Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

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Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 11:52am

So I’ve been sitting on this question for a few months: Is Broadway over saturated with the 80’s, 90’s And other retro films? It first occurred to me last summer after seeing Groundhog Day - which I enjoyed. Then I heard a GoGos musical was in the works. This summer my teenage daughter begged us to go to Mean Girls - which we did and really liked it. Pretty Woman appears to have opened to mixed reviews. Now I hear a Beetlejuice production is coming in 2019. Producers green lighting shows that have some kind of nostalgia or name recognition is nothing new. Footloose and Dirty Dancing made their NY runs. And I certainly don’t begrudge anyone who brings joy to audiences and employees hundreds of workers in the industry with any show. I just wish the musicality of these reboots was better. The most oft-used adjectives I read in reviews about the songs is, “pleasant, but forgettable.” Does it make you wonder what musical adaptations might be coming next?

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Back to the Future, E.T., Ghostbusters, The Breakfast Club, Risky Business, Top Gun, Weird Science, Goonies, Big, When Harry Met Sally, Caddyshack... Do some of these films, set to music, make you cringe? I bet some of these are already in development.

Updated On: 8/18/18 at 11:52 AM

Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 11:59am

openstage2 said: "

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,Back to the Future, E.T.,Ghostbusters, The Breakfast Club, Risky Business, Top Gun, Weird Science, Goonies, Big, When Harry Met Sally, Caddyshack... Do some of these films,set to music,make you cringe?I bet some of these are already in development."

Yeah, I agree. Obviously producers are depending on the nostalgia of those properties to bring in the audiences that grew up with them. I think another reason is maybe because the 80s has such a distinguishing, iconic sound. In some shows like Pretty Woman, it doesn't work, but in ones like Heathers it's perfect. If done correctly, i don't mind it. I just want a balance of original concepts and musical adaptions, regardless of the time period.

Also, of all the ones you listed, I honestly wouldn't mind a Weird Science adaptation lol.

I should’ve been Blac Chyna.

Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 12:10pm

I'm not surprised. After all it's a business and the people who can afford to pay Bway tickets are those who grew up at that time (Springsteen on Broadway is sold out every day at crazy top prices!) In twenty years or so, I bet we'll see a Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber musical or something to cater to the people feeling nostalgia.

Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 12:13pm

I'm not sure Mean Girls is a part of this conversation - isn't that from 2004 or so?

But to your point: If it's actual QUALITY, I don't care what decade a show is from, likewise - if it's not good.

If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 12:15pm

Maybe I'm biased because the 80s are "my" era when I went off to college and started making my way in the world. So, movies like those you reference were "my" movies and many songs invoke a memory.

I listen to SiriusXM satellite radio almost constantly, at home, in the car, at work. And while it's unscientific, some of SXM's most popular stations in numbers of listeners and "likes" are 80s on 8, First Wave, Classic Rewind, and those that focus on hits from the 70s to 90s. So, producers likely feel there is an audience. And the audience is old enough to be financially stable with kids grown and moved on to be able to afford B'way ticket prices, but still young enough to travel into NYC for shows.

Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 12:46pm

Whether it's Broadway or Hollywood, the fact of the matter is people that grew up connected the 80s are not only the ticket buyers, but the ones that are in control of what's getting made. And they want all the reboots and also the throwback series - set anything new in the 80s and it's practically a green light to get greenlit.

"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008

Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 12:53pm

Mean Girls came out in 2004.

Groundhog Day came out in 1993.

Pretty Woman came out in 1990.

I don’t necessarily disagree with your premise, but those aren’t the best examples.

Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 1:08pm

Isn't everything over saturated with the 80's? There seems to be an obsession with the aesthetic of that era.

Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 1:13pm

I’ve also noticed an increasing trend towards the return of early 2000s fashion. That era is beginning to replace the 90s that has dominated the past decade or so. Chunk heels, butterfly clips, tracksuits, bright colors, are all en vogue again. I wouldn’t be surprised if producers start turning to post millenium films more often.

Updated On: 8/18/18 at 01:13 PM

#10

Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 2:21pm

Absolutely right on those titles being later than the 80’s!! I think they just “feel” like they came out in the 80’s to me, so lumped them together. ??

#11

Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 2:28pm

And Dirty Dancing never came to Broadway.

#12

Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 5:03pm

openstage2 said: "So I’ve been sitting on this question for a few months: Is Broadway over saturated with the 80’s, 90’sAnd other retro films?It first occurred to me last summer after seeing Groundhog Day - which I enjoyed. Then I heard a GoGos musical was in the works. This summer my teenage daughter begged us to go to Mean Girls - which we did and really liked it. Pretty Woman appears to have opened to mixed reviews. Now I hear a Beetlejuice production is coming in 2019. Producers green lighting shows that have some kind of nostalgia or name recognition is nothing new. Footloose and Dirty Dancing made their NY runs.And I certainly don’t begrudge anyone who brings joy to audiences and employees hundreds of workers in the industry with any show. I just wish the musicality of these reboots was better. The most oft-used adjectives Iread in reviews about the songs is, “pleasant, but forgettable.” Does it make you wonder what musical adaptations might be coming next?

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,Back to the Future, E.T.,Ghostbusters, The Breakfast Club, Risky Business, Top Gun, Weird Science, Goonies, Big, When Harry Met Sally, Caddyshack... Do some of these films,set to music,make you cringe?I bet some of these are already in development."

BIG has already been done. On Broadway. Stroman choreographed. Also- wasn't Back to the Future announced for the U.K. a few years ago?

#13

Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 10:18pm

Broadway is over saturated with every rock/pop star getting their own Broadway musical and any hit movie is always thought of as being a potential musical. The 80's may be a phase now but it is only a matter of time before producers move on to another decade - lol.

#14

Is Broadway over saturated with the 80s?

Posted: 8/18/18 at 10:50pm

In the late 70s and early 80s, anything 50s was trendy with the 20 to 30-somethings. American Graffiti, Grease, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, blue jeans with rolled-up cuffs... Padded shoulders (from the 40s era) was also a trend.

My theory is that 20 to 30-somethings feel the greatest sense of nostalgia for the decade (or two) just before they were born.

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