Broadway Obsessed?
December 13, 2009
by Andria Acunis
There are some people who can just go see a Broadway show and enjoy it. Then there are others who know exactly who each and every actor is and the only thing they can think about is standing outside waiting for the actors to leave. There is a new craze where it is okay to put secrets and opinions of shows and actors for the public to see. The question is, why are there individuals who care more about everything surrounding a show and how do the actors feel about these secrets?
Actors of shows have their opinions about Broadway Secrets, and they aren’t approving. In an interview, American Idol runner-up Diana DeGarmo who didn’t even know what Broadway secrets were says, “Yeah, to be honest, I don’t want to touch that with a 10 foot pole! If there is one thing I have learned, is to NEVER read blogs about yourself or people you know. It will only make you crazy (or intensely hurt your self-esteem)! “There are few actors that will look at the Broadway secrets for this exact reason. Sometimes an actor will respond back with a secret of their own. The consensus is that the reason why secrets about theater actors are made is because you are able to interact with them on a daily basis.
The Broadway fans tend to be neutral when it comes to Broadway secrets. Ashley Feinstein who is an avid Broadway fan says “Some are mean. You see theater more often and you feel that you know them. If you look at a picture of Tiger Woods, you don’t feel sympathy because you’ve never met him.” She also doesn’t believe that the Broadway “sex secrets” are true because why would a Broadway actor bring their personal life into the public. She also says “they are fun to read and don’t believe 95% of the secrets.” The reason she felt people made up those secrets is because “they want to find a way to better relate to the actors.” Besides fans talking about having sex with certain actors, there are also secrets about what cast members are gay. A post on the website “The Guilty Ones” states, “Okay this is becoming dangerously close to being ‘too’ personal about cast members. I personally see no harm in speculating, as curiosity is human nature, and really, it isn’t that big of a deal, but I know some people who have a cow if we – the horror- talk about who might be gay…” Everyone seems to have their own opinion on whats is appropriate and what’s not on Broadway Secrets.
Broadway Secrets is a live journal account that was started on January 9th, 2006. Since then it has made 421 posts. They present a whole string of secrets each weekend. People send in their secrets and if they are approved, it would be published on the website. You are supposed to send in secrets anonymously. All secrets are posted, except the fact that if anything comes from an actor’s facebook, or a video clip that doesn’t come from YouTube then it won’t be posted.
In conclusion, the answers to the previous stated questions is that Broadway fans want someone to look up to, and that generally is the actors of the shows. Actors can look flawless, but when in reality they are just like us and have their issues too. This seems to be a way to get that side out of them. As for the actors, they shy away from those secrets so that it doesn’t hurt their pride. At the end of the day, the secrets will still be made and there will be actors on Broadway getting flak for any decision that they make whether it be singing, acting, or just something in their personal lives.
