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Comments: Week of April 15, 2019

Photo: New York Magazine

1 For New York’s latest issue, we put “74 Marriages” under the microscope, diving into the intimate lives of married couples (April 1–14). Michael Zelenko wrote, “My partner and I have been negotiating which one of us takes the Marriage issue to work. I can’t remember the last time I did any of this stuff — fight over a print magazine! Push people to go buy an issue! — but it speaks to the quality of the work you all did and the compassionate and thoughtful way in which you presented it.” Lauren Ober commented on the makeup of those featured: “I was very much looking forward to getting the Marriage issue in the mail. What I found was a largely heteronormative, binary representation of romantic love and commitment. Worst of all, not one lesbian couple was featured. But we exist, and over many years we’ve made beautiful families, had long, loving relationships, and built the foundation that the LGBTQ+ community stands on today.” Many, including Dorothy De La Garza, were reminded of their own marriages: “Your cover featuring countless bed-bound couples struck my husband and me as hilarious photojournalism. Married for 52 years, we identified with the few ‘old’ couples showcased. As a recent cancer survivor, I’ve felt that grace with a husband who’s a caregiver, (grand)parenting partner, fierce Scrabble opponent, and voracious bibliophile in bed and at the beach. ”

Photo: New York Magazine

2 With a new (significantly darker) production of Oklahoma! arriving on Broadway, Frank Rich reassessed the classic American musical and found darkness lurking behind its ebullient song-and-dance numbers (“Oklahoma Was Never Really O.K.,” April 1–14). Scott Ellsworth, a leading scholar of the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, wrote, “Rich’s penetrating essay, aside from its churlish — and for this native Oklahoman, downright unpatriotic — title, was nothing short of a wonder. Not only did he resurrect the mad genius of Lynn Riggs, but he also peeled away deeper meanings from one of the true treasures of American musical theater and helped to fit it into the context of the state’s turbulent past.” Of the new production’s revision of Jud’s portrayal, Troy Segal wrote, “I’m all for scrubbing off the syrup that’s accumulated on Oklahoma! over the years and trying to make it as fresh as it seemed to original audiences in 1943. But I do wonder about Daniel Fish’s quote that he ‘couldn’t find anything in the text to make me think that [Jud] was a villain.’ Isn’t it pretty strongly implied that Jud set fire to his previous employer’s farm, killing the family there? Of course, Oscar Hammerstein didn’t want Jud to be a cartoon incarnation of evil — he was too intelligent a writer for that. Still, Jud is supposed to be a bad guy, and I’ve never felt — despite all the Freudian-subtext arguments — that Laurey is ever really attracted to him. She goes with Jud to the picnic because she’s worried he’ll hurt Curly. Her conflict is how seriously to take Jud’s threats.” @hulin42 tweeted, “As an Okie who fled to New York many moons ago (I jokingly tell people I ‘immigrated to NYC’), I’ve often wondered how Rodgers & Hammerstein got so much right in the musical. Now I know.”

3 In an essay published by New York Magazine’s the Cut on March 29, former Nevada assemblywoman Lucy Flores described how Joe Biden had kissed her head and sniffed her hair at a campaign event (“An Awkward Kiss Changed How I Saw Joe Biden”). The story quickly became national news, prompting other women to share similar experiences, and sparked a dialogue on personal boundaries and which behaviors should be disqualifying for a presidential candidate. Jess Morales Rocketto called it, “an extremely measured, specific, and clear reflection of her experience with Biden. It did not embellish or exaggerate, and she noted why it was important to tell this story.” Hawaii senator Mazie Hirono responded, “The focus isn’t on what his intentions were; it is how his behavior is experienced, and one should not invade personal space. He needs to be a lot more aware of that.” But Danielle Pletka of the American Enterprise Institute said, “Assault is a crime. Ickiness is not. Fussing over whether Uncle Joe’s kiss was too warm serves mainly to distract us.” @DawnCuny wrote, “Respectfully, we have lost our ability to recognize nuance. There is a difference between a generational misunderstanding of a grandfatherly kiss on the head and a sexually motivated unwanted touch. Do both deserve a conversation? Indeed. But they are not the same.” The next week, Biden addressed the claims. “Social norms have begun to change, they’ve shifted, and the boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset,” he said, while promising to “be more mindful.”

Comments: Week of April 15, 2019