Bio-jukebox musicals- take a break or continue on?

I would love it if there was a 10 year break from these juke box musicals but that is not going to happen. Producers will not take a break from them because they feel these shows already have a built-in audience who will love the music and buy tickets. Put me in the camp of hearing more original music and stories on Broadway. It seems to me Broadway is looking more like a series of "tribute band" concerts than actual theater (just teasing). Yes, some of the jukebox musicals are very good (Jersey Boys, Carole King) but do we need one for every pop star in recent memory. If you are going to use these jukebox songs I agree with you it might be better to do the "Mama Mia" route.

My biggest issue is so much popular music is too ruminative for Broadway. Jersey Boys also worked cause there is a theatricality to the Four Seasons. It felt authentic to them. The “broadway styled” versions of pop songs always comes off too big. The phrase “I rather just listen to the original always comes to mind.”


I don’t think producers are gonna seem the trend of them as guaranteed hits forever.

Without a doubt they want another Hamilton to happen. The cross appeal that has this insane following for people even off the broadway circuit. That’s really what they are circling.

I think in some ways Hadestown is closer to that camp but it’s still not the runaway hit of Hamilton.

They'll keep trying and see what works. In the meantime, just don't go to something you aren't interested in.

I've made peace with the idea of jukebox musicals. Bring them on, why not? They're making jobs for talented people and keep the industry floating. It's great!

For me personally, I just don't see them as the same art form anymore. They're tribute concerts with a story. There are concerts playing everyday everywhere. I don't mind them, I just don't care much. Seeing their marquees, to me is just like, oh I didn't know Black Eyed Peas is in town, good for them, and then instantly forget. Every once in a while, when a jukebox musical is about an artist I like, I might think about going. Just like what I do with normal concerts. It has nothing to do with artistic evaluation. I'm sure there are great ones and garbages. It's just not an art form I care about. Like I don't see ballets, but I'm sure there are great ones, I just don't care and wish them good!

On the off chance that anyone gets offended by the "tribute concerts with a story" part, I can rephrase it. They are legit musical theatre for sure. Under the musical theatre umbrella, there are jukebox musicals and original musicals. What I'm saying is that I'm not a "musical theatre fan" anymore, I'm just an "original musical fan". No disrespect to jukebox musicals and its fans, you're great, I applaud you and wish you well, just like I have no disrespect to any other art forms I don't care about.

Edited to add the last paragraph.

Updated On: 1/23/22 at 12:20 PM

As far as bio-jukeboxes go, I find the ones about music groups much more interesting than those about solo (or even duo) artists. Jersey Boys still remains the gold standard, but I thought Motown was fairly well done too (Ain't Too Proud was alright but seemed to lack focus for me). Especially when the focus is a female artist, I inevitably find that one half seems to focus on their always-troubled romantic relationships while the other half of the show focuses on their career and I always enjoy the latter better (I liked the first act of Beautiful and second acts of Tina and Cher Show much better).

But I think what Jersey Boys did well was it allowed the interplay between the four original members to come through, including some contradictions between their stories and it was able to cleverly chart the rise and fall of the band and each member's personal lives through the seasons. The most interesting part of Ain't Too Proud was when they had a small discussion on what it meant for a popular black group to be playing in a predominantly white neighborhood, but the rest of the show didn't really explore that as much as I wanted it to.

So i feel there are definitely interesting stories to be told, but I just don't think most book writers have been able to crack the code of how to tell them theatrically in a Broadway show. I'd be curious to see possible stage versions of Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody after the relative successes of those movies though.

They have about about 25 jukebox bio-musicals since 2000, and I believe only the following turned a profit on Broadway. That's about 28%, which is about the same as Broadway's average track record of recoupment.

Jersey Boys

Ain't Too Proud

Motown

Rock of Ages

Boy From Oz

Movin' Out

Beautiful

(not counting Mamma Mia)

and there may be some others that eventually recouped on tour and have done well with licensing, such as Million Dollar Quartet.

The success of films like BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY also encourages estates to push for a bio-musical.

As long as there are catalogues, there will be bio-musicals.