August 11, 2026

This Old Song and Dance

By Laura Trachtman

When I was in high school, I worked on the school plays. And why not? We techies were a little gang of misfits and weirdos: some of us goths, some of us queer, some of us just odd. It was a safe space, without anyone imposing their ideas on how we should behave. There wasn’t any room for that – we were in the theatre (italics and British spelling indicative of how dramatically “theater” should be pronounced). And it was okay to be yourself, no matter how out there you were. 

So you can imagine my dismay when I read that a certain musician, Kevin Lynch, has been slowly but surely challenging DEI efforts in and amongst Broadway theaters in New York’s federal courts. (For those just tuning in, DEI stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion). I have some thoughts about this, which I’ll discuss below, in no particular order. 

What’s the Deal?

Kevin Lynch is suing based on Playwright Horizon’s so-called discriminatory ticket-selling practices for the onstage performance of the show Practice in the first action, which settled. Lynch is also suing based on so-called discriminatory hiring practices by Maestra Music, Inc., Arts Ignite Inc. d/b/a Musicians United for Social Equity (MUSE), and Wicked LLC in the second action, which remains ongoing. 

The complaint in the first action, Lynch v. Playwrights Horizons, Inc., alleged that on November 6, 2025, Playwrights Horizons, an esteemed off-Broadway theater in New York City, hosted a “BIPOC night”, where it sold tickets to the show Practice to persons of color at a heavily discounted price. Lynch, a Caucasian man, paid full price for his tickets – a difference of $102 in total. 

The complaint in the second action, American Alliance for Equal Rights et al v. Maestra Music, Inc., summarizes Maestra directory’s ban on musicians who are male, and the MUSE directory’s ban on white musicians. Subsequently, the American Alliance for Equal Rights, alongside Lynch, detail how Wicked created and marketed a THREE WEEK position with a “modest paid weekly stipend” only to  members of either Maestra or MUSE: In other words, it was only for a non-white male. 

Why Here?

Why pick Broadway? In both actions, I think it was the perfect storm: Means, motive, and opportunity all came together. 

For the first action, Lynch had an opportunity and the means to capitalize on it: The theater advertised the availability of a discount for BIPOC consumers. That enabled Lynch to paint himself – and everyone else similarly situated – as a victim. And, he had a motive:  < sarcasm > We all know it’s terribly difficult to be a white man in today’s day and age, so obviously he needed to teach that awful racist theater a lesson! < / sarcasm > 

Lynch was clever about it, or rather, his attorneys were: They requested that the Court recognize the matter as one with sufficient numerosity to warrant a class action. So the recovery would be exponentially greater than the $102 that would have been his damages for the pair of theater tickets.

For the second action, my answer is the same: The theater created a THREE WEEK job so that a person of color could have limited access to Broadway, which seems like a mitzvah in my opinion. And Lynch seized the opportunity to make the entire situation about himself. 

Why Now?

Why choose to sue these Broadway companies right now?  Of course, we already know the answer: It’s the politically popular thing to do. With the Trump Administration’s evisceration of the EEOC and generally negative attitude towards anyone who isn’t a cisgendered heterosexual white Christian male, it’s easy enough to find backers to bankroll anti-DEI lawsuits. 

While this article talks about the changes in New York and federal law, I’ve already discussed that it has been illegal to discriminate against someone based on their race for decades, no matter their race.  (Read this article and this one, too.). In other words, Kevin Lynch could have brought these lawsuits during the Obama Administration, and they would have been just as viable. However, they wouldn’t have been politically popular, because unlike President Obama, President Trump is a racist. Let’s not forget that he called the white supremacists who led the January 6, 2021 insurrection “very fine people.” (And no, before you ask, I’ll never, ever get over the fact that he said that – among other things he has said and done.)

My Two Cents

Look, as a white person myself, I get it. Is it fun to be excluded? No. But this isn’t kindergarten, it’s real life. And anyone who seriously sits down and complains that it is hard to be a white male in today’s day and age is either delulu or selling something. And here, Kevin Lynch is selling the story of the tragedy of white men in American to the American Alliance for Equal Rights – an institution which only seems interested in safeguarding the rights of white Americans. 

There are several big issues in play here: The first is that this conduct is, whether we like it or not, illegal. Employers cannot discriminate in hiring based upon race, even for a three-week gig.  Excluding certain candidates based on race will disincentivize employers from espousing DEI programs and hiring practices. Accordingly, employers need to get smarter about how they hire people if they want to take diversity into account. 

The second big issue I see unfolding involves institutions that worry about the white race no longer being the dominant race in America. They will seize these opportunities to make a big stink about reverse racism, or whatever they want to call it. 

That leads me to our final big issue. Instead of becoming defensive, we need to prioritize education in this county. Whitewashing the racism in which the  U.S. was baptized (Three Fifths Compromise, anyone?) doesn’t do us any favors. Is it uncomfortable to learn that our Founding Fathers were slave-owners? Yes. Does it create cognitive dissonance to think that  someone who wanted freedom for certain people didn’t also want freedom for all people? Also yes. 

People need to learn that saying something like “black lives matter” doesn’t mean white lives don’t matter. Not everything needs to be personalized or internalized. Life sucks for everyone. But sometimes, life sucks a little more for certain people, and it’s okay to give them a boost from time to time.