I had always considered myself an ethical and morally upstanding human being until a particular Broadway musical was released last year. If you’re like me and living in the southernmost place in the United States, broke, and already knee-high in student loans, then you know there’s no chance in hell you can afford $200 to $600+ tickets.
Then, out of nowhere, a beautiful stranger from the Internet answers your cries for help and drops a bootleg version of said musical right in your lap. What do you do?
I’ve been dying to see this musical which I will hereafter refer to as…Roosevelt.
Let’s dissect this dilemma a little bit. The show’s creator – uh, let’s call him Ben-Rafael Veranda – has explicitly stated that he is against bootlegs (shocking) and I know, I KNOW, Ben, I agree with you. You’ve spent six years of your life devoted to this. But my bank account is painfully dismal and must be devoted to buying food and textbooks. Plus all your shows are sold out until JANUARY OF NEXT YEAR. What’s a gal like me to do?
Let’s break this up in a quiz format. Should I:
- Throw my computer out the window and call the police to turn myself in?
- Call Ben-Rafael Veranda and beg for his forgiveness?
- Both 1&2?
- Watch the damn thing and get over myself?
After a very heated mental debate with myself that lasted a full five minutes, I selected the fourth choice. This is a choice that many internet-dwellers find appalling, which I also find kind of appalling. I’ve heard many people preach that they’re so “disappointed” in people who watch bootlegs and “just believe me when I say that I won’t be watching it,” and all this crap about how everyone should buy tickets or wait to buy the hypothetical DVD of the performance that Ben-Rafael Veranda is thinking of maybe recording of the original cast. First of all, the only person allowed to be disappointed in me is my mother. Secondly, a lot of people don’t have the money to buy tickets or a DVD! Tickets for bucket-o-shit seats are upwards of $200 which, (surprise!) not everyone can just cough up willy-nilly.
The producers of Roosevelt can afford to lose a few ticket sales. And I am forever grateful that Ben-Rafael has made the ticket lottery so affordable to fans, but with the number of people that show up to these ticket lotteries, there’s only a 6% chance someone will win a ticket. People should be allowed to do whatever they want without being classified as a fake or a disrespectful fan. Some people just can’t afford the time or money necessary to see a Broadway musical. I’m sure most of these critics have probably watched bootlegged tv shows and movies and use that handy-dandy free app called Spotify. Why decide to take a holier-than-thou stance now? The Internet in itself is an expansive web with endless free content. Are we fake fans of the Internet now?
For some of us, Ham- I mean, Roosevelt has meant the world to us and has improved our past year for the better and we want nothing more than to FINALLY see it. If our first experience is going to be through a shitty camera from nosebleed seats, then we should be able to decide that on our own.