BROADWAY OR BUST - PBS

Premiers are tonight, Sept. 9th, 8/7C. On PBS.

What did you guys think of the preview?

Gosh, the guy who sang "Alive" from Jekyll and Hyde was CRAZY GOOD. 25? no?? 21? no? 18?! No way!!!

The blonde girl at the end sounds like Lindsay Pearce.

If you haven't watched the preview, I'll provide a link.






Broadway or Bust

Updated On: 9/9/12 at 09:28 PM

you're welcome :)

I've set up my TiVo.

I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this!!!!!!

I follow the Jimmy Awards on Youtube every year and these kids are simply mind blowing. From what I've seen this year I'm really excited to see the girl Playing Lola and the guy playing Marius. I know there hasn't been much on them in the previews, but they both looked really excellent in their performance videos. I hope the show is success and they do this every year!

If you want to watch the performances of most of the nominees or clips of the awards of past years then check out the link to the Youtube Channel.
National High School Musical Theater Awards Youtube Page

First smash, now Broadway or Bust. Im so happy there is MT t.v shows now.

Watching now - and fascinated by it.

(but, ouch, some of those performances do a number on my ears... Poor kids with their nerves!)

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Updated On: 9/9/12 at 08:39 PM

I found some of the kids very annoying and some of them, to me, should not be considered in "The Best" category. My daughter knows Josh, from Davie , Florida and we saw him in "Light in the Piazza" last year at our state thespian festival. He is an amazing kid and apparently works really hard for everything he has received. He's also humble.

^ I agree Marianne! That poor girl that did "And I'm Telling You"- wow- not even close. I hated that kid who kept making all of these excuses and talking so much before he did "Master of the House". They are getting really good advice though. That boy who sang Gerswhin in front of the expert Michael Feinstein- well, how nerve-wracking but at the same time what an opportunity for really great constructive criticism from him. It was enjoyable to watch though and I can't wait for next week!

"I found some of the kids very annoying and some of them, to me, should not be considered in "The Best" category."

They are 17/18. You're looking at the future generation of broadway. I wouldn't be surprised that everyone who made the cut will be on broadway and national tours in the future.

I'm sure ALL of these kids have voice teachers that they have worked hard with. Being a singer in a high school choir or musical is just singing. Working with a teacher however, is what makes a "singer" into a performer. The fine line between the two includes posture, tone, breath control, phrasing, tension release, and lastly performance experience.

I've been to a lot of my friends choir concerts and recitals in high school and they have no phrasing what so ever. it's not entertaining.

Being able to learn choreography within a few days is another element when it comes to performing. You can't rehearse a song to sound better if you are still worrying about this little things like choreography... and also, if you're cast in a national tour you HAVE to be able to be witty enough to make quick adjustments to smaller/larger stages.

Updated On: 9/9/12 at 10:25 PM

I realize their ages and I guess I'm comparing them to my own kids and their friends when I say I thought some were annoying. I stand by that. The choreographer admitted that some of these kids realized after their experience with this program that they are not cut out for Broadway. I'm sure some of them will but I also stand by the fact that I do not believe that these are the best kids in the country for musical theatre. It is an enjoyable show though and it's nice to see the constructive criticism these kids are getting. Being a good singer alone does not make a Broadway performer. Being in MT definitely requires dance as well. And of course, being able to sing and dance but not act will also set one up for failure.

I realize their ages and I guess I'm comparing them to my own kids and their friends when I say I thought some were annoying. I stand by that. The choreographer admitted that some of these kids realized after their experience with this program that they are not cut out for Broadway. I'm sure some of them will but I also stand by the fact that I do not believe that these are the best kids in the country for musical theatre. It is an enjoyable show though and it's nice to see the constructive criticism these kids are getting. Being a good singer alone does not make a Broadway performer. Being in MT definitely requires dance as well. And of course, being able to sing and dance but not act will also set one up for failure.

I actually thought the complete opposite. I was surprised by how much I actually liked these kids. Yes, they are a varied group in terms of where their talents are at this stage, but I was impressed by their humility. When I was in high school (a little less than a decade ago), the theatre kids I knew were attention-whoring, entitled, and obnoxious. I eventually came to the conclusion that, although I liked theatre, I didn't like theatre people very much. (That appraisal has changed since then, but my impression of high school theatre kids has mostly remained negative.) These kids, by contrast, were refreshingly low-key.

Let's face it. In this economy, being a Broadway performer is nothing glamorous; it's desperate, emotionally/physically/financially draining, and sometimes even degrading. Kids become disillusioned with the world of hoofers very quickly. Do you think most of these kids are going to want to put up with that crap when they see how much more securely and comfortably they can live pursuing other careers? The job market in general is stressful right now, but it's even worse for the arts. Most of these kids will move on to do other things. A small handful will stick with it. But, at this point, they haven't even entered the "natural selection" process yet that occurs mostly in college and a few years after that. They're the winners of their respective regional competitions. That's it. There should be no pretensions about being "the best in the country."

Updated On: 9/9/12 at 11:20 PM

supportivemom, I disagree.

there are plenty of broadway performers who have had NO theater experience what-so-ever in highschool.

Ramin karimloo, one of the most memorable phantoms, and now a most demanding singer, had no experience. what I mean by that is, he never did choir, didn't take lessons, he only loved phantom as a kid. after high school, and after seeing the phantom 25 times, he decided he wanted to be an actor.

he moved to england and started taking lessons. what troubled him the most is "who's going to hire an actor that has no experience?" luckily, an agent happened to hear him sing.

one day he was walking around london and ran into andrew lloyd webber. he begged him for an audition, and landed the role.

moral of the story, there IS such thing as raw talent.


but being in an ensemble like broadway or bust, the main key of staying on the show is taking direction well, and knowing how to sing and tell a story.

My main point (which I didn't express at the get go) is the fact that in order to compete, these kids had to have had a lead role in their school production. Not every kid even had a chance to compete. For example, when my daughter was a junior, her school did Aida and they took it to state. Only the person who played Aida and Radames could be nominated. So, depending on what show your school did, the lead role isn't always the best or most talented- it is the person who is right for the role. In Florida, you can only be nominated if your school show is adjudicated to be sent to state. This past year, her school did Urinetown but did not send the show to state and therefore no one was nominated from her school. I found out that in the state of Illinois, kids were allowed to send in DVD's of their performance and there was an award's ceremony to determine their state reps- but again- it HAD to be a lead role. Another state was a first come first serve nomination process so if you went to a school that submitted you after the quota was met, then you were out of luck. Some states don't even know about these awards and so it's not a full representation of the United States. So, the Jimmy's is awarding the best of the lead roles but we all know that supporting roles can often showcase even more talent. Also, the winners are attached to a professional theatre and many kids do not have access to that in their local communities and many do not even have a drama department in their high schools. The kids that have represented Florida the past three years- since it began- have all come from a private school with a thriving arts department and the tuition is almost $23.000/year. (they have all been talented, dedicated, and humble though who were deserving) That's why I believe it's hyperbole for the show to advertise this as the best high school MT students in the country. Sure, some of these kids have raw talent and to me, some of them had mediocre talent. I have seen some great performances at our state competition but because of the nature of the rules, these kids were not even considered. I still stand by my statement that some of the kids annoyed me. However, I'm glad that this program will expose many to MT and I hope that they feature more of the kids in segments instead of only showing a few- like they do on American Idol. Of course, this is a wonderful opportunity for these kids. I understand that plenty of Broadway performers have had no theatre experience what-so-ever in high school but this show promotes itself as the best of the best and I personally did not find that to be true. If they had promoted the show as the best raw talent- well, that's another story. I do appreciate the comments though. Hopefully, this documentary will promote more arts in the school!