Decrease in male teens seeing broadway shows?- Page 2

[DefyGravity777]

Posted: 7/23/08 at 4:59pm

Who really cares how many teenaged guys are seeing Broadway shows and why are people sitting in the theatre looking for and counting them?

[tazber]

Posted: 7/23/08 at 6:14pm

[Patash]

Posted: 7/23/08 at 11:23pm

Decreased? Since when? I'd think with shows like Spring Awakening and In the Heights I've seen more male teens in audiences than I've seen for years. And at Cry Baby, they were there by the hundreds when I saw it.
Updated On: 7/23/08 at 11:23 PM

[tgn915]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 1:00am

Why are there guys boasting that they are straight and Broadway fans? That just feeds into the stereotype. Why should that even be stated? I'm a teenager, 16 years old, who enjoys going to Broadway shows. I see plenty of the same at theatres.

I don't see the point of this thread at all.

[tazber]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 6:44am

B/c they're really all in the closet.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 1:33pm

Well, if you think about it, the majority of musicals have "leading lady" roles (Gypsy, Legally Blonde, Hairspray, 110 In The Shade, Passion, etc) which most straight men can't relate to. Also, Broadway is tending to focus on teenage girls. So there's no way to embrace both, one of them has to get the boot, and I guess it's the boys?

[rowlinvale2]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 5:53pm

well even if broadway does have more woman/gay appeal, i highly doubt men would be flocking to 007: the musical.

i'm a 17 year old girl and i've tried several times to get some of my guy friends to come see a show. when they hear the word "musical" they get this look in their eyes and go, "uhhhh, i'm good. have fun though."

my question is this: is the main reason heterosexual guys don't like theatre (mainly musicals in my experience) because they really don't enjoy them, or because they're homophobic and don't want people thinking that they're gay because they're seeing a musical and actually enjoying it?

[tazber]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 5:57pm

Probably a combination of both.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 6:13pm

"Why are there guys boasting that they are straight and Broadway fans? That just feeds into the stereotype."

I just mentioned it because people were acting like there was no such thing.

[puppet]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 2:21am

It seems to be a matter of who the shows are aimed at. I've talked to some boys who were forced to take their dates to WICKED and really disliked the show while the girls loved it. A couple said that if this was what musicals were like, they would not go again.
It would seem that it is a matter of what they have seen or their perception of what a musical is. I think a lot of them think they are like the shows that their high schools put on and need to be exposed to professional shows before they become fans.

Posted: 7/25/08 at 10:54am

I was straight when I was your age too...

[Mongo]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 11:57am

I am a straight male teen and I'm meaning to say that, well in my area everyone's into sports and no boys even know what Gypsy is or . Some people who love musicals don't know the names of any actors.
I DO NOT COUNT KIDS AT SHOWS. I've never seen more than 10 kids at shows like Gypsy or A Chorus Line.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 12:13pm

Well with such wonderful offerings as THE LITTLE MERMAID and LEGALLY BLONDE, what baseball bat-swinging boy could resist?

[gypsy4]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 12:16pm

I wouldn't say A Chorus Line or Gypsy would be a teenagers first pick even though they are classics.

[winston89]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 2:33pm

I find that the teens that do go to see musicals like spring awakening or rent (straight guys or not) already are into theatre and would see anything regardless of what it is. However, it is hard getting someone who isn't really into going wanting to go.

I think that a lot of straight teens have a misperception of what musicals are and stick to their guns even though they are wrong. They say things like "I hate musicals" which is a very blanket statment. There are different kinds of musicals. It is like saying I hate books or I hate movies. Just like in musical theatre there are different kinds of books and different kinds of movies. You might hate one kind of musical or one genre of movies or books. But, that doesn't mean right off the bat that you hate all of them no matter what kind they are.

A lot of straight guys think all musicals are the same and thus don't like it. What I mean by them thinking all musicals are the same goes back to what I said about them having some perception on musical theatre.

[broadwaypunk06]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 3:15pm

^^Good point.

I'm a straight male and LOVE theater. I guess the reason I love it so much is because I was introduced to it when I was 6 and grew up on it. Then I became a band geek in high school and was introduced to different instruments and when I listened to cast albums I listened to every different sound and tried to figure out different instruments. Then after loving acting and the music I got into stage design and costumes/makeup techniques. Then everything the theater has to offer.

I just hate the whole theater is for gay guys and women because it's not true. Its how and when your introduced to it. I didn't have a dad growing up so I wasn't taken to a lot of sporting events and things like that. I always went to see shows with my grandparents. So with that said boys that aren't introduced to it early on are probably already introduced to sports and are to absorbed in their masculinity to give theater the chance it deserves. But then who knows there may be guys that like theater but are afraid the other boys will call him gay, my guess is thats the reason. But for me I don't care what anyone says I like what I like and nothing will ever stop that!!

And to find a guy that loves sports and theater is a rare find. They touch on that subject in High School Musical(which I can't stand) but it's there. A guy who's brought up on sports and hasn't even given theater a thought until a girl but then to find out its fun.

But there are straight guys that love theater and aren't gay. I think I've made my point! I think.

[Broadwayboy2631]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 9:33pm

Why is the word "decrease" in the title of this thread. When has it ever been up? Actually Spamalot drew in hoards of straight men, but that's only one show.

[winston89]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 10:38pm

I am a straight guy who LOVES sports as well as musical theatre (and just theatre in general) I also enjoy doing things like going to the opera or ballet.


Broadwayboy I agree. I don't think there was much of a group of straight guys going to the theatre in the first place. I remember reading a few articles when spamalot came out about how most shows have a ticket buying crowd of mostly women. Spamalot was drawing in more straight men then it was women.

[george95]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 10:50pm

The stereotypes about gays-loving-musicals is so frustrating to me. I grew up in a family that had season tickets to the Chicago Cubs, but who also went to see every Broadway show that had a tour stop in Chicago. So I enjoyed both.

In high school, we went to basketball games and to musicals. I still wasn't aware of the musicals/gay connection. Then, sometime in college, I finally had people telling me I must be gay if I like musicals. And my reaction was always "huh? Musicals are something you go see with your family when youre 10 years old....how is it gay??"

Yeah I've heard all the nonsense theories that connect gay people with musical theater, but it still is frustrating. I post a lot about taking my inner-city high school students to shows. The cool part for me is taking our seats and seeing our fellow audience members roll their eyes and groan when they see 7 black teenagers sit in front of them. Then when I make the kids verify their phones are off and review all the rules about theater behavior one more time, the people around us are watching with their mouths dropped.

For whatever its worth, I always have male students ask to go on more trips to see Broadway shows, and it seems like its mainly because its just something so different and exotic to them. I know half of you will say condescending remarks about how I'm too dumb to realize they're gay or whatever, but I really dont see any gay tendencies in these kids. Who knows, maybe they are, but the point is, I dont think they like seeing b-way shows because they're gay.

[winston89]

Posted: 7/25/08 at 11:26pm

For what its worth there were times when I was in high school where I was online on my laptop instead of taking notes. I would go on to Broadway sites because I love Broadway. And, I would always get crap from the same couple of kids about how I was gay because I liked Broadway. They knew I did because all they had to do was look over and see the computer screen.

It pissed me off that I got made fun of for likeing theatre. That I got ragged on because I MUST be gay because I like theatre. I hate that sterotype.

And, George. For the most part I have seen groups of kids behave very well at the theatre. Some you wouldn't expect to do so just by looks. I remember seeing Phantom one time last summer and there was a group of kids from what looked to be an inner city camp at the show. They were VERY quite during the show and for that I gave them kudos. However, they did cheer and whistle during the big kiss at the end of All I Ask Of You.

[skibumb5290]

Posted: 7/26/08 at 1:52am

I am 18 and me and all of my friends love Musicals and are not gay

[SweeneyPhanatic]

Posted: 7/26/08 at 2:20am

I'm a straight 18 year-old theatre-lover, and so are a few of my friends! I'm also a bit of a Sondheim-snob, and I can't stand most modern musicals aimed at the uncultured masses.