The Arts Beat, Rachel Moore
It’s no secret Ottawa’s major event locations—the National Arts Centre and the Corel Centre—are suffering some serious financial dilemmas.
While the folks out at the Corel Centre struggle to fill seats in their enormous house, the NAC’s federal funding is on a steady decline.
In this time of financial need there is no time to mess around. The two centres have put the best people on the job of pulling up their financial socks. A few dependable business people have been called in to work their commercial magic: Peter Pan, Annie and the Backstreet Boys.
Ottawa has sold its artistic soul to the devil. To get culture back on its feet, we have turned to surefire money-makers: the best of broadway and the hottest of mainstream pop sensations.
The NAC has turned to filling its stages with flamboyant money-makers like Annie, Peter Pan, Grease, Tommy and Forever Plaid.
Can the NAC really justify using its federal government funding to pay for these garish American shows?
The Corel Centre has resorted to America’s hottest teenage sensation, along with Aerosmith and Elton John.
Ottawa’s event circuit has become a slave to popular taste, but at a price. Suddenly we’re slighting the NAC Orchestra, theatre, experimental dance and classical music in favor of flashy touring musicals and rock concerts.
Instead of supporting local artists by displaying their work, these centres are pushing them into the margins.
Moving mainstream may turn a quick buck, but it makes Ottawa artistically indistinguishable from commercial culture.
If we depend on American pop artists and Broadway hits to boost our box office takes, we might as well be tied up with puppet strings.
We’ll beg for these popular American artists to come to our stages, making them look like volunteers coming into a third world country to clean up the ruins of disaster.
It’s O.K. to offer some big commercial acts — better to have our residents pay to see them here than in Toronto.
But the Corel Centre and the NAC have proclaimed these performances as miracles, guaranteed potions that will heal the financial wounds suffered by the cultural scene in our city.
Ottawa audiences seem bored with local shows. Giving them popular musicals and hot U.S. pop stars may draw them out, but don’t expect any long- term dedication. When the flashy mainstream show is over, audiences won’t be loyal enough to stick around.