Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Edward Albee's "The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?" on Sunday. NY Mag's "I Lost My Virginity to a Horse" on Tuesday...

On Sunday, while millions prepared to watch the Oscars hosted by Broadway darling Neil Patrick Harris, I wrapped a 3 foot scarf around my neck, donned the rest of my winter armor and braved the cold as I headed to Lincoln Center Plaza to see my very first Julliard production - Edward Albee's The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? - by the 4th Year Drama Division.

In the minutes leading up to the start of the 2002 Tony Award winning play about bestiality, other taboos and intolerance, I flipped through the program and was struck by the following quote from the playwright:
What I wanted people to do is not just sit there being judges of the characters. I wanted people to go to the play, and image themselves in the situation. Put yourself there. "How the fuck would I react? Why am I making this judgment about those people? Because I probably wouldn't make it if it was happening to me."
After the play, as I walked back across the Plaza, I have to admit - I judged. While I think that I'm an open person, I just couldn't quite understand. 

This morning, as I enjoyed the simple pleasure of sipping my morning cup of coffee, I picked up the latest copy of New York Magazine and flipped through it - of course starting with the approval matrix and then skimming to the front of the magazine, making a mental note of the articles that I planned to read one day. It was around this time, my eyes landed on the article - I lost my virginity to a horse. Had I not seen Albee's play less than 48 hours before, I probably would not have paid much attention to such an article at that hour of the morning. But I did...

It is night now. The sun set hours ago...and because of Mr. Albee, I have returned to the article and I am now reading about zoophilia... 

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