Religious Conformity in the Theater District

As a self-proclaimed theater nerd, I often find myself deep in the trenches of the mid-town theater district. Even if I’m not working or seeing a show, I love being around the lights. There’s just something magical about the lights of Broadway—not too ostentatious like the giant LED screens in Times’ Square, but rather elegant in their own way.

One night, as I was walking down Forty-sixth Street, taking in the splendor of the theatre marquees, as a few new ones had just popped up, I noticed something that I had not bothered to pay attention to before. It wasn’t anything new, but it struck me in a way that I had not thought of before. I looked up to notice the shining sign of the Church of Scientology.

There’s nothing particularly special about this sign. It is plain black with white lettering and bears only name of the church on it, acting as a marker, proclaiming their location. I found it a bit strange that they even had the sign in the first place, considering the fact that their name is also on the front of the building and they have several large TV screens playing an informational video on a loop--there was no danger of mistaking the building for anything but what it is. Still, I couldn’t place why I found it to be an oddly familiar sight until I walked by Forty-fifth Street and realized why.

Every theatre on the southern side of Forty-fifth Street has a similar marquee style sign with their name on it. Of course, the Broadway signs are much flashier, their signs in color and with individual light bulbs, but the message is generally the same.

After studying their similarities, I started to think about why the church had the sign in the first place. It’s not exactly the kind of place that would want to be conspicuously advertised or necessarily draw attention to themselves, as the Church of Scientology has a reputation for being extremely secretive and selective. Furthermore, it’s located very close to the heart of Times’ Square, home to advertising and “Disneyfication” galore. Ultimately, however, I think that it is there because it helps the building blend in with its surroundings.

In comparison to their large structure in Los Angeles, this building appears incredibly modest. Of course, it is still a polished looking building, but it is definitely not something that I would expect to find in the heart of the theater district. I tried to do some research on the building itself in the hopes that it might have some sort of a theater history, as it is not unheard of to have theater spaces converted into religious space and vice-versa, but unfortunately was unable to find anything.

This got me thinking about the notion of conformity that is present throughout many of our readings. Jack Kerouac, in particular, tends to highlight and praise nonconformity. Of course, Kerouac dealt with nonconformity on a singular scale. In this case, the face of the church is conforming to its surroundings. Scientology, as a religion, is not something that the general public tends to know very much about, so people that practice it are often seen as being outsiders in terms of religious choices. In spite of this, however, the gleaming “Scientology” sign on the outside of their building seems to be an attempt at fitting in and blending with their surroundings. It is a way of conforming to the neighborhood and theater aesthetic around them, especially in regards to their location near the particularly historic Schubert Alley, located just around the corner, but still remaining firm in their societal discord. 

While the building feels a little out of place among all of the Broadway theaters, the attempt to streamline the appearance of the area is both appreciated and compelling. I hope that others who are enthused by the shining lights of the theater district are able to see this remarkable respect and observance for their location, but also recognize that a religious institution, not just a singular person, is conforming to fit the expectations around them.