening gala, and the Ukrainian anthem was played by the orchestra. But in terms of political bravery lately, the Ballet seems to be putting its wrong foot forward lately. A traveling performance of its blockbuster “AI ballet” Mere Mortals is scheduled for May 27-31 at the Kennedy Center—just before the once-venerated DC temple of culture is scheduled to close for two years for “Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding,” according to our Destroyer-in-Chief, who egregiously affixed his name to the edifice before tearing down yet another cultural institution.
Trump’s hostile takeover of the Kennedy Center has led some of the country’s biggest artists—many of whom normally mute their politics—to publicly take a stand. Philip Glass, Patti LuPone, Stephen Schwartz, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the current Broadway cast of Les Miz are just a few of the major names who would rather roll naked over broken glass than kiss the ring. Even as Big Tech creates facial recognition apps for ICE and NBC censors Olympic crowds jeering the smarmy Veep, the aforementioned artists have let the world know that they want to be on the right side of history. When future generations look back on this troubled time and think of all the money these folks could have made if they’d played ball, they’ll stand as moral exemplars.
The Kennedy Center hasn’t seen this many simultaneous cancellations since the 2020 onset of the still-ongoing pandemic, but looming large among those few still on the program is SF Ballet. Its own patrons have certainly noticed. As of last week, a petition launched by regular Ballet supporters had acquired 7000 names imploring it to cancel the show. The company’s board was said to have held a meeting about the uproar on Friday, but no Kennedy Center cancellation announcement has been made as of this writing.
What are they waiting for?
Perhaps the company doesn’t want to seem “political,” but that argument falls apart immediately. For starters, everything, especially the arts, are political. There are just those aware of the politics and those who are unaware—and this administration is very much aware. Why else did Trump and Musk gut the NEA, and slap his name before Kennedy’s on a cherished institution? Why did Amazon spend $70-plus-million to flood local theaters with a propaganda fluff piece about his dead-eyed wife? If the Ballet can revive The Rite of Spring, let alone project a giant Ukrainian flag, it knows its work is political.
So instead, the Ballet has created a Streisand Effect—rather than its silence helping it fade into the background, it’s created more publicity around the issue, throwing its recalcitrance into high relief, and raising questions about its high-rolling donors’ associations.
This is a big test for a big San Francisco arts institution, at a time when all arts are being attacked. While ICE agents are shooting unarmed civilians dead in the streets, the Ballet appears to be placating a fascist with a sub-par ballet featuring AI slop, a favorite plaything of the President and his toadying tech billionaires. I realize not everyone agrees with my opinions (both about the AI ballet and SF Ballet’s hesitation), but to quote one of the theatre luminaries who cancelled: “I’d rather be divisive than indecisive.”
