John Moore is the Denver Post Theater critic. He writes excellent articles and tells those of us not in the arts elite things that we are unable to see with our uneducated eyes. And of course he helps us chose what to attend.
Normally Moore gets a fairly small space in the Arts section. Today he gets most of the front page and all of page 10A. Why would he get that much space? He is writing about an acclaimed Broadway show, The Book of Mormon, that has 14 Tony nominations. But he has written about successful Broadway shows before. What is the difference today that he gets front page?
In the first paragraph he tells us that the two authors of "The Book of Mormon" are "two snickering goofballs who bonded more over breaking wind than breaking barriers in a 1992 University of Colorado film class." Then he tells us in the next paragraph that their first tv show was about an 8 year old boy getting an anal probe by aliens. In the third paragraph we find that in the most giddy song of their musical that the natives say "(Bleep) you God, in the (bleep), (bleep) and (bleep)!"
Is this where we are with "art" in our society?
I don't go to Shakespeare plays even though one of my brothers is the Producing Artistic Director of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. The quality is certainly there but I cannot understand the dialogue. I am certainly proud of my brother but I think he may get mad at me when I suggest that he might get more attendance if he starred a dumb blonde (the blond for the beauty) with a few DUI's and maybe a disorderly conduct or shoplifting conviction rather than a MFA honors student.
Plain and simple what is called "good" in the arts seems to be what is of "poor" quality. Hence the front page and page 10A in the Denver Post for "The Book of Mormon" but not for "Hamlet."
I use an arts example because today's customer wants experiences. And these experiences need not be of high quality. In fact poor quality may be more effective. Have a look at this real ad that was done for Cullman Liquidation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-RLqLx1iYI
Robert Lee does not lie to you about his products. He tells it like it is. In 60 seconds we can learn to like him and to trust him. He is able to target a niche of those who cannot afford luxury.
What is happening with quality is that the definition is not what it used to be. We are all deluged with products and services that meet the old definition of quality. The difference now is that quality must be defined in the customers' terms and not in the terms of an idealist.
Shakespeare is quality. But which performances are most attended? In Denver it is the day when the Denver Public Schools runs its Shakespeare Festival. Performances are crude but they are done with our children. And even on that day parents are hit with hundreds of other types of entertainment.
Old style quality is costly. In today's market everything is throwaway. The middle ground is to find out what meets the standards of the target market and go about 1% better. You will meet your break-even point and will achieve a sustainable future.
David Sneed
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