Leonardo DiCaprio made headlines this week for calling climate change “the most urgent threat facing our entire species” in his Oscar acceptance speech. The longtime Hollywood heartthrob isn’t alone in his attitudes toward climate change.
On Broadway, countless actors, musicians and stagehands are working to transform the Great White Way into the Great Green Way. Just ask Rachel Izen, Les Miserables’s unscrupulous innkeeper, Madame Thénardier. Behind the scenes, Izen is the company’s Green Captain. She leads the production’s efforts to cut waste and limit energy consumption.
According to the Broadway Green Alliance, there is at least one Green Captain at every Broadway show. Izen believes they have a role to play in the larger conversation about climate change and sustainability.
“If we can show that we are doing our bit to make the world a better place,” said Izen. “I think it touches more people in a much stronger way.”
Jeremy Deaton writes for Nexus Media, a syndicated newswire covering climate, energy, policy, art and culture. You can follow him @deaton_jeremy.
