Sunday, July 16, 2017

Indecent Corrections

 Let's face it.  I'm not a famous writer.  Yeah, I have some loyal followers for which I am immensely grateful but I'm not exactly a household name except in my own house.  Imagine my surprise, then, when I opened an email from Jim Byk representing the press office of the Broadway play Indecent.  He thanked me for my review of the play and provided a link to production photos for my future use.  I've included two of those photos in this article with thanks to the play's press office.  Mr. Byk also asked me to make a couple of corrections to my original article which I am happy to do.  Accuracy is essential especially in this time of such profound and glaring journalistic inaccuracy.  In my article I stated that Indecent was originally scheduled to close on June 23, 2017.  Mr Byk points out that the actual date of the original closing was to have been June 25, 2017.  I stand corrected.  In my article I also stated that, "Its author, Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel, co directs with Rebecca Taichman."  Mr. Byk asks me to make this correction:  Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman receive credits an co-creators.  However the play was written by Paula and directed by Rebecca.
You might right now be reasonably asking yourself, "So what?  What difference does any of this make?  And why would a guy with a big job such as Byk's even bother contacting an unknown writer read by not many people at all?"  In my response to Mr. Byk's email I thanked him for reaching out to me and assured him that I would make the above corrections.  The play Indecent is in large part the story of words and their power to transform.  Realizing that power, we have a responsibility to accuracy.  That responsibility belongs not only to those of us who write.  It belongs to everyone.  Words have the power to inspire or to condemn, to heal or to wound.  May we always use our words for the greater good.  To me, that is one of the many urgent messages of the play Indecent.  I thank Jim Byk for reminding me and for holding me to my responsibility.

1 comment:

Tom Walker said...

I'm not a famous writer either, but I do have some experience with corrections. I think this is a case of a press agent making some overly picky corrections to justify his job. However, you handled it all very graciously and professionally. So thank you for that.