More than a Musical

The last third of the twentieth century played a big role in transforming the musical theater into something more- a director's theater. American blockbusters of the era were almost all the products of directors who had risen from the ranks of choreographers: Fiddler on the Roof, Jerome Robins; Hello Dolly! and 42nd Street, Gower Champion; A Chorus Line, Michael Bennet. These shows excluded a new sense of what was physically possible on the musical stage. They were shaped by directors who saw performance and spectatorship through the lens of dance. Their approach to dancing may have differed. But they were driven by a common ideal in which Broadway show might now be more integrated through its movement and visual design than through its scripted material.

Follies is a concept musical, a show whose music, lyrics, dance, stage movement, and dialogue are woven through each other in the creation of a tapestry-like theme (rather than in the support of a plot). This has been a conscious development in a line of musicals that began with West Side Story.

Old-Style Broadway

By the 1990s the new Broadway had emerged in full force and it had a transforming effect on musical theater. Many in the theater community greeted the development with mixed feeling. Some chose not to greet it at all. Rather than facing the present situation, they found more appealing alternatives looking to the past, or to the future. Neither of these options was easily accessible. The past had already come and gone; the future was still up for grabs. But these appeared attractive precisely because they could be idealized. In the haze between memory and fantasy, both became fields of ideological construction. Looking backward, one might construct a usable past for lovers of the old-style Broadway musical and locate its commercial application in the revival of classic shows for a new mass audience.

In the 1800s, Broadway was New York's main street and therefore the most likely place for entrepreneurs to build their entertainment establishments. In 1866 Mr. William Wheatley, who was manager of the Niblo's Garden auditorium which seated 3,200, is credited with being the originator of the Broadway musical. Gilbert and Sullivan brought wide popularity to the modern stage throughout the twentieth century. Classic productions followed, such as The Wizard of Oz, No Business Like Show Business and George M. Cohan in Little Johnny Jones.

 

Broadway Opera

Broadway means the legitimate theater and musical plays. It does not include the Metropolitan Opera... But "Broadway" has its own opera. Not the pretentious grand opera of the European tradition, associated with the Met, but a sort of American folk opera. The word opera, though, is often avoided on the programs and a variety of ruses are used to disguise the actual nature of the offerings. To such an extent is Broadway afraid of losing its audience if it appears to go "highbrow" or, more accurately, to such an extent has the conception of opera as an import, remote from life, and sung in a foreign tongue alienated a large segment of the American public.

 If opera is to enter the American scene "through the back door of Broadway" as Hammerstein though, he and Rodgers have done a great deal toward getting in through the portals. But they have taken care to be sure nobody would notice that this was actually happening.

Disney comes to Broadway

  Even the most formidable of all entertainment conglomerates, the Disney Corporation, entered the Broadway arena it had previously scorned. So the company with the "biggest marquee name, the deepest pockets and, in truth, the most skill" in the entertainment industry now saw fit to extend the franchise to include- along with movies, videos, theme parks, ice shows, T-shirts, and lunch boxes- an outpost of the Magic Kingdom on the Great White Way. In 1994 it formed Walt Disney Theatrical Productions.

Broadway Theaters

During the day when you walk down Broadway, the grand theaters may not look so sparkly or awesome from the street. However, once inside you are taken back by the gold gilt and dramatic decor, victorian, art deco and in some instances just glitz galore. The Broadhurst Theater opened its doors in 1917 and had a seating capacity of over 1200. The palace was built in 1913 and was a heaven for vaudeville stars such as Eddie Cantor, Jack Benny and Will Rodgers. Not all the grand halls have survived as stages, but their place in history of Broadway will always remain.

 

Popular Theaters in New york

 Gershwin Theater

Currently hosts: Wicked The Musical

Named after: George and Ira Gershwin

Located: 222 West 51st Street, New York, NY 10019

Opened: 1972

 Seats: 1,280

Minskoff Theater

Currently hosts: The Lion King

Named after: Sam Minskoff and sons

Located: 1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036

Opened: 1973

Seating:1,621

 

Majestic Theater

Currently hosts: Phantom of the Opera

Located: 247 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036

Opened: 1927

Seating: 1,607

Ambassador Theater

Currently hosts: Chicago

Built by: The Shuberts

Location: 219 West 49th Street, New York, NY 10019

Opened: 1922

Seating: 1,125

The "Great White Way"

Broadway is the longest street in New York and begins in downtown Manhattan and runs through town and across the Broadway Bridge, connecting Manhattan with the Bronx and through the Bronx. When one refers to the "Great White Way", one is talking about about the 36 theaters located between West 41st and 53rd streets and 6th and 8th avenues in New York. This small area in the center of the hub of Manhattan has been host to some of the most famous stage productions in the world. Originally, when this land was a Dutch frontier trading post, stage performers were forbidden there.

 Broadway's theater district was one of the first areas in America to get electric light. By 1880, one mile of the street was lit electrically, earning the nickname, "The Great White Way".