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    Isiah Whitlock Jr., on Leaving Chelsea for Gramercy Park

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyWhat I LoveIsiah Whitlock Jr., on Leaving Chelsea for Gramercy ParkThe actor, known for starring roles on shows like “Your Honor” and “The Wire,” has a new apartment — with a key to the park.Isiah Whitlock Jr.: ‘You’ve Got to Live in a Place You Love’14 PhotosView Slide Show ›Katherine Marks for The New York TimesJan. 19, 2021, 5:00 a.m. ETIsiah Whitlock Jr. lived in Chelsea before Chelsea was trendy.“I was looking for an apartment in New York, and I sort of had my choice of Chelsea or Harlem, and I really couldn’t see my girlfriend in Harlem,” he said. “So we chose Chelsea, which at the time was a little bit of a terrifying neighborhood.”Mr. Whitlock, 66, is one of the stars of the new Showtime mini-series “Your Honor,” but is perhaps best known for playing the corrupt state senator Clay Davis on “The Wire.” He has also appeared in films like “Cedar Rapids,” “BlacKkKlansman” and “Da 5 Bloods.” Twenty or so years ago, he was an emerging actor who got a sweet deal on a duplex a few blocks from the meatpacking district, with two bedrooms and a working fireplace. He put his own stamp on it — Flokati rug and beanbag chairs — after his girlfriend moved out. A few years later, the landlord suggested it was time for Mr. Whitlock to vacate the premises, too, but framed the request in a more flattering manner.Mr. Whitlock’s sectional sofa arrived in the reverse configuration from what he was expecting. In time, he has come to view it as a fortunate mistake. “This way, it really opens up the room.”Credit…Katherine Marks for The New York Times“One day she told me in passing, ‘You know, I really don’t want you becoming famous, because I don’t want tour buses pulling up in front of the house,’” Mr. Whitlock said. “I thought it was sort of a joke, but she wasn’t laughing.”“I never did get a solid reason,” he added. “I suspected she wanted a lot more money. I could have paid more, but she wanted me gone.”Isiah Whitlock, 66Occupation: ActorHome sweet home: “As an actor, you’re out and about and meeting all kinds of people, and it’s nice to be able to come home and shut the door and kind of chill.”Mr. Whitlock decamped to a gloomy walk-up nearby. “It was so dark I sometimes had to go outside and take a walk to wake up,” he recalled. “I would say to myself, ‘I can’t do this anymore,’ and then I’d get a job and be gone for three months. And then I’d get another job and be gone again.” Finally — perhaps it was when intruders started stealing tenants’ mail and packages — he’d had enough.Last August, friends sublet him their one-bedroom apartment in a postwar Gramercy Park co-op, with a rooftop terrace and a coveted key to the park. “And if my friends are nice to me, they can come in with me,” Mr. Whitlock said. This is his first doorman building and his first elevator building.“I sort of had a long talk with myself and said, ‘You know, it’s time for you to grow up and stop living the way you’ve been living,’” he said. “When I was working so much and was barely home, it was sort of out of sight, out of mind. But with Covid, I really need to be in a place I enjoy.” He said he intends to buy an apartment when the sublet is up — in fact, was in talks to buy on the Upper East Side last spring, but the pandemic put everything on ice.“It’s beautiful,” Mr. Whitlock said of his poster of Bill Pickett, credited with being the first Black cowboy star. Credit…Katherine Marks for The New York TimesThe company he hired to pack and move his worldly goods did a poor job of it, Mr. Whitlock said, necessitating the replacement of several pieces of furniture. Fortunately, a number of treasures arrived intact, including a Robert Rauschenberg silk-screen on mirror-coated plexiglass, part of the “Star Quarters” series; the framed front page of the final edition of the Village Voice; a poster of Bill Pickett, known as the first African-American cowboy star (“It’s a beautiful poster, one of the best things I have in the house”); and a photo of a somewhat younger, somewhat trimmer Mr. Whitlock.“That’s my band. I used to be in a band,” he said, by way of explaining the picture. “And believe it or not, the guy in the white jumpsuit — that’s me. I didn’t play an instrument. I just sang and danced and drove the girls wild.”The movers were also mindful of the cuckoo clock Mr. Whitlock bought in Germany; the wood box containing the trinkets he collected during his two trips to Burning Man; and the framed, signed sheet music of a song composed by Arthur Miller for the 1997 Off Broadway production of Miller’s play “The American Clock.” (Mr. Whitlock was a member of the cast.)He ordered a tufted, L-shaped teal sectional online, but when it arrived the configuration was the reverse of what he’d expected. In time, he has come to view the purchase as a fortunate mistake. “This way, it really opens up the room,” said Mr. Whitlock, who lined the sofa with a row of pillows he bought in Vietnam and Thailand while shooting “Da 5 Bloods.” The television sits atop a new credenza made of honey-colored wood. His beloved shag rug pulls it all together.The work by Robert Rauschenberg hanging over the dining table “is like the center of the apartment,” he said.Credit…Katherine Marks for The New York TimesA serious cook, he hung a pot rack in the kitchen. But you’d be forgiven for thinking that Mr. Whitlock maybe cares a bit more about drink than food. He proudly showed off the half dozen hand-painted coffee cups and saucers he had specially made during a trip to Deruta, Italy.Even more proudly, he offered a tour of the 200-bottle, glass-fronted wine cooler. Harlan Estate, Chateau Montviel, Chateau Latour and Chateau d’Yquem are among the vineyards represented here, with Dom Pérignon at the ready for celebrating when the pandemic is finally over. There are also several bottles of vintage Whitlock, made by you-know-who at a fully equipped site in New Jersey, with grapes from Napa Valley.“You know, as a matter of fact, I think I’ll just take that out and have it tonight,” he said of a 2014 Cabernet Whitlock. “Trust me, I’ve got a lot of it.”For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    Late Night Celebrates the Final 36 Hours of Trump in Charge

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeBest Netflix DocumentariesNew on NetflixAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyBest of Late NightLate Night Celebrates the Final 36 Hours of Trump in Charge“Normally, after a president’s term, they show before and after photos to prove how much the job aged him. This time, they’re showing before and after photos of all of us,” Jimmy Fallon joked on Monday.“You think you’re excited? Every 10 minutes the White House staffer yells how much time is left like it’s ‘The Great British Bake Off,’” Jimmy Fallon said of Trump’s final few days in office.Credit…NBCJan. 19, 2021, 1:35 a.m. ETWelcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. We’re all stuck at home at the moment, so here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.Dreams DeferredLate night celebrated Martin Luther King’s Birthday at the top of their shows by holding up the civil rights activist as an example of a great leader, as opposed to the departing president.“First of all, before anything else, Happy Martin Luther King Day, everybody, when we celebrate a great leader who led a march on Washington that didn’t end with me having to learn about someone named Q Shaman.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“If Dr. King were alive today, he would probably watch the news and go, ‘Let me be more specific about this dream I had.’” — JIMMY KIMMEL[embedded content]“You know, it’s days like today we should all be grateful that Trump can’t tweet.” — JIMMY FALLON“Today was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and I’d like to think he’d have a good laugh if he knew the F.B.I. had to spend this federal holiday tracking down and arresting thousands of white supremacists. He did have a second dream, and that was it.” — SETH MEYERSMost of the rest of their monologues were focused on President Trump’s last few days in office.“Well guys, there’s only 36 hours left in Trump’s presidency. You think you’re excited? Every 10 minutes the White House staffer yells how much time is left like it’s ‘The Great British Bake Off.’” — JIMMY FALLON“Yep, just 36 hours left. You can tell time is running out because Trump is now signing pardons with both hands.” — JIMMY FALLON“With Trump, 36 hours still seems like a long time, right? It’s like if someone said, ‘You’re only going to be on fire for 36 more hours.’ That’s a long time. ‘You’re only going to be in this M.R.I. tube for another 36 hours. Try not to move.’” — JIMMY FALLON“Forty-eight hours from now Donald and Malaria, Melania — whoops — will be back home, asleep in separate bedrooms at Mar-a-Lago.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“President Trump is reportedly planning on leaving the White House on Wednesday morning for Florida. So he’s not changing his routine at all.” — SETH MEYERS“Trump’s leaving office with his lowest approval rating yet — it’s down to 29 percent. Which, for someone who incited a violent insurrection to overthrow the government isn’t bad. I mean, honestly, what would he have to do to get below 20 percent — eat the Constitution?” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Trump has the lowest average approval rating of any president in the modern era. The only one to leave office with a lower rating than that was Kevin Spacey.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Normally, after a president’s term, they show before and after photos to prove how much the job aged him. This time, they’re showing before and after photos of all of us.” — JIMMY FALLONThe Punchiest Punchlines (Trump’s Pardons Edition)“Sources say that tomorrow, on his last full day in office, the president is prepared to issue around 100 pardons and commutations. Why so many? Well, there’s reportedly a lucrative market for pardons. Finally, POTUS is running a business that makes money.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“He’s calling it ‘The Olive Pardon.’ When you’re here, you’re a crime family.” — STEPHEN COLBERT“President Trump tomorrow is reportedly planning to issue at least 100 pardons and commutations. He said he wanted to give so many so that it would be even more hilarious when Giuliani doesn’t get one.” — SETH MEYERS“You can actually bet on who Trump will pardon, for real. And you know who the odds-on favorite is celebrity-wise? Lil Wayne, Trump’s buddy. They bonded over a mutual love of hip-hop and cough syrup.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“During his last hours in office, Trump is planning to issue pardons, but it’s reported it’s not going to be a pardon to himself or his family members. Trump is the only president in history who decides not to pardon himself and you immediately think, ‘What’s he up to?’” — JIMMY FALLON“I’m not surprised Trump didn’t pardon himself today because then he would be liable for whatever he does tomorrow.” — JIMMY FALLON“Yep, Trump won’t pardon his family either. Actually it’s kind of sweet — Trump told his kids, ‘When I go down for tax fraud, I want you all to be in prison with me.’” — JIMMY FALLONThe Bits Worth Watching“Conan” provided a sneak peek at Trump’s “Pardonpalooza.”What We’re Excited About on Tuesday NightThe actress Aubrey Plaza will pop by “Conan” on Tuesday.Also, Check This OutJavicia Leslie’s role in the CW’s “Batwoman” is her first lead part in a major TV series, and she performed many of her own stunts. “I love being up, like, 50 feet in the air,” she said.Credit…CWJavicia Leslie is the first-ever Black live-action Batwoman as the titular character on the second season of the CW series.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    A Theater Serves as a Courthouse, Provoking Drama Offstage

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyA Theater Serves as a Courthouse, Provoking Drama OffstageBlack artists and activists in Birmingham, England, say the city’s largest playhouse has sold out by leasing its auditoriums to the criminal justice system.Before the dispute, the Birmingham Repertory Theater had long been praised for its efforts to engage people of color.Credit…Suzanne Plunkett for The New York TimesJan. 18, 2021BIRMINGHAM, England — One recent Monday, Sarah Buckingham walked into an auditorium at Birmingham Repertory Theater, strode up some steps to a platform and looked out at her audience. She was in full costume, with a wig, and everyone rose to their feet.It might seem like a star’s entrance, but Ms. Buckingham is not an actress; she is a judge, overseeing a criminal trial.Three national lockdowns in Britain, as well as tough social distancing guidelines, have hampered the business of England’s court system this past year, creating a huge backlog of cases. Since July, the country’s courts service has been renting suitable spaces — like theaters, but also conference centers and local government buildings — then turning them into temporary courtrooms.“I believe a large number of you are familiar with this building for reasons unrelated to crime,” Ms. Buckingham told the jury, before the case began. About 30 feet away from her stood Rzgar Mohammad, 34, a delivery driver who was accused of smashing a glass hookah pipe against another man’s head, then hitting him repeatedly with a pole. He was pleading not guilty to a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.Britain’s theaters have been in financial crisis since the coronavirus pandemic forced them to shut last March. Although a few have hosted performances for socially distanced audiences, most have only survived through a combination of crisis grants and layoffs. Given that, the Birmingham theater’s decision to lease space to the courts service is perhaps unsurprising. Another theater, in the Lowry arts complex in Manchester, has been hosting trials since October. The interior of a theater at the Lowry arts complex in Manchester, reconfigured as a court.Credit…Nathan ChandlerTrials have been taking place at the Lowry since October.Credit…Nathan ChandlerBut the move has angered theatermakers in Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, who claim the courts and the police have historically targeted communities of color, and that theaters should be kept as spaces for creativity. Jay Crutchley, a Black director, said in a telephone interview that the Rep — as the theater is known in Birmingham — had “just endorsed probably the biggest systematic oppressor of Black people in this country.” Young Black men are disproportionately represented in Britain’s prisons, he added, and many people growing up in Birmingham — white and Black — have bad experiences with the police. “I’ve had close friends go through the court system,” he said, “and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stopped and searched.” The Rep’s decision to host a court was turning the theater into a potential site of trauma, Mr. Crutchley added. “There’s a line for me where ethics gets in the way of money,” he said. On Monday, the theater announced two online meetings to listen to the feedback of anyone concerned about its decision. “We are committed to hearing your thoughts directly,” it said.Birmingham is one of Britain’s most diverse cities — at the time of the last census, in 2011, more than a quarter of its population was Asian, and around 9 percent was Black — and the Rep has long been praised for its efforts to engage people of color. Its latest season would have included several plays by people of color, if coronavirus had not forced its closure. Those included the premiere of Lolita Chakrabarti’s “Calmer,” directed by the Black actor Adrian Lester. Mr. Lester is a trustee of the Birmingham Rep’s board and is also married to Ms. Chakrabarti.But just days after the Dec. 14 announcement that the playhouse would be used to hear trials, Talawa — a leading Black theater company — canceled a scheduled season of plays at the Rep on the theme of “Black joy.” The Rep’s move “does not align with Talawa’s commitment to Black artists and communities,” the company said in a news release. (A spokeswoman for Talawa declined to an interview request for this article.)A 2018 production of “Guys and Dolls” by the Talawa theater company. The company pulled out of a collaboration with the Birmingham Repertory Theater after it leased space to the courts service.Credit…Manuel HarlanThe organizers of More Than a Moment, a Birmingham-based cultural initiative aimed at promoting Black artists, also removed the Rep from its guiding committee.The theater, whose spokesman declined an interview request, said in a blog post that the deal with the courts was needed to secure its financial future. Yet Rico Johnson-Sinclair, the manager of SHOUT, an L.G.B.T. arts festival that holds events at the Rep, said in a telephone interview that the Rep was not in immediate danger and had money to keep running until April. In October, Britain’s culture ministry gave the Rep £1.3 million, about $1.8 million.“If they’d been transparent and said, ‘We need to do this or we’re going to go under and they’ll be no more Birmingham Rep,’ I think the Black community would have been more forgiving,” Mr. Johnson-Sinclair said. “But I still don’t think it’s the right course of action.”In interviews outside the theater, six Black passers-by expressed divergent views about the situation. Three said they understood the complaints, but were supportive of the theater becoming a court. “What else can they do to survive?” said Elliot Myers, 30, the owner of a marketing agency. “Needs must,” he added. Credit…Suzanne Plunkett for The New York TimesBut three were opposed. “I know they’re desperate for money, but surely we can find another way?” said David Foster, 47, a street cleaner. Philip Morris, 37, a barber said, “You don’t want to be going to the theater thinking, ‘Court system.’” He added that the theater would be “just more for the European white now.”In the makeshift courtroom on Monday, the proceedings did sometimes have the air of a theatrical courtroom drama. Mr. Brotherton, the prosecution’s lawyer, outlined his case, then showed the jury a video capturing part of the incident. Everyone paid rapt attention. But in real life, trials unfold at a less than gripping pace. Just as things were getting exciting, the judge stopped the proceedings for lunch and so clerks could find an interpreter for one of the witnesses. But when everyone returned to the auditorium, the interpreter was still nowhere to be seen. The lawyers spoke among themselves, marveling at the lighting rig above.After another 50 minutes, the interpreter still hadn’t arrived, unable to find the theater. It was the type of event that delays many court proceedings in Britain, even outside a pandemic.“All right, I’ll admit defeat,” Judge Buckingham said after learning the news. She called the jury back into the room, and sent them home for the day. The 12 men and women shuffled out, stage right, but with little sense of drama or spectacle. AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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    Philip J. Smith, a Power on Broadway, Is Dead at 89

    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesVaccine InformationF.A.Q.TimelineAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyThose we’ve lostPhilip J. Smith, a Power on Broadway, Is Dead at 89As head of the Shubert Organization, he was one of New York City’s most influential real estate and cultural entrepreneurs.Philip J. Smith in 2008. He was the hidden hand on Broadway, negotiating booking contracts with producers and labor contracts with theatrical unions in a multibillion-dollar industry.Credit…Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesPublished More

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    Will Averno Become a 'Marvel Universe' for Musicals?

    AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyA ‘Marvel Universe’ for Musicals? Meet the Makers of AvernoThe shows have not been staged, but three concept albums are at the center of a sprawling fictional world created largely by teenagers.“If this was just 150 unrelated artists working together, it would just be a cool collage without internal integrity or structure,” said Morgan Smith, who oversees the Averno storylines.Credit…Caroline Tompkins for The New York TimesJan. 15, 2021The start of the musical partnership between Morgan Smith and Sushi Soucy may not have been very Rodgers and Hammerstein, or even Pasek and Paul, but it certainly was very 2020.“This past summer, Morgan and I became mutuals on Instagram and TikTok,” Soucy, 18, said in a video conversation from Savannah, Ga. Direct messages followed, then an invitation from Smith, 21, to collaborate on a show. An outline was hashed out via Google Docs.Just a few months later, Broadway Records on Friday released the resulting concept album, “Over and Out,” about the relationship between Nova and Solar, college students who first connect by walkie-talkie, then must navigate the pressure of meeting face to face.It’s no secret that shows like “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Hadestown,” “Be More Chill” and, of course, “Hamilton” have developed passionate online followings. But for new musicals like “Over and Out,” fandom and social media are not an aftereffect — they are baked in.“Over and Out” is part of a series of musicals set in the fictional township of Averno and follows last year’s “Willow,” which Smith wrote with 16-year-old August Greenwood. That story deals head-on with acceptance and mortality as it tracks the parallel trajectories of two couples — Cassia and Grace, Adelaide and Beatrice.In a few months, the label plans to add a third recording, “Bittersummer,” to its catalog, where the Averno releases — concept albums of shows that have yet to be produced — will sit next to cast recordings from Tony-winning productions.“Obviously, they’re early stage, which you don’t normally get,” said Van Dean, the label’s president and co-founder. “But I think it’s interesting for people to see the process, because maybe in a few years there’s a next iteration that shows you how far it’s come. It’s easier to do that in a digital paradigm.”A map of the fictional town of Averno, the center of a trio of concept albums by young creators.Credit…Alicia SelkirkIf you are not a teen, or the parents of one, chances are good you have not heard of Averno, the setting of a sprawling, cross-platform universe over TikTok (125,000 followers), Instagram (47,000 followers), Spotify (1.4 million streams), YouTube, Twitter and Tumblr.It encompasses podcasts, livestreams, novels and short stories, TV and film scripts, an extensive alternate-reality game and, yes, musicals — all at different stages of completion.Smith (who, like most people quoted in this article, uses they/them pronouns, reflecting the project’s queer and nonbinary inclusiveness) came up with what would turn out to be the roots of Averno at the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop in 2018. The multiverse fully metastasized in 2020, when people were at home with time on their hands.The general vibe is drenched in the supernatural. The Averno logo, for example, is a ram’s skull, which at first seems a bit grim but makes conceptual and aesthetic sense when Smith, a New York University senior, starts listing such influences as the novels “We’ve Always Lived in the Castle” and “American Gods.”The mood: “Very like Stephen King/‘Welcome to Night Vale’/‘Twin Peaks’/‘Bridge to Terabithia.’”Fan art is abundant and volunteers help with organizing, but Smith sets the world’s parameters. “The running rule is, if I didn’t make it or decide on it, it’s not canon,” they said. “Just because I have a very specific set of aesthetics and questions and themes — it’s what makes Averno feel cohesive. If this was just 150 unrelated artists working together, it would just be a cool collage without internal integrity or structure.”Artists and animators contribute to the project, as in this image of the characters Solar and Nova, on separate rooftops, from the show “Over and Out.”Credit…Melissa van Dijk-Allen“Willow” and “Over and Out” are not Smith’s first foray into musical theater. With the composer Mhairi Cameron, they wrote “Oceanborn” and presented it at the 2019 Rave Theater Festival — The New York Times called the show “confident” and “sweeping,” with a “gorgeous score.”Smith pitched “Bittersummer” to Broadway Records last spring, but pandemic logistics delayed its release, so “Willow” and “Over and Out” ended up coming out first.“I became quite fond of the work that Morgan and their team were doing,” said Dean, who mentioned he is looking into potential physical stagings in the future. “One of the things that attracted me is that nobody’s ever tried to create a Marvel Universe for theater, for musicals. Each piece may have its own trajectory but it’s all kind of tied together.”Music is a major component of Averno, but Smith tends to see it as serving a bigger goal. “I’m not really interested in musicals,” they said, “I’m interested in telling stories that use music to further an emotion. I’m not trying to write the perfect Broadway standard — I’m trying to tell the best story I can.”There are connections to the mainstream and Broadway, however, besides a record label or Christy Altomare, from “Anastasia,” performing a reprise of “How to Let Go” on the “Willow” album.When they worked on that project, for example, Greenwood, a resident of Charleston, S.C., who cites William Finn as their favorite composer, recalls that Smith would say: “We need an opening, we need an ‘I want song’ sung by this character, we need all the different types of Broadway songs.“I’m very imagery-based,” Greenwood continued, “so Morgan would be, like, ‘It needs to feel like a summer day’ and it would click in my brain and I would go off and write the lyrics and the music together.”Soucy’s experience reflects a similar, refreshing lack of hand-wringing. “When I was around 12, I decided that I was going to write a song in the shower, and I did,” said Soucy (favorite composer: Stephen Sondheim; favorite show: “Sweeney Todd”) from their home in Savannah. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘This is easier than people make it out to be.’ And so I just started writing musicals. There’s a large community of friends who casually write musicals on the weekends,” they added with a laugh.A summer 2020 gathering of Averno creators, from left: August Greenwood, Nalah Palmer, Janeen Garcia, Richard Eyler, Rachael Chau, Jasmine Aurora and Morgan Smith.Credit…Shepherd SmithOn both concept albums, lyrics set against intimate folk-pop arrangements capture with understated efficiency the angst of feeling alone and misunderstood when you are trying to find yourself: “The rest of the world/got a manual guide/to being the way that they are,” Janeen Garcia sings in “Ketchup” from “Over and Out.”Not having a manual guide, however, can make you resourceful. “I really like how they are independent with it,” Bug Curtis-Monro, a 13-year-old fan in Liverpool, England, said of the Averno creators. “A lot of people would have to seek out … I know this sounds bad, but, like, more professional help.”Smith displays a FaceTime screenshot that shows fellow Averno creators.Credit…Caroline Tompkins for The New York TimesWhile wunderkinds are not new in pop — Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish are just some of the latest examples — young people speaking to and for each other is a fairly recent phenomenon in musical theater. And it is essential to Averno.“The fact that we are basically the same people means that we’re able to connect,” said Elodie Prigent, a 17-year-old who has followed Smith’s work since “Oceanborn” and now helps out with Averno’s social-media channels. “We know how they feel because we are them.”Such self-sufficiency may partly be in response to being asked to jump through hoops, or risk being ignored for who you are. Gatekeepers — largely, let’s face it, middle-aged white men — have been known to dismiss the teen girls or nonbinary folks who happen to form the core audience and creative teams of Averno.“I’m 21 but people still have trouble taking me seriously sometimes, which I get,” Smith said. “I’m really hoping in the upcoming year that producers and publishers start seeing the market. Clearly we have a standing audience, and our merch sales are growing excellently.”Greenwood senses a change in the musical-theater establishment’s receptiveness to the virtual realm — and is glad it’s happening.“For a while nobody really listened to people who were super-young and were just going on about their musicals online,” they said. “But now I think producers see that these can be successful. They are finally, in quarantine, realizing that it’s a really good way to get new work.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More