Dear editor,
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In regards to Tony Adler’s recent review of the Artistic Home’s production of The Madwoman of Chaillot [Section 2, October 28]–as a theatergoer, I found it misleading and, as a Jew, offensive. While Mr. Giraudoux may have held anti-Semitic beliefs, in no way are they expressed within the text of this play. One of the many reasons that I have been a continued supporter of the Artistic Home Theater is precisely because they choose material that is socially responsible and morally engaging. To imply that the Artistic Home Theater’s production in any way condones or even tolerates anti-Semitism is pure slander and misrepresentation.
It is no secret that, sadly, many of the most prolific and talented artists have expressed anti-Semitic views in their personal life. However, we have come to judge these artists’ works on their own merits, and not by the views of their creators. By Mr. Adler’s reasoning, he would pan the works of Tchaikovsky, T.S. Eliot, Dostoyevsky, Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Mark Twain, Roald Dahl, and Chaucer, to name a few.
Tony Adler replies:
