Is Musical Theater Now Restricted to Gay Marriage Supporters Only?

I mentioned this story yesterday, but more information has come out about Scott Eckern, a Mormon who works in musical theater, and the reaction he got from the "community" when his donation to support Prop 8 became public:

The artistic director of the California Musical Theater, a major nonprofit producing company here in the state’s capital, resigned on Wednesday in the face of growing outrage over his support for a ballot measure this month that outlawed same-sex marriage in California.

The artistic director, Scott Eckern, came under fire recently after it became known that he contributed $1,000 to support Proposition 8, which amended the state Constitution to recognize only male-female marriages. The measure was approved by 52 percent of California voters on Election Day. (Same-sex marriages had been performed in California since June.)

In a statement issued on Wednesday morning, Mr. Eckern said that his donation stemmed from his religious beliefs — he is a Mormon — and that he was “deeply saddened that my personal beliefs and convictions have offended others.”

His donation was brought to light by online activists angry about the measure’s success at the polls.

“I understand that my choice of supporting Proposition 8 has been the cause of many hurt feelings, maybe even betrayal,” Mr. Eckern said. “It was not my intent. I honestly had no idea that this would be the reaction.”

But the swift resignation was not met with cheers by those on either side.

Marc Shaiman, the Tony Award-winning composer (“Hairspray”), called Mr. Eckern last week and said that he would not let his work be performed in the theater. “I was uncomfortable with money made off my work being used to put discrimination in the Constitution,” Mr. Shaiman said. He added, however, that the entire episode left him “deeply troubled” because of the potential for backlash against gays who protested Mr. Eckern’s donation.

“It will not help our cause because we will be branded exactly as what we were trying to fight,” said Mr. Shaiman, who is gay. “But I do believe there comes a time when you cannot sit back and accept what I think is the most dangerous form of bigotry.”

Supporters of the marriage ban said that critics of Mr. Eckern were attacking freedom of expression, and they chastised the theater’s board for subjecting Mr. Eckern to a political litmus test.

“No matter your opinion on Prop. 8, we should all agree that it is wrong to intimidate or harass anyone for exercising their constitutional rights,” said a letter to the theater’s board president on Tuesday by Frank Schubert, campaign manager for Protect Marriage, the leading group behind the ballot measure.

For its part, the theater disavowed Mr. Eckern’s donation and issued only a brief statement on Wednesday accepting his resignation, while emphasizing that it would not “impinge on the rights of its employees to engage in political activities.” A longtime employee, Mr. Eckern had been artistic director since 2002.

The outrage over Mr. Eckern and the subsequent dismay voiced by Mr. Shaiman are the most recent evidence of the tension running through the entertainment industry since Election Day, particularly in California.

Several prominent gay entertainers have expressed anger about the vote, including the singer Melissa Etheridge, who said she would refuse to pay California state taxes because she was “not a full citizen” and called on other gay men and women to do the same.

The sense of disappointment over the vote extended to Broadway. Jeffrey Seller, a producer of the show “Avenue Q,” which is scheduled to be part of the 2008-9 season at the California Musical Theater, said he had been shocked when he heard about Mr. Eckern’s donation.

“That a man who makes his living exclusively through the musical theater could do something so hurtful to the community that forms his livelihood is a punch in the stomach,” Mr. Seller said. “He didn’t just vote for it. One thousand dollars is a lot of money for an artistic director of a nonprofit.”

Mr. Seller said that he had not considered canceling the “Avenue Q” engagement with the theater company — “We don’t break contracts” — but had spoken to members of the show’s creative team on Tuesday about voicing their displeasure with Mr. Eckern in other ways, including adding a song addressing his donation. That idea has been dropped now.

I'm not a big fan of musical theater. I've attended a number of productions mainly because my wife enjoys it. Is it any mystery that the musical theater industry is full of gay people? No. Does it bother me? Not really, but it does bother me to think that there's so little tolerance for anything but the politically correct within the artistic community. For a group of people who supposedly celebrate creativity and uniqueness, the narrow-mindedness shown by these people to Eckern is troubling.

Does it make me more likely to want to support musical theater? No.