The popularity of Broadway musicals is not only a fashion, but also an inevitable product of the development of the times, which is the spiritual expression of the times. Children from the elderly down to a few years old are obsessed with musical theater. It is Broadway that makes musical theater the world's modern art, and Broadway uses its unique commercial operation mode to incorporate and accommodate ancient classics and fashion pioneers, forming a diversified musical, which is worth learning and learning from in the field of inheritance and development of musical theater.
On Broadway, musical theater became a socialized industry. From his planning, production to promotion, to performance, the whole process has formed an industrial chain, advertising agencies, production and performance companies to play their own maximum benefits. China, on the other hand, is learning from their art production mechanisms and their confidence in artistic innovation and reform, and to learn from the perspective of the world.
Explore the path of musical theater in China
Nowadays, musical theater is invading our lives with a new fashion trend, we are surrounded by musical theater models, the emergence of the four famous dramas of "Phantom of the Opera", "Cats", "Les Misérables", "Miss Saigon" is even more amazing to us, let us be shocked and marvel at the magic of the Creator, it brings us so wonderful, so different, so beautiful performance, so that we are also moved when we sigh.
Although the four famous plays are all works of the British, it is Broadway that promotes the works to the world, and it is also Broadway that uses the commercial operation to reproduce those excellent plays for a long time, making them enduring and becoming masterpieces. And we are about to learn their business methods and develop the "musical" that belongs to China.
Broadway musical
Broadway musicals made Broadway Avenue the center of the American entertainment industry. At its peak, the total number of theaters in the area reached 80. As early as 1893, Americans "contributed" as much as $6 million a year in entertainment in the area.
In the early days of broadway development, it was just an ordinary road, inhabited by some pioneers, and in the 19th century, theaters gradually entered the area. Broadway( Broadway), originally meaning "Wide Street", refers to a long street in New York City that starts from Battery Park and runs from south to north through Manhattan Island, with a total length of 25 kilometers. Some scholars believe that there are actually two broadway concepts, one is Broadway as "hardware" and the other is Broadway as "software".
To be more specific:
One is Broadway as a neighborhood with neon lights and lavishly decorated theaters;
The other is an invisible Broadway, which refers to a way of artistic expression, which can also be said to be a model, and also a mechanism of commercial operation, that is, some artists in that circle are also a spiritual style that penetrates all aspects of American life.
The development of Broadway can be described as "ups and downs", and there are two major problems in the process of its development:
The first is the impact of the development of musical theater in the West End of the United Kingdom on Broadway;
The second is the problem of repertoire.
Sandheim is the only character on Broadway who can compete with Weber, and he has released a series of concept plays that closely revolve around some of the real issues that concern people's lives, such as single life and wedding banquets, cultural conflicts, and joyful reunions.
Stephen Joshua Soudheim
A famous American composer and lyricist, known as the originator of concept musicals. He has won 1 Academy Award, 8 Tony Awards, Grammy Awards and 1 Pulitzer Award. His notable works include "Spring In the Ancient City", "Visiting the Forest", "Barber Todd", etc., and he served as president of the American Playwrights Association from 1973 to 1981.
Sandheim pointed out: "There are two kinds of performances on Broadway now — old drama re-promotions and big productions like 'The Lion King,' which audiences can watch only once a year at any cost, but this kind of repertoire is just a stage version of the movie." It seems that now the musical has nothing to do... You can't lift the spirit to do something, because the audience's mind is not here at all. ”
With the decline of large-scale musicals becoming more and more obvious, musical theaters have also sunk into a diversified development trend, including stage plays adapted from movies such as "Gold Medal Producer" and "Graduate", as well as other famous new musicals such as "Aida", "The Lion King" and so on, and the whole Broadway presents a diverse style. Again, there was the influx of postmodern musicals. It's both striking and confusing. It may take us a while to know how far it can go.
At the same time, a new problem facing Broadway is the problem of repertoire. Since 1866, The Broadway musical has been developing in two different directions:
Variety show mode musicals and operettas and narrative musicals.
However, variety show-mode musicals and operettas began to decline in the 1930s, and narrative musicals gained great success over the century, becoming the mainstream of contemporary Broadway musicals, that is, "integrated musicals".
In addition to the musical itself, Broadway's operation of musical theater is also perfect and mature. Broadway musicals are high-cost, big-budgeted, then it necessarily requires targeting the global market and reaping the investment by making a global impact.
Ticket revenue for touring shows is only one thing, and on the other hand, it is to use this influence to promote other goods, and the four major musicals of contemporary musical theater: Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables and Miss Saigon are prime examples of this. For example, wherever "Cat" went, clothing utensils printed with two cat's eyes immediately sold well. Its success is directly proportional to what it has paid, and the prosperity of the Broadway performance market is inseparable from its mature operating mechanism.
In the second half of 2008, it was an unstable year for the United States and the world, under the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States and the serious impact of the real economy, the broadway street presented a depression that had not been seen before. Some plays are still in the making, but there is no guarantee that they will not be stillborn. Based on the reasons for the decline in consumer confidence, the financial crisis may affect the extended industry dominated by the performing arts industry, although the experience of previous economic crises tells us that the economic crisis may be an opportunity for the entertainment industry, but the opportunity is left to free or cheap entertainment products. For example, television, movies, instead of concerts that cost hundreds of dollars and thousands of dollars a ticket.
The problem facing Broadway is no longer a problem of the repertoire, no longer a problem of the stage, nor is it a problem of the lineup, but a problem of consumer confidence. The musical itself cannot be said to be a popular form of entertainment, its origin is very graceful and luxurious, gorgeous bel canto, elegant dance steps, passionate performance, not a person covered in dirt, suffering for bread can accept.
The situation in the United States is conceivably worse, in other words, in addition to the audience factor, capital has become the most important and critical factor in the financial crisis. Sina merged with Focus Outdoor Digital Media, Orange Sky acquired Jiahe, and the financial crisis caused a big merger and acquisition, and Qantas Telecom's acquisition of PCPOP and IT168 was also due to this reason. Without the strong support of capital, a musical that relies on the stage, relies on attendance, relies on a strong lineup and shocking effects, how to survive!
Of course, such an artistic feast will never become a bubble, the accumulation of time and rich experience, for such an established brand as Broadway is just a small episode.