Future of Broadway?

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 12/26/05 at 3:06am

Do you ever get the feeling that many self-proclaimed theatre affeciandos would secretly love to see Broadway die out completely so they could have another thing to complain about? I just don't see how blatant negativity is conducive to an art form that requires careful support in order to succeed. If the support isn't here on our end as the audience, then how can the art form move forward and grow? Why do we focus on what is bad, instead of what is good? I know we learn from our mistakes, but how can we learn from them when we are too busy moving onto searching for something new to complain about? Has it always been this way? Do people really go in looking for mediocrity or is this just something I have concocted in my head?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 12/26/05 at 3:19am

I understand, and agree, but art is meant to be critqued. Nothing everything is going to be good, not everything can be good. If we had a bunch of amazing shows on B'way than we'd never have anything new. Its just a fact of life. Some shows are going to succeed and some aren't. That's the gamble the producers play when putting money into a show. I don't feel bad when people bash a certain show because well that's sorta the point. That's why we have critics and whatnot. But, sometimes, yes, it can get way out of hand. like for instance, when anyone utters anything Wicked-related ppl have to immediatley snapp at it. That's just annoying and serves no purpose. It has nothing to do with the topic at hand. *steps off soap box* merry christmas

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 12/26/05 at 11:54am

i simply cannot understand you people who make thread after thread about "why do we have to be negative?" Though I made a much more elloquent post in willact4food's emotional goodbye thread to the entire board, I'm simply too tired now to do it again. I'll ask you this: how much of current broadway do you actually believe is good? Or great I should say. Percentage-wise. Just thinking of a few new additions over recent seasons: brooklyn, color purple, taboo, mamma mia, lennon, all shook up, chitty chitty, good vibrations, wicked, dracula, spamalot, dirty rotten.., boy from oz. I'm running out. But do you truly think ANY of those are great musicals? Do you think theyll stand the test of time, be revived in schools and community theatres and on broadway for years to come? And do not equate financial longevity with art. Please. Yes, Mama mia and wicked will run for 20 years (or until there are no more ABBA fans). But does that make them great? The fact simply is that 90% of new musicals ARE mediocre. I empathize with the sentiment to keep broadway alive by heaping endless praise onto all of its shows. But that fact is, that praise is simply undeserved.

[pab]

Posted: 12/26/05 at 12:29pm

The Future of Broadway has been talked about for many years. Back in the 70s, when I first started to go to Broadway shows, it was said that Broadway was "dying". Then again in the 80s and so on. There have always been a slew of low quality shows that have been produced and have failed and some low quality shows that have succeeded. There were even a few low quality shows that won Tonys. At the end of the day there has been, and will continue to be, high quality pieces that grace the Broadway stage. They may not last as long as the crowd pleasers like "Mama Mia" and "Wicked" but they have happened and will continue to happen. I don't know anyone who would secretly love to see Broadway die out completely. And as for blatant negativity, it's been around Broadway for years and years but it hasn't stopped creative people from creating.

[jv92]

Posted: 12/26/05 at 7:41pm

I'd love to be possitive about this. I really would. But in a way, it is dying. I mean, if it takes 3 years to get a Kander and Ebb show produced and some bad reviews to close a Sondheim show, something's up.
Will it wither and die completely? No. We'll still get musicals. We'll get our revivals and our "Lion Kings" (and some good shows that are actually original) but the days of getting what will be 3 classics in one season are over. The Golden Age is through.