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Matthew Freeman is a Brooklyn based playwright with a BFA from Emerson College. His plays include THE DEATH OF KING ARTHUR, REASONS FOR MOVING, THE GREAT ESCAPE, THE AMERICANS, THE WHITE SWALLOW, AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR, THE MOST WONDERFUL LOVE, WHEN IS A CLOCK, GLEE CLUB, THAT OLD SOFT SHOE and BRANDYWINE DISTILLERY FIRE. He served as Assistant Producer and Senior Writer for the live webcast from Times Square on New Year's Eve 2010-2012. As a freelance writer, he has contributed to Gamespy, Premiere, Complex Magazine, Maxim Online, and MTV Magazine. His plays have been published by Playscripts, Inc., New York Theatre Experience, and Samuel French.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

All Hail...Harry Potter?

Honestly, I think this is great. Not because I'm in love with star-obsession. In fact, I've never read a Harry Potter book. I know, I know...

But frankly, this is a really brave move for someone who could easily make money forever just because he's associated with a family-friendly multi-billion dollar franchise. Instead, he's taken on a role that is incredibly challenging and potentially damaging to his image. The result? He was rewarded with great reviews, and more people than have in years read about a little play called Equus.

I'm not naive enough to think people are reading about this for any other reason than he takes his underaged clothes off. But I do think the side-effect is basically an overall "good."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here, here!

Anonymous said...

Good on him, I say. After all, he didn't need to do this, and if he wanted to star in a West End vehicle he coulda picked any number of far easier roles. There was every possibility he could wind up the laughingstock of the theatrical community on two continents, but he worked hard and did a respectable job. I've only seen "Equus" once, at a major regional theatre, and the Alan was just disastrous. Derailed the whole production. Clearly Radcliffe wants to be an actor, not a movie star, and good for him for keeping his priorities straight.