Why do you think Broadway has lost its mainstream cultural appeal? — Page 4

re: Holographic actors..

that wasn't my point exactly. I didn't mean to replace actors. I meant that actually filming in a holographic type medium (i.e. 3-D, full view) where the viewing public can determine where they are looking as if they were in the theater themselves during "playback" - so in essence, you would be attending "virtually"

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>> It's far easier to translate (visually) an opera than it is a musical.

If we were talking about productions from 20 years ago, I might agree. But we're long past the day of the soprano down stage centre singing to the audience. The productions are *far* more visually complex, and the demands put on the broadcast director are far greater -- as anyone who has seen both the actual production and the PBS telecast of MAGIC FLUTE will tell you. We're seeing opera becoming more and more "mainstream" by making even tired warhorses like CARMEN into exciting, visually thrilling *theatre*... and you think that's easy to capture on a DVD? Try again.

True, having a DVD of a show will not recreate the excitement of a live performance, but if it's the only thing you have, you somehow manage to make do. Yes, it would depend on the show. WICKED is a natural for this, because there's a lot of 12 year old girls who *loooooooooove* this show and would scream into a puddle of goo if they knew it was available. LION KING is another: say what you will about its quality, but its sheer longevity means there's a big market out there waiting to be tapped. GREY GARDENS would probably fail miserably, but AVENUE Q just might succeed. As noted, it all depends on how this stuff is marketed.

>> I do think that they need to advertise a little bit more. I'm not really sure how, though.

PIRATE QUEEN's "castcom" was an intruiging use of the Internet to sell a show, and no doubt we'll see more of this kind of real-time stuff in the future once producers figure out how cheap it can be to advertise this way. I imagine there's folks looking at MySpace and Second Life to sell a show.

But the ads themselves need a harsher review. For example, the campaign for COMPANY was about as non-existant as it gets. It told you *nothing* about the musical. If anything, it presumed everything and tried to sell itself on the basis of a bad photo of Raul and that god-awful attempt of a logo. If any show needed a campaign that was conceptually *smart*, it was this one... and the agency didnt even try to deliver. If anything these days, advertising for shows has de-evolved into cookie cutter designs (logo here, photo of the star here, ALL THESE GREAT QUOTES!!!! here) that dont even bother to try and inform, let alone sell, a potential ticket buyer.

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You know, I think lately Broadway has become more of a part of teenage pop culture than it has in a very long time. I'm not saying it's up to the levels it was during the Golden Age of Musicals. Shows like Rent, Wicked, Hairspray and The Producers (and Legally Blond too, I suppose) have crossed over into teenage girl pop culture. I'm counting down the days until Spring Awakening has a boom and becomes as popular as any of the shows I've just mentioned. Obviously, the movie versions of Rent and Hairspray have really helped but that still doesn't explain the popularity of Wicked, which is just as much a part of pop culture as Z100. Several new Broadway hits have become part of regular pop music- the most obvious ones being "Seasons of Love" and "Defying Gravity."

Broadway is still part of mainstream pop culture. However, instead of middle-aged and older folks knowing all the songs to a hit new show, its the teenagers. In a way, that's better because more teenagers will get more involved in theatre and then when they decide to have kids, expose their children to the theatre.

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I sing in my church choir and we did "Seasons of Love."

That is a whole lot of notes for teh word "love." It's a one-syllable word.

Musicals are not easily available outside of the major cities. I don't think it is so much that people don't like them. It is more the fact that they aren't easy to get to and they don't sell you popcorn! ;p Most consider the environment uncomfortable, boring and expensive.

It is a difficult problem because in Movies, an Actor might have to replay the role a few dozen times but they are not required to play the same role over and over again. This adds to the cost and problems that can go wrong with the production.

It is a nice experience for those who really do appreciate the atmosphere of live theater but like wine, much of it is an acquired taste. My kids will watch, Grease, Rent and POTO on DVD but in a theater? They have better things to do. The timing of shows, the parking, the price, it is something that will never appeal to many who may have to sit all day in an office or find themselves stuck in the middle row when you need to use the bathroom.

With a Movie too, you do have a good idea of what you are getting. If it is really terrible, you are only out $10.00, so it is worth the gamble.

I know it is very expensive to put a whole Musical together, find the talent and keep it. That is why I will pay the price but I can't afford a decent seat on a regular basis. It isn't convenient to get to for me either. We have theaters that are empty which amazes me. I also am not the type of fan who will usually see the same show, over and over again. I want to see something new. I find I have to travel quite a distance to find the variety and type of shows I really like.

I know it was because of video that I was reminded of what I was missing in the theaters, so they really do play a significant part in any productions success. There will always be the crowd who wants more violence, great action scenes. If you have ADD, what can you do?

I think Disney does so well because it does usually have a good score, good actors and though usually predictable, that is good if you are taking your kids or grandparents to a show. Kids just want to have fun! As for amazing stage set-ups? Some of that is good advertisement but what Artist doesn't want to have a great challenge to meet? Those old Broadway sets I see in older Movies looked pretty elaborate to me. If I pay close to $100 for a ticket, I expect to be dazzled by the performance. Anything less and I do feel ripped off.

Promotion is what is lacking the most. It doesn't have to be so in your face that you want to choke. It just has to be out there and in your face. It seems that a market for good imitators is being wasted. Those on stage have enough work to do, so why not make use of stand-ins? At these prices, you rely on reaching the suburbs. Any production is asking a lot of its audience, to pack up the car, drive, pay for parking, maybe dinner and a show, they need to know it is worth all of that trouble.

So offering family pkgs. is another way to reach the community. I first saw professional plays through school field trips. Now I am afraid they are very hard to come by because of the high cost of transportation and getting enough chaperone's. Yet making yourself available to school reporters, offering free previews to young people who can help promote your show to our youth might be worth the effort?

I think it is even worse for theater because our print media has become so skewered, many just don't use it as a viable source of information. It has to reach servers like google and yahoo. I have my local Movie Theater schedule up on my homepage to view on a daily basis if I choose to scroll down far enough and I do, when I want to see what is coming out.

This site is popular with many who are in the business but I only recently found it. It is helpful and a great advertising tool. Hopefully you will find some way to get more exposure through advertising so that it is as easy to see what is available at your local Theaters as it is the Movies.

I like Plays on DVD. It is a great way to spend an evening I can't or don't want to drive the distance to a Theater. It is just a source of entertainment that I enjoy watching. I would think that there is some way to get more shows on DVD and it is a way for Writers, Producers to increase their profit. Youtube is nice for those who want to go to the trouble. I wonder how many copies of Funny Girl, Westside Story or even Grease are being sold? Hairspray will probably do fairly well on DVD. I mean people complain about the cost. Think about how many multi-million dollar Movies that have completely flopped? How expensive it is to put together an entire quality Musical to stage to begin with?

If you don't put it on DVD, someone in Hollywood will put the best of them together and it kind of robs those who are magnificent Stage Actors. Usually when a Musical eventually makes it to Hollywood, it loses so much from simply artistic difference.

I agree too. The price of a decent Hotel in New York is ridiculous. It caters so much to the elite that it sucks up the money that should be spent on entertainment instead. It also means you travel less. The overall weather too has it's own challenges to add to going there to see a show.

So many reasons. Many can be overcome but I think the audience is out there. When we can get the variety out here, with the proper advertisement, more jobs will open up. To me, Musicals have relied too much on word of mouth, reputation, rather than good sound advertising techniques. Those who do go often to the Theater do expect something much different than they get from a Movie. It is more personal. It also is a big draw to pulling in others who might find performing a good way to make a living. It also means jobs, so it is one form of media I would like to see improved and developed to it's potential.

Updated On: 8/3/07 at 05:22 AM