Is "gentle" theater gone forever? — Page 2

Mother Play is a hit- so is Mary Jane. The play about Putin's rise to power is still playing- and so is Appropriate. There is plenty of quality theater around.

Over on the Opera reviewing site Parterre there is a daily "on this day in history" post where in the comments section one member of thst website daily lists Broadway openings & closings going back to the 1800's. It is interesting to read how many shows in the early 20th century through to the 60's opened & then closed with fewer than 25 - some less than 10 - performances.

I wonder if the way things were financed at that time contributed to that.

But, even in the so-called golden age there was plenty that failed to find an audience.

Edited for typos

Updated On: 5/21/24 at 05:36 AM

inception said: "Over on the Opera reviewing site Parterre there is a daily "on this day in history" post where in the comments section one member of thst website daily lists Broadway openings & closings going back to the 1800's. It is interesting to read how many shows in the early 20th century through to the 60's opened & then closed with fewer than 25 - some less than 10 - performances.

I wonder if the way things were financed at that time contributedto that.

But,even in the so-called golden age there was plenty that failed to find an audience.

Edited for typos"

I'm not an expert on this time period so this is a combo response & followup questions:

• There have ALWAYS been flops and awful shows. It was easier for a bad show to disappear quickly back then without recordings and internet and the line. It's much easier to reach an audience nowadays because you don't have to rely on print advertising and newspapers and things like that, and you're not relying on mail order or cash sales at the box office. Nowadays, you can record B-roll on Tuesday and release it on Wednesday.
• Shows were cheaper to capitalize and to run (the unions were so weak, among other things). Sometimes one or two people would be putting up all the money and making the decisions, so there was no "we owe it to our investors to try to build an audience and run this as long as we can." Did a separate LLC exist for shows that weren't a joint partnership? Or was it all just being run out of a producer's bank account?
• In the Vaudeville days, New York was just one stop on the road. The low-tech nature of most shows meant shows could be loaded in and out quickly and could fill a hole in a theater's availability. There was no such thing as automation or lighting programming/cues or sophisticated amplification. If you traveled back in time to the 1940s, it might be kind of shocking and would take some getting used to.
• a greater number of shows came back as replica Return Engagements shortly after closing (ranging from Show Boat to West Side Story). Now, there are other revenue streams.

I’m not the OP, but Clyde’s and English - two plays I have seen in the last year or so - would certainly seem to qualify. The former, if memory serves, was one of the most produced plays in the country last year (ETA: it was second during the 2023-24 season). English won the Pulitzer Prize. The Band’s Visit, among recent musicals, certainly falls in that category.

Updated On: 5/21/24 at 09:17 PM

Maybe the OP meant "gentile theater."

In which case, we're due for Ruben & Clay's Second Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show or a revival of Amazing Grace.

chrishuyen said: "I'm still kind of waiting for OP to define "gentle theater", like I kind of have a sense based on the shows mentioned where it's maybe just characters talking without big dramatic stakes, but if so I think we still get that a good amount. Like would Cost of Living, Clyde's, English, Jaja's African Hair Braiding, and Case for the Existence of Godall be gentle theater? Band's Visit seems to fit the bill but what about Kimberly Akimbo (which does have more dramatic tension in the plot but still feels more "gentle" as a whole compared to a lot of other current shows)?"

I do think the OP was talking about a very specific sort of play that is definitely not in vogue on Broadway. These are plays that are small casts (often 2-3), usually featuring older characters, usually in a domestic setting but sometimes in some other regular day-to-day place. The stakes are low, there is little social commentary (and if there is, it's usually a pretty anodyne "despite our differences, we're all still people" sort of thing), there are generally no gimmicks or flourishes- straightforward naturalistic drama and plots that are often things like “person A and person B meet, there is light friction between them, but then they open up and learn from each other.” There is a general sense of sentimentality and civility - there is little vulgarity or anything that would offend. They don’t ask much from the audience other than to sit and enjoy the company of these characters.

Updated On: 5/22/24 at 08:24 AM