What is the biggest misconception about Broadway?- Page 3

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 11:39am

I'd have to agree that the most common misconception about Broadway -- i.e., the one most non-regular theatergoers hold -- is that "Broadway," "Off-Broadway," and "Off-Off-Broadway" are terms defined expressly by location, when in actuality the number of seats in a house is the primary determining factor.

Also, like many other people, as a kid, I imagined that Broadway theaters were the biggest and most state-of-the-art theaters in the country or the world. It was shocking to discover in high school that the Benedum Center (Pittsburgh's primary road-show house) has a capacity around 1,000 people higher than the largest Broadway house (the Gershwin, yeah?).

My mother, bless her soul, who has made such great strides in her theater knowledge over the years, still doesn't entirely understand some basic concepts. When we walk around Manhattan, she's constantly quizzing herself on which direction we're heading and what route she might hypothetically take to X, Y, or Z locations.

Anyway, as the lights came up on Barrow Street's OUR TOWN intermission this past spring, she turned to me and said earnestly -- and with great confidence -- "So, this is like New York's version of community theater, then?"

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 11:50am

The Gershwin's the biggest, but it has 1935 seats. There are many Broadway houses with around 1000 seats though. And my biggest misconception was also that Broadway houses would surely be bigger than the 2500+ seat houses in my city that tours went through...I was so shocked when I saw my first Broadway show at the St. James and saw how small it was in comparison. And then I vowed to only see shows on Broadway where the theatres were reasonably sized and had good sightlines. I went back on this eventually of course, but I still much prefer the Broadway theatres themselves to the tour monster houses, not to mention liking Broadway better because it's Broadway...

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 11:54am

What is up with Jen Cody? Is she still working?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 12:05pm

Many people misconceive Broadway as being gay.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 12:06pm

lolwut?

[Q]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 1:49pm

The biggest misconception I see is that some people think it's the best that American theater has to offer.

[haphazardry]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 10:34pm

To add on to the misconceptions about "Broadway", "off-Broadway", etc: I've encountered people who've thought that anything that wasn't being performed in a Broadway theatre was called "off-Broadway", including (but not limited to) tours.

Also, there's the misconception that musical theatre actors don't actually have to be able to act.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 11:24pm

What is up with Jen Cody? Is she still working?

I think her not being cast in Elf is proof positive that the whole TONYS fiasco f*cked over her career.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 11:28pm

I guess most people believe that most Broadway shows are financed by "Corine's Corner"

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 11:28pm

She's going to be directing/remounting the spring tour of Junie B. Jones for Theatreworks.

[Gary Indiana]

Posted: 11/25/10 at 11:42pm

When I was younger I thought that when actors shared a role, they all performed during each performance and switched off for every new scene. My first two shows were The Secret Garden and Les Mis. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how they got all the actresses playing Mary, and the actors playing young Cosette, Eponine, and Gavroche to look the same in each scene. Instead of realizing that it was the same person, I thought the makeup artist was working miracles.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 11/26/10 at 12:02am

That chorus boys are all hos. Oh wait...

[PopAria]

Posted: 11/27/10 at 1:12pm

Before I moved to New York, last year, I thought that if a show closed that means it was a flop. (Spring Awakening, Hairspray, Gypsy)... I was so confused because shows like Wicked and The Lion King were open for years and then these shows that were "hits" were closing (ragtime). I just didn't understand the concept of capitalization... and the power of critic's reviews and fan's word of mouth.