40 Years of Broadway: Big Trends: Does Size Matter?

40 Years of Broadway: Big Trends:

Does Size Matter?

It seems fitting that the two current longest-running shows on Broadway are Chicago and The Lion King, when considering the trends we are talking about today. When I came up on the Broadway theater scene in the mid-80s, mega-musicals were beginning their reign - big, splashy extravaganzas. Eventually, they began to lose favor, and more traditionally produced shows came back. Sure there were plenty of dance-y, costume and scenery musicals, but theaters weren't being overhauled and people talked more and sang occasionally. Then, all of a sudden the "less is more" trend took hold. These days, Broadway is a mix of all of it - minimalist shows are as likely to be found in the Theater District as the giant spectacle. And, as if it were the 80s all over again, shows are being installed in completely reconfigured spaces!

Minimalism: The Encores! Effect and John Doyle

Today, the Encores! series at City Center continues to thrive, though its shows are considerably more staged and fully realized than when it began. There is no doubt that this style of theater has certainly influenced the Main Stem. Chicago really got the ball rolling, and several other revivals have transferred to great acclaim and lots of awards. Director John Doyle brought his own style of minimalism to this trend by having his actors accompany themselves on instruments, often used to accentuate character and theme. His influence has been felt all over New York City - not just on Broadway, but off-Broadway, too, notably at Classic Stage Company.

• Encores!: Chicago, Finian's Rainbow, Into the Woods, Parade
• John Doyle Broadway: Company, Sweeney Todd, The Color Purple
• John Doyle Off-Broadway: Allegro, Passion, Pacific Overtures, Assassins

Bridging The Gap: More Traditional Stagings in Answer To Mega-Musicals

• The 80s: 42nd Street, Grind, La Cage aux Folles, My One and Only
• The 90s: The Will Rogers Follies, Crazy For You, Beauty and the Beast
• The 21st Century: Aladdin, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Moulin Rouge!, Some Like It Hot

Maximalism: Environmental Theater

"Slightly" more than traditional staging, but not quite a mega-musical, environmental theater has maintained a presence off and on for decades since the 90s. Though not exactly new, it really came into its own when Roundabout re-did the Henry Miller's Theatre and Studio 54 to create the Kit Kat Club of Cabaret. Today, we have the Millennium Disco of Here Lies Love at the Broadway, and soon, an all-new Kit Kat Club at the August Wilson. 

• Off-Broadway: Sweeney Todd at Barrow Street
• Broadway: Cabaret, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet Cazino at the Imperial, Urinetown, Once On This Island (revival), Oklahoma! (revival)

Maximalism: Technical Marvels

Flying tires, crashing chandeliers, helicopters and barricades were just the tip of the iceberg. These days, video projections transport us in seconds, ships wreck and earthquakes can happen 8 times a week. Super heroes and battle villains over our heads, and time can warp with the flip of a switch.

• Larger Than Life Puppetry: King Kong, The Lion King
• Magic & Flying: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Wicked, Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark
• Video: West Side Story (2020 revival), On the Town
• Natural Disasters: Titanic, Tarzan, Shogun, An Inspector Calls
• Just Really Cool Staging: Rocky

Contest Question #19 (one more to go!):

Which 2 shows pictured above were directed by Julie Taymor?

40 Years of Broadway: Big Trends: The Rise of the Jukebox Musical

40 Years of Broadway: Big Trends: 

The Rise of the Jukebox Musical 

Historically, musical revues and follies type show were once the bread and butter of Broadway. They were what we'd call the jukebox musicals of their era. Back then, and just like now, they were made up of popular songs. The difference is that back in the day, popular songs were Broadway songs. Over the past 40 years, the Main Stem has seen a sharp, seemingly overpowering, rise in jukebox musicals - shows whose scores consistently entirely of previously released songs.

Under the umbrella of this style of musical, there are several sub-genres. Below are examples of significant titles in each. As with all shows, some were great successes, others were fast flops. Some were award-winners, others met with disdain. Several were popular without critical acclaim. It's the hope of all producers that their show will become a phenomenon. Will their jukebox musical be the next Mamma Mia! or will it be the next Escape to Margaritaville?

Musicals Based on Movies Using Their Soundtracks For Songs

Many shows based on movies come to Broadway with original scores, largely because those movies were already musicals! But several movie-based shows have come in using their hugely successful soundtracks for their stage scores. (This is one reason that there needs to be a distinction between soundtracks and cast recordings.)

• Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, Tarzan, Mary Poppins, The Little Mermaid, Frozen: Disney On Broadway
• Moulin Rouge!
• Saturday Night Fever
• Xanadu

Musicals Based on Complete Rock Albums

Back in the day composers like Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice would create concept albums recorded with the idea of a full musical production soon after. Think Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita and Chess. 

Most recently, there were three rock albums used to create musicals with cohesive stories and using their tracks. To varying degrees, they were created with an inkling toward story, but not necessarily a Broadway staging. All three were successful in their own way, each award-winning and with respectable runs and national tours.

• The Who's Tommy The Who
• American Idiot Green Day
• Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette

Dance Musicals

Choreographers have been creating dance shows and ballets based on song catalogs. Broadway has seen its share of them, as well - Bob Fosse, Susan Stroman and Twyla Tharp are a few who have created whole shows with dancers doing their thing pop music. Here are a few such shows from the past four decades. Some were long-running hits (one is a Best Musical!). Others were short-lived. All were daring.

• Twyla Tharp: Movin' Out, The Times They Are A-Changing, Come Fly Away
• Susan Stroman: Contact
• Bob Fosse: Dancin' (revival)

Musical Revues

The grand tradition of the Broadway Musical Revue continues even today. These shows are a variety of song and dance numbers, united by a period of music or by the collective works of an artist. While they may have an umbrella feature to give them context, revues have no real story. The recent past has had its share of this style of musical, with the usual success and failure rate.

• Jazz and Blues: After Midnight, Black and Blue
• Composers/Lyricists: Smokey Joe's Cafe - Lieber and Stoller, Swinging on a Star - Johnny Burke, Sondheim on Sondheim - Stephen Sondheim
• Director Retrospectives: Jerome Robbins' Broadway - Jerome Robbins, Prince of Broadway - Hal Prince, Fosse - Bob Fosse

Musical Biographies - "The Bio-Musical"

You'd think that musicals based on world-renowned pop artists, using their songs to tell their life stories would be a slam-dunk every time. Turns out that's not always the case. Those with the most compelling stories, the most creatively told are the ones most successful. Bio-musicals need to be more interesting than an impersonator giving a reasonable facsimile of fondly remembered songs. For better or worse, here are a dozen such shows that had their time on Broadway:

• Neil Diamond: A Beautiful Noise
• Florence Greenberg: Baby It's You!
• Carole King: Beautiful
• Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons: Jersey Boys
• John Lennon: Lennon
• Michael Jackson: MJ
• Barry Gordy: Motown: The Musical
• Gloria and Emilio Estefan: On Your Feet!
• Donna Summer: Summer
• Peter Allen: The Boy From Oz
• Cher: The Cher Show
• Tina Turner: Tina

Musical Songbooks and Eras with Original Stories

With the early 80s success of My One and Only and its use of the Gershwin's songbook, Broadway saw a great influx of such shows, including two more using the same songbook. With the international super-success of Mamma Mia!, a new wave hit the Rialto (and continues even today) with a variety of artists lending their catalogs to new stories, ideas and themes. The usual applies: generally, the most creative and well-developed shows rose to the top.

• Max Martin: & Juliet
• George & Ira Gershwin: Crazy For You, Nice Work If You Can Get It
• The Disco Era: Disaster!
• Jimmy Buffett: Escape to Margaritaville
• Bob Dylan: Girl From the North Country
• The Beach Boys: Good Vibrations
• The Go-Go's: Head Over Heels
• ABBA: Mamma Mia!
• Britney Spears: Once Upon a One More Time
• The 80s Hair Band Era: Rock of Ages

Contest Question #18:

Of all the contributors to the above jukebox musicals, which one is a Nobel Laureate?

Name That Show: 1990s Broadway Songs

Hello, show tune lovers! Today's game is all about songs from Broadway musicals that opened in the 1990s. You've probably at least heard of most of the shows included here, but how familiar are you with the song lists from each? Some of these are easy, but many are challenging. It's all about learning some Broadway history, right?

Good luck!

Broadway Games:

Name That Show: 1990s Broadway Songs

Multiple Choice: Pick which show contains the song listed. 

1. "I Got Rhythm"

  A. Crazy For You  B. Aspects of Love  C. Triumph of Love  D. Passion  E. Play On!

2. "New Ways To Dream"

  A. Sunset Boulevard  B. Aspects of Love  C. Swing!  D. Steel Pier  E. Parade

3. "He Lives in You"

  A. Victor.Victoria  B. Beauty and the Beast  C. The Lion King  D. Passion  E. Nick & Nora

4. "This Is Not Over Yet"

  A. The Civil War  B. A Grand Night For Singing  C. Passion  D. Sunset Boulevard  E. Parade

5. "All I Owe Ioway"

  A. Big  B. State Fair  C. Steel Pier  D. Play On! E. Side Show

6. "Paula (An Improvised Love Song)"

  A. 5 Guys Named Moe  B. Swing!  C. My Favorite Year  D. The Goodbye Girl  E. Footloose

7. "Love Changes Everything"

  A. Aspects of Love  B. Crazy For You  C. Passion  D. Play On! E. Triumph of Love

8. "See Me, Feel Me"

  A. Dream  B. Shogun  C. Jekyll & Hyde  D. Rent  E. The Who's Tommy

9. "Detectiveland"

  A. Nick & Nora  B. Dream  C. The Red Shoes  D. Smokey Joe's Cafe E. Sunset Boulevard

10. "Nights on Broadway"

  A. Footloose  B. Dream  C. Rent  D. Miss Saigon  E. Saturday Night Fever

11. "Light My Candle"

  A. Rent  B. The Civil War  C. The Who's Tommy  D. Blood Brothers E. Jelly's Last Jam

12. "Tell Me It's Not True"

  A. Aspects of Love  B. The Life  C. The Civil War  D. Saturday Night Fever E. Blood Brothers

13. "There's a Girl"

  A. State Fair  B. Ragtime  C. The Secret Garden  D. Dream  E. Parade

14. "No One Has Ever Loved Me"

A. Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public  B. Ragtime  C. Passion  D. Dream  E. Play On!

15. "Dressed in Your Pyjamas in the Grand Salon"

  A. Shogun  B. Titanic  C. Shogun  D. The Life  E. Falsettos

16. "Dancing Is Not a Crime"

  A. Saturday Night Fever  B. Rent  C. The Secret Garden  D. Footloose  E. Play On!

17. "When You're Big"

  A. The Red Shoes  B. Titanic  C. Big  D. State Fair  E. Smokey Joe's Cafe

18. "Sitting Watching Jason (Play Baseball)"

  A. The Goodbye Girl  B. Ragtime  C. Falsettos  D. Victor/Victoria  E. Parade

19. "Why We Tell The Story"

  A. Steel Pier  B. Shogun  C. The Lion King  D. Play On!  E. Once On This Island

20. "Human Again"

  A. The Lion King  B. Beauty and the Beast  C. Once On This Island  D. Dream  E. Big

21. "I Will Never Leave You"

  A. Passion  B. Play On!  C. Side Show  D. Victor/Victoria  E. Parade

22. "Crime of the Century"

  A. Titanic  B. The Will Rogers Follies  C. My Favorite Year  D. Ragtime  E. Parade

23. "If I Were a Man"

  A. Shogun B. Nick & Nora C. Kiss of the Spider Woman D. Victor/Victoria E. Footloose

24. "Lonely Boy Blues"

  A. Marie Christine  B. Jelly's Last Jam  C. My Favorite Year  D. The Life  E. Big

25. "The Morning of the Dragon"

  A. Shogun  B. Miss Saigon  C. Kiss of the Spider Woman  D. Ragtime  E. Smokey Joe's Cafe

26. "Dressing Them Up"

  A. The Red Shoes  B. Ragtime  C. Miss Saigon  D. Kiss of the Spider Woman  E. Side Show

27. "Someone Like You"

  A. Jekyll & Hyde  B. Victor/Victoria  C. Beauty and the Beast  D. Nick & Nora  E. Miss Saigon

28. "The Oldest Profession"

  A. Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public  B. The Life  C. Shogun   D. Nick & Nora  E. Falsettos

29. "On Broadway"

  A. 5 Guys Named Moe  B. Saturday Night Fever  C. The Life  D. Side Show  E. Smokey Joe's Cafe

30. "Never Met a Man I Didn't Like"

  A. Miss Saigon  B. Ragtime  C. Victor/Victoria  D. The Will Rogers Follies  E. Nick & Nora

STOP! If you don't want to see the answers yet, stop scrolling. If you are ready, scroll!

1. "I Got Rhythm"

  A. Crazy For You  

2. "New Ways To Dream"

  A. Sunset Boulevard

3. "He Lives in You"

  C. The Lion King

4. "This Is Not Over Yet"

  E. Parade

5. "All I Owe Ioway"

  B. State Fair

6. "Paula (An Improvised Love Song)"

  D. The Goodbye Girl

7. "Love Changes Everything"

  A. Aspects of Love  

8. "See Me, Feel Me"

  E. The Who's Tommy

9. "Detectiveland"

  A. Nick & Nora 

10. "Nights on Broadway"

  E. Saturday Night Fever

11. "Light My Candle"

  A. Rent 

12. "Tell Me It's Not True"

  E. Blood Brothers

13. "There's a Girl"

  C. The Secret Garden 

14. "No One Has Ever Loved Me"

  C. Passion

15. "Dressed in Your Pyjamas in the Grand Salon"

  B. Titanic

16. "Dancing Is Not a Crime"

  D. Footloose

17. "When You're Big"

  C. Big 

18. "Sitting Watching Jason (Play Baseball)"

  C. Falsettos

19. "Why We Tell The Story"

  E. Once On This Island

20. "Human Again"

  B. Beauty and the Beast

21. "I Will Never Leave You"

  C. Side Show

22. "Crime of the Century"

  D. Ragtime 

23. "If I Were a Man"

  D. Victor/Victoria

24. "Lonely Boy Blues"

  B. Jelly's Last Jam

25. "The Morning of the Dragon"

  B. Miss Saigon

26. "Dressing Them Up"

  D. Kiss of the Spider Woman 

27. "Someone Like You"

  A. Jekyll & Hyde 

28. "The Oldest Profession"

  B. The Life  

29. "On Broadway"

  E. Smokey Joe's Cafe

30. "Never Met a Man I Didn't Like"

  D. The Will Rogers Follies

40 Years of Broadway: Creative Influencers: 21 Choreographers

 40 Years of Broadway:

Creative Influencers: 21 Choreographers

When crafting a new musical (and, increasingly, a new play), it is not just a director who guides and shapes a show, but it also depends on a choreographer to extend the emotional impact of the piece through dance and movement. One of the bigger things that has evolved over the past 40+ years is the integration of direction and choreography into a seamless whole. Think A Chorus Line, Cats and Grand Hotel as examples - where the staging ends and the dance begins is hardly recognizable. As a result, the director-choreographer hyphenate has become more prevalent.

Below is a list of those artists that had the biggest impact on my four decades of theater-going experience, and is not really complete. There are many others I could add, but I feel confident that these are a solid representation.

The Masters

These marvels of the dance world had careers well before I first stepped foot in a Broadway theater. Their careers represent now recognizable styles that were groundbreaking at the time, and continue to influence choreography today. They are, indeed, masters of the dance.

Michael Bennett        Graciela Daniele

Bob Fosse        Gillian Lynne        Tommy Tune

The Contemporary Choreographer

The 11 names on this part of the list represent those dance masters who came into their own and still contributed today to the ever-changing theatrical landscape, bringing up a new generation of dancers and future choreographers. After all, many of them started out as dancers themselves. Their diverse backgrounds have certainly impacted and broadened the definition of "Broadway" dancing.

Rob Ashford        Warren Carlyle

Wayne Cilento        Savion Glover        Steven Hoggett

Bill T. Jones        Rob Marshall        Jerry Mitchell

Casey Nicholaw        Susan Stroman        Sergio Trujillo

New Voices - New Moves

Finally, these are the current generation of choreographers who have already made a name for themselves. Their modern perspectives have expanded the vocabulary of Broadway dance. Inclusion of contemporary styles to musicals has allowed steps and styles once found only on the streets, in clubs and the pop concerts have brought a new urgency and thrilling edge to the stage. 

Andy Blankenbuehler        Christopher Gattelli

Spencer Liff        Sonya Tayeh        Jennifer Weber 

Contest Question #17:

All of the 2023 Tony Award nominees for Best Choreography made our list! Which one of them was nominated for two shows - & Juliet and KPOP?