Is the Broadway Musical dead? (Kind of a Poll)

[luvliza89]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 7:00pm

I'm currently doing a research paper on what is considered the rise and fall of Broadway, using the book by Mark N. Grant as one of my main sources. I would love to get as many responses from the community here as possible concerning this matter, and later use statistics in my paper (I might use actual responses in my paper, but I'd PM you asking for consent if I chose to use it). So the question at hand-Is the Broadway musical dead? Has this art form taken a harsh decline in both quality and popularity? Can be saved? Does it need to be? Please share your views, I would appreciate it very much!


Here's a link from an interview with the author that was from this site that I'm sure some of you remember:
The Rise and Fall of the Broadway Musical

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 7:05pm

I dont think the musical is dead per say I just think its evoluted from what it use to be into a more commerical and less popular form of art which is said because there is so much more to Broadway that has to be offered and yet it still makes millions of dollars and is still quite popular and I mean with the popularity of Wicked with kids my age and younger aiming it towards kids and families is a good plan because if you aim it towards them it will increase people coming to shows like Wicked and Beauty and The Beast. Broadway Musicals have just become more family entertainment than more of an adult type thing. But still... it does well... its not dead just weakend

[mikeonbroadway]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 7:25pm

It is and it isn't. Is the musical dead? No -- many continue to be written and produced. Both in regional theatre, on Broadway and in National Tours (not to mention abroad). However, the majority of these are either commercially aimed and/or revivals. I think the Broadway art form of the past (you know, with Sondheim) is in the process of dieing but could be revived with help from the New York critics and adventurous producers. But with New York being such an expensive place to mount a show and prospects of making that money back so slim on artsy shows -- I think that it will be hard to match the Broadway of yore.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 7:54pm

I don't think the musical is deat at all - every year, the number of new musicals goes up - look at Broadway right now, there isn't one empty theatre. So no, the Broadway musical is anything but dead. However, the quality standards are going down and the tolerance of the audience is going way up. Luckily, there's usually a pretty good balance of shows on Broadway (good and bad) to keep things looking alright. A month ago, I would have sounded less optomistic...but now, it's definitely apparant that spring is coming on Broadway.

[GypsyRoseLee]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 8:02pm

Theatre will never die. As long as humans are having emotions that they feel the need to express, there will be plays and musicals. Undoubtedly, Broadway is still raking in money and filling houses. However, it certainly doesn't play the huge role in our culture that is used to. In years gone by, most of the music on the radio were covers of Broadway songs, and going to the theatre was much more common as ticket prices were much cheaper. What is known as "the Broadway Musical" and the "hummable showtune" will certainly never die, it's appeal has just become more selective as people have a much wider range of entertainment to choose from. I don't know if it will ever again be as vibrant as during the golden age, but I certainly don't think it will ever die...as long as there are kids like us around.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 8:56pm

EVERY decade this question comes up. A weak season, a string of flops and the old refrain comes up again. Then a couple of big blockbuster hits come along and we get "there's life in the old form yet."

It will never truly die, but it will change. Look how much it has changed in the post 9/11 age.

More shows now seem to poke fun at the art form, which to be truthful sometimes does get taken a little too seriously.

Since shows like THE WIZARD OF OZ and BABES IN TOYLAND (both 1903) Broadway audiences have always loved big specatcles. We still have those (BEAUTY & BEAST, LION KING, WICKED)

From the eary years (1900-25) Broadway loved romantic operettas, (THE DESERT SONG, THE STUDENT PRINCE) and we still have those (PHANTOM OF THE OPERA,)

In the 1930s satires became big business (OF THEE I SING, AS THOUSANDS CHEER) and we still have shows that poke fun at love, life and politics (AVE Q, PRODUCERS, SPAMATLOT, DRS)

Traditional book muscals in the OKLAHOMA! style remain popular in revivals (FIDDLER) and new productions (LITTLE WOMEN)

In the 1930s there were revues and shows that tried to incorporate current pop music or at least music in that style (like say, THE SWING MIKADO) althogh "songbook" anthologies like MAMMA MIA and MOVIN' OUT are a relatively recent concoction.

What is missing from the mix right now are serious story-driven musicals where the songs serve plot and character. The last really good one in this vein was probably RAGTIME (1998-2000) but no doubt others in this style will be along.

If any one thing is hurting the creativity of Broadway writers it is audiences who just want to be "entertained" and do not want to waste time thinking about the ideas that theatre can explore when it is at its best. Nor do audiences seem to want to get too emotionally involved. Again this is post 9/11 fall-out: People were hurt very badly and don't want to leave themselves vulnerable.

But when everything is in balance, when all the theatres are booked up, when there are shows to satisfy every taste...then Broadway will survive.

[bjivie2]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 8:58pm

That book is a load of crap. Throw it away. It's just some bitter man talking about how he hates musical theatre today. He doesn't really have any credentials, and the whole book is just a rant. Musical theatre isn't dead. What with Hairspray, Wicked, Avenue Q, Caroline or Change, Spamalot, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, how could you say that musical theatre is dead?

[commasplice]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 9:02pm

Jason Robert Brown has some interesting thoughts that you could use in your paper, from here: http://www.manhattanusersguide.com/archives_content.php?contentID=042204&category=arts

"What's the future of musical theatre? Is there one?

Sure. There's too much money to be made for there to be no future in musical theatre. I don't think the conditions of the so-called Golden Age of the 40's and 50's can ever be replicated, but I think there will be new musicals and every couple of years one of them will permeate the cultural consciousness and bring more people in to the party. The tragedy is that when musical theatre was the center of popular culture, it could afford to take risks and go interesting places, knowing that there would be an audience willing to experiment. Now that musical theatre is such a marginal piece of the entertainment world, there are no guarantees that an audience will be there if you go out on a limb, so the necessary strategy for a big Broadway musical is to go backward, do the safer thing, draw the audience in with the easy stuff, make them comfortable. I think it's possible that if we get them comfortable enough, we might be able to take some risks again. Or we might get them so comfortable that they fall asleep. Interesting fork in the road; I'm wondering which way things will go, same way everyone else is. Meanwhile, I just keep writing the things that are interesting to me, and hopefully people will come see them."

[CostumeMistress]

Posted: 3/5/05 at 9:15pm

Updated On: 2/7/06 at 09:15 PM