Some theater runs featuring major film stars command such high ticket prices that people have to get multiple payday loans at once just to be able to get into the nosebleeds. Theater has always been a mainstay of film actors as a way to remember their roots, or to earn a little extra cash. Many major Hollywood players have gotten Broadway or off Broadway gigs on the side in recent years, and many of them to great acclaim, and these performances tend to draw massive crowds of people to see some of their big screen heroes in the flesh.
High Society types angered by PBS
The tickets to some of these productions run over a thousand dollars per 
ticket, and people are clamoring to be able to pay that much to get in to see some of these plays, which cost more than the upper limit of the amount in payday loans that people are able to get. Some examples: Kevin Kline in Cyrano de Bergerac, Taye Diggs and Jesse L. Martin in Rent, and one of the most recent buzz worthy performances, Sir Ian McKellan in the title role in one of Shakespeare’s most famous works, King Lear. Lear tells the story of a king on the verge of retirement, who divides his kingdom amongst his daughters according to who he thinks loves him the most. After he divides up his kingdom, he is slowly stripped of all he once had, and the play ends with Lear and all of his daughters being dead. The play is based upon the account of a mythological king in ancient Britain called Leir, for whom the city of Leicester is named, who had a similar story.
Censoring Public Television
Some of the more discerning of theater goers are up in arms because some of these plays are recorded for broadcast on PBS, as part of the long running television series Great Performances, which McKellan’s turn in King Lear will be. PBS broadcasts these plays for free, which annoys the more affable patrons because the general public gets to see for free what they had to shell out so much cash for, which is almost understandable at over $1,000 a ticket. The current run of Lear is getting some notoriety in the press because this particular version calls for the leading man to completely (and we mean completely) disrobe for a scene that takes place during a storm, which McKellan has been doing, but will not for the PBS taping. Purists have decried it as censorship, but even Public Television has to comply with FCC regulations. McKellan hasn’t himself made any declaration of opposition over the scene, instead treating it with a little light hearted joking.
Sir Ian does well, even at this late stage
Sir Ian McKellan is a film legend, after plying his trade for years in Britain has become a virtually overnight sensation in America, thanks to stellar turns as Magneto in the X-Men films, and as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings series, a role he is rumored to reprise for the upcoming theatrical version of The Hobbit. If you want to upstage a recent financial setback, payday loans just might make all well that ends well.
If it wasn’t for PBS or stations like this many people would never be able to see a play let alone a good one. Seeing a play on TV is a different experience than seeing it in person these people should realize this and be happy that others who may not be able to afford such a wonderful show can still have a similar cultural experience as them in the comfort of their own home.
Yea for PBS which, by the way, is funded to a great extent by public donations. In other words it isn’t really a totally free ride for the public in general. I think Duncan made some good points regarding a TV show verses a live performance. Think about it….if the complainers really think that the PBS viewer is getting the same value for nothing then stay home and watch it and save money. But they won’t because there truly is no equal to a live stage performance.
Interesting!