People have been saying theatre is dead for YEARS. In the documentary The Golden Age, the Broadway legends all talk about Broadway dying since the 1970s. In the show Me and Juliet in the song "Intermission Talk" one of the audience groups sings "The theatre is dying, the theatre is dying, the theatre is practically dead..." and that was from 1953!
What I think is that the idea of Broadway is changing. Gabriel Byrne looks at shows like Wicked or Young Frankenstein and thinks to himself "sheesh, what producers due to put kids in the seats" But he forgets about off-broadway and how many shows in the past few years have transferred from off-broadway. And I'm not talking Rock of Ages or Rent or even Avenue Q (which I love). I'm talking Caroline or Change, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Grey Gardens, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. None of these shows were HUGE hits and they've all run their course but they're small shows that were never meant to see the Broadway stage that producers saw something special in. They're the anti-spectacular. And they're what's going to keep Broadway alive.
Waiting for tickets to Hair August 2008
