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May 31, 2025 - Lionel Nation
06:54
The Day Theater Dies Is the Day America Dies Inside
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Something before I forget.
Just one of those things.
Before we let the evening go, this is that one I saw.
A very, very, very troubling play.
What did you say?
It's troubling?
Troubling.
It's a play that was called Call Me Izzy.
And it was, wasn't that something?
Wasn't it?
It's not a feel-good.
It's not a feel-good.
It's not that, but it's Elizabeth's, uh, Jean Smart, rather.
From Designing Women and...
What's that one called?
Hacks.
What?
Hacks, yes.
At the Studio 54 Theater.
It's Studio 54. The Studio 54. The famous drug den in Emporium.
And it was...
Hugh Jackman.
Come on, Hugh.
Live from New York with Love.
Radio City Music Hall.
Hugh, come on.
Come on, Hugh.
Come on.
It's okay.
But this was about 90-100 minutes.
Gene Smart.
One woman act.
Absolutely incredible.
Incredible.
Incredible.
That's all I wanted to say.
So make it a point, at some particular time, to celebrate this thing called theater.
I'm not sure how it's done in your town.
If you ever come to New York and you ever get the chance to see something, there is nothing like it.
This is one of the best.
She's like 76 years old.
And it's one of the, she is just absolutely incredible.
And it's something which I want to explain.
If we lose our...
If we lose our theater, if we lose our arts, we lose everything.
Everything.
It's the only thing that separates us from the animals.
We are spending our time wasting so much time talking about stuff.
I mean, it's interesting.
Somebody asked a question about the Diddy Trial.
Do you really care about the Diddy Trial?
Do you really care?
Seriously.
Let me say you do.
Do you really?
Say, do you care about tariffs?
No, I don't care about tariffs.
This is a different story.
This is something which is so important.
The thing that separates us from the animals is theater, the ability to express ourselves, how much money we put into the arts, not from the government, just us individually.
STEAM, science, technology, education, arts and math.
That's what we need to do.
Have you ever seen a broad We saw Vanessa Redgrave one time in a one-woman act just sitting in a chair.
That was it.
It was unbelievable.
You've got to experience a Broadway act.
But Studio 54. The Studio 54. To see this, it was there in 1927.
It was called the Gallo Opera Hall.
Then in 1942, it became a studio for CBS.
And to see the, you can almost feel the, what went on there.
That was the epicenter.
To walk in and to think that there were people, thousands of people dying, trying to get in with Rubelle working the door.
And you're walking right in there.
It was just, just incredible.
If you get a chance, Do something to support the arts.
I know this sounds corny.
I don't think anybody cares.
I don't think we really care about this.
We're losing theater.
We're losing film.
It's going to be AI.
I don't know if anybody even cares about that.
I hope, for the love of all of us, for the love of God, I hope that we recognize the fact that this is serious business.
I mean, we really absolutely We need it.
That's all I want to say.
There's nothing really, really deep about this.
Because I think we are so, we're losing our sense of, we're not writing, we're not creating, we're not into poetry and the arts in museums, and all of those things which a society just understood.
There was a time when Greek and Roman society put all of their money into architecture and buildings.
Not because they wanted to build some governmental...
But because of the artistry, the architecture was an art.
We're losing this.
We are losing it so much.
And it is so difficult.
I happened to look up.
I was in the studio and I looked up and I saw this.
See this typhoid, this big hyperglanular guy with a hat on backwards covered in tattoos.
And this is the wit.
This is our Mark Twain.
That gut bucket is our Mark Twain.
So sad.
And I know nobody cares about this.
And I realize this.
And I know that I'm kind of wasting my time.
But that's okay.
That's okay.
Just because I'm wasting my time doesn't mean it's not true.
I mean, we as a society must understand something.
We are not kidding around here.
We can't lose this.
Because once you lose it, it's gone.
And there are people who are going to say, some people have never been to a play.
Never been to a musical.
Never.
Sometimes you go maybe to a bad high school version of it, but at least somebody was trying to do something.
That's all.
That's all.
I did a piece today, I hope you read it, on why Indian Americans and Indians are such great spellers, why they have destroyed and owned the art of the spelling bee.
That pissed off a lot of people, which is great.
It's one of those things which is absolutely critical.
So in any event, dear and great friends, have a wonderful evening.
Remember what I'm saying.
Remember, because nobody's talking about this.
We're talking about Epstein, and you know, that's important, and Diddy, and yeah, yeah, yeah.
But this is critical.
If you lose the art, you lose everything, okay?
Art is for the soul.
Have a great day, my friends.
Don't forget to subscribe to Lionel Nation.
Don't forget Mrs. L. Follow her at Lin's Warriors.
And don't forget, the monkey's dead.
The show's over.
Sue ya.
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