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

[Craig]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 5:01pm

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"

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 5:05pm

To me the number one reason why theatre is no longer mainstream is the advent of rock music in the 1960's. No longer did the top 40 on the radio contain songs from Broadway and for the most part Broadway didn't respond by writing scores with rock music. I personally applauded that response because I don't like rock in general, but my opinion aside, Broadway did not keep up with "popular culture". Revivals from the Golden Age are popular with a large segment of the theatregoing public, but not with with its younger segment, I don't think. It will be interesting to see how SOUTH PACIFIC does at the box office. SPRING AWAKENING with its more mainstream score will probably continue to be popular with the younger audiences. As for me, I tried LEGALLY BLONDE, with (I guess) its folk-rock score, and disliked it. In the future I will stick to revivals and shows like CURTAINS and GREY GARDENS. I don't plan to keep up with mainstream culture.

Updated On: 6/25/07 at 05:05 PM

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 6/25/07 at 10:56pm

>> 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.

[Timmer]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 7:57pm

"To me the number one reason why theatre is no longer mainstream is the advent of rock music in the 1960's."

Then why haven't rock musicals, especially the early ones like Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair, and Dreamgirls been much bigger hits than they were?

Partly, I think Broadway never knew how to market to the rock generation. They really should be giving away samples.

Remember how "Pippin" revolutionized TV advertising for Broadway shows? Before that, it was pretty much, this critic says it's great, that critic loves it, it's at the So-and-So Theatre, here's the phone number, come see it. Then"Pippin" came along and gave away "60 seconds of Pippin" (really more like 50, but why quibble?) Now it's the way you do it.

Time for a new revolution.

Broadway needs to keep up with the times. Especially if I were producing Grease or Hairspray or another "rock and roll" musical (or a jukebox musical), I'd have samples all over TV, as Jersey Boys is doing, but I'd also have 20-30 second snips in ads on websites where I think the rock generation hangs out. I'd also have longer snippets at places liek YouTube -- perhaps even whole songs, which could double as music videos for MTV.

And I'd start releasing singles of certain songs again. They may not get on the radio anyway, but they certainly won't if you don't make them available.

I'd also find ways to get companies involved in getting a certain number of tickets to give to people (especially kids) who would not otherwise be able to see a Broadway show. See if you can't create some new customers as they grow up.

And speaking of making it available, why do some shows not cut a cast album?

[istillbelieve24601]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 8:11pm

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.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 9:55pm

I agree with what has been said about bad advertising and a lack of exposure. I used the example of Grey Gardens' failure in a similar thread...

"Well, the reason it took me so long to see it was the premise and video clips. Who would think that a musical about a relative of a first lady would be interesting? Also, the "promotional" clips, all of which were "Revolutionary Costume", were not impressive at all out of context. When I saw the Tony performance, I said to myself "Why would I want to listen to that voice for two hours? Why is she being heralded as a great singer?" I feel that if they used "Will You", "Around The World", or "Another Winter", the show would have gotten more of an audience. Also, the advertisements on the fronts of buses were IMO totally wasteful, as nobody looking at it would know it's a musicals. The ads made it seem like a TV show or movie, and gave the pedestrian absolutely no clue about what it was about. Again, my remedy to that woud have been for the ad to say something like "Have you ever wondered what it is like to go from riches to rags? Than see the Award- winning new musical, Grey Gardens!" And instead of putting an ad on almost every single bus, thay could have had a TV commercial, with "Drift Away" and another song accompanied by beautiful, emotional images from the show, and a slogan like "Drift Away to the land of Grey Gardens!" That, combined with the bus ads, would make your average theatregoer want to see the show."

It's a shame that such a brilliant show could not become a hit. Maybe if Broadway in general were considered more mainstream, it would have been.

[Timmer]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 10:45pm

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.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 11:15pm

Broadway IS in the mainstream...it's just that the people here on this site do not like what the mainstream is nowadays (believe me, I do not like the majority of it either)...that's why they are dissapointed in the current state of theatre. They've just confused it, wishing the mainstream were more subtle, beautiful, and poignant.

Updated On: 8/2/07 at 11:15 PM

[Tkt2Ride]

Posted: 8/3/07 at 5:22am

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

[Lynnespock2]

Posted: 8/3/07 at 7:43am

Broadway HAS to be in large part for tourists. How can the NY area support it by itself?

Broadway is a big tourist draw, probably a #1 or #2 on every tourist list of "to do" here in NYC. When I go to Vegas, I see shows of various sorts and they cost as much, if not more, than here.

I think that the issue for many people in NYC who can afford to go to the theater is not just the cost of the theater ticket. It's the combined total from dinner, parking or other transportation, babysitters perhaps and of course the most valuable thing, time.