00:00even broadway takes a right turn finally a musical on the right side of history so there's this new
00:14show opening on broadway which is the place for plays in new york it's called tariff and it's
00:20making a big stink because it's all about politics i went down to the hexagon in the square theater
00:25to see what all the yelling was about when you talk about tariffs you're talking about t-r-a-m-p
00:36the show has words and music by a guy named poppy hon poshbottom and it's directed by struman susan
00:41who i am told is a big deal the musical is about america in the 1950s but it's really about now
00:49with donald trump it's very pro him which is unusual for broadway i think
00:55his place a smile on every face our bank's so grand you see especially with tacos dancing for me
01:01the main star of tariff is the legendary myrtle henderson an octogenarian stage legend who returns
01:07to broadway after a 70-year absence she sings a song called build the wall around our town
01:14which seems pretty on the nose her co-star is a young kid josh gaylor who has never been on broadway
01:20so this is probably a big shock for him with all the protests in fact josh just said that all
01:26perspectives should be heard which is a very safe answer the director mr susan stated at a press
01:31conference that art should provoke and after saying so he swallowed the microphone while holding a
01:37salmon just to prove his point it's still unclear what he was actually demonstrating myrtle henderson
01:44said she liked the script simply because it was written in large print like reader's digest the
01:49only magazine she's read for more than 60 years the score with songs like let's raise the tariff high
01:55for the us of a and my love is duty-free leaves little doubt as to its political leanings
02:00love is duty-free no tariff can apply supporters are calling it a refreshingly patriotic and comedic
02:12take on contemporary issues there were also protests by the usual left-wing radicals who however
02:18demonstrated in perfect broadway style anyway the show is happening people are either gonna love it
02:24or hate it i guess that's the point it's another culture war thing which are very popular these days
02:30but what do musical theater scholars say we interviewed a random one for you
02:42to get a truly historical perspective on tariff we've come to the new york home of ethel porter
02:49broadway historian musical scholar and renowned cat lady miss porter is the author of several seminal
02:58books on the subject including on the origin of the musical to her latest bestseller if the musical is
03:06called caps why can't i throw balls of wool at the actors known for being notoriously private
03:15we're hoping she'll share her take on broadway's latest controversy with us today
03:21miss porter is resting now but i don't think you should disturb her i don't want to talk about that
03:30monstrosity it's disgusting go away and after telling us this she burst into tears we went back the next day
03:41too but the situation hadn't changed much it was a nightmare i don't want to see any more musicals
03:50as long as i live maybe tariffs won't win the tony award but for us it already won the truth award good
03:57night in the next episode of focus on truth we'll look at new inventions that will revolutionize the market
Commenti