Truthiness
A podcast ad for the current Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman:
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is back on Broadway in what the Guardian calls “this year’s starriest revival.” Joe Mantello directs this strictly limited engagement of the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, declared the greatest American play by Kenneth Tynan. And The New York Times says “it brings the whole theater alive.” Vogue writes, “Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf are our foremost theater actors. Christopher Abbott and Ben Ahlers represent the thrilling potential of a new generation.” See you at the theater. Now in previews on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theater.
From the Wikipedia entry on Truthiness:
Truthiness is the belief or assertion that a particular statement is true based on the intuition or perceptions of some individual or individuals, without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts. Truthiness can range from ignorant assertions of falsehoods to deliberate duplicity or propaganda intended to sway opinions.
Kenneth Tynan stopped writing in 1980, owing to his death. And while the other quotes above were, I believe, technically published, take another look at them with fresh eyes.
Hearing them read quickly on a podcast, especially when the show is still in previews, and no reviews yet exist, you might think they are from reviews, or, at minimum, from someone who has seen the current revival. But what they really are is just statements. And from what? A casting notice? A feature? A roundup of upcoming openings?
It’s impossible to know.
The show is, in fact, playing at the Winter Garden Theater. So that part is true.
There’s truth in advertising. There’s false advertising. And then there’s… truthiness.
I’m not passing judgment on this one way or another. I’m merely highlighting it. What do you think? Is this intentional deception, or a legitimate advertising tactic? Let me know in the comments below.
