Times are tough. But you know what? Times are always tough for someone. If we start using that as an excuse to stop supporting the arts, if we allow orchestras, opera houses, jazz clubs, dance programs and the like to fold up their tents, we pay for that down the road in ways that sometimes take years to figure out. At times like this, I think of the famous anecdote of Winston Churchill, at the height of the Blitz (really, you wanna talk about tough times?) being confronted by politicians who wanted him to throw all the resources normally devoted to the theater and the arts to the war effort instead. “Good God,” he replied; “then what are we fighting for?”
American theater fans are bemoaning the closure of 12 shows on Broadway, with 4 more closing next month. That’s a lot of shows, but some of them were quite successful and had simply run their course. Others seem to be genuine victims of the economic downturn, and as we’ve seen in the past, during the 2007 stage-hand’s strike, for example, problems on Broadway have a way of rippling through much wider circles of the NY economy. All this isn’t to suggest a government bailout of failing musicals; simply to say that when times are tough, that may be when it’s most crucial to spare a thought, and a bit of money, for the arts.
Tell us: What do you think? Are the arts a necessity, or a luxury item that has to be shelved when money is too tight for badly needed public-sector programs? Leave a comment.
John Schaefer has hosted Soundcheck since the show’s inception in 2002. He has also hosted and produced WNYC’s radio series New Sounds since 1982 (“The No. 1 radio show for the Global Village” – Billboard) and the New Sounds Live concert series since 1986.
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