With great anticipation, having twice seen Jean-Christophe Maillot’s “Romeo and Juliet” at the Pacific Northwest Ballet, I attended “Cendrillon” on opening night. Following is a review I posted on the PNB website (Or tried to post. “Your review has been submitted successfully!” says the auto reply, “Upon approval of the administrator your comments will be added to Seattle Theater”):

“The dancing, sets, and choreography are exquisite, but Cendrillon has a fatal flaw: The Pleasure Superintendents are rendered as silly, simpering gay stereotypes. The original Boys in the Band offered a more subtle presentation. The PNB’s overlooking bigotry, whether against homosexuals or another minority, would be wrong at any time; under the Trump Administration it is downright scary. If Maillot’s Romeo & Juliet is a predictor, the PNB will offer Cendrillon in years to come. If that is the plan, I would urge Peter Boal and the Board to scrap it.”

My radar for bigotry was, thankfully, enhanced last Tuesday by a rally for refugees hosted by Jewish Family Services and Temple de Hirsch Sinai. During that event, speaker after speaker compared the rhetoric used by President Trump and his supporters against refugees and Muslim Americans and the rhetoric used in the 1930s to close U.S. borders to Jewish refugees ( “They’re dangerous,” “They’re not like us,” “They’ll take our jobs”). Watching Cendrillon last night, I thought, “Here’s an example of how the normalization of bigotry begins. In winking at what we know is wrong. In playing stereotypes for laughs.”

Please join me in urging the PNB to do better.