Broadway followers usually consider theater as a non secular expertise, however most of them aren’t pondering of tarot playing cards once they say that. Which will change with the brand new Tarot, a stunning fusion of Broadway and theater that reimagines the normal picture of the tarot deck with art work from famed theatrical cartoonist Al Hirschfeld.
Hearken to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast:
The Hirschfeld Broadway Tarot is the brainchild of Emily McGill, a former Broadway publicist who created the brand new deck in partnership with the Al Hirschfeld Basis , and can be launched on September third. Full selection Theater Podcast.
McGill stated she focuses on the psychological and therapeutic advantages of tarot readings, quite than utilizing them to foretell the long run. She stated tarot readings may help folks really feel “extra clear and oriented.”
“For a theater lover like me, I wished a Broadway-themed deck,” she remembers. When she found one did not exist, she got down to create one.
In a brand new episode of Stagecraft, McGill describes combining Hirschfeld’s curiosity in stage characters like Mama Rose and Eliza Doolittle and theater icons like Bob Fosse and Joseph Papp. Describe the method of “projecting” onto a tarot card that matches its ambiance. For instance, Jean Valjean from “Les Misérables” seems on the “Justice” card, whereas “Romeo and Juliet” seems on the “Lovers” card.
McGill stated she has all the time thought of theaters sacred — “For me, strolling into an empty theater is like most individuals strolling into an empty church, synagogue, mosque or temple” — and defined , the brand new tarot deck is a method for her to mix her lifelong love of theater together with her research of spirituality.
As an illustration, she carried out a pattern studying of two playing cards. She pulled ten swords from the deck, that includes Hirschfeld’s caricature of Grandpa Ben from “Broadway Down,” and a chariot depicting Coalhouse Walker Jr. from “Ragtime,” and defined The that means of every.
She added that she hopes the deck will encourage folks to strive tarot. “This makes tarot actually accessible for theater lovers,” she stated. “Truthfully, anybody can learn tarot playing cards. All you want are some playing cards and your instinct.
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