PowerPointPrsentation

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Broadway
In the Past

Today
Annika Schrandt, Isabell Harmuth, Andrea Lindner,
Yvonne Kaboth
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Contents

• Broadway in the Past
• 1.1 1900 1940
• 1.2 1940 - 1970
• Broadway today
• 2.1 The Lyceum Theatre and the Empire Theatre
• 2.2 Off- and Off-Off-Broadway
• 2.3 How a Broadway Show is Produced

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Broadway in the Past
1905
1904 Times Square
1890 Union Square
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1920s
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1940s
1930s
1950s
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What is Broadway?
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What is Broadway?

• worlds most famous street (over 25km in length)
• stretches from 41st to 53rd street

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(No Transcript)
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What is Broadway

• not only a geographical location
• ? theatre district
• ? has become a billion dollar industry (Pun
  Bandhu, producer)
• ? a Broadway theatre (simply called Broadway) is
  any theatre that is above 499 seats
• ?there are also Broadway theatres outside of the
  district

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1900-1917 The Era of Good Feelings

• history of Broadway dates back to the 18th
  century but it was established in the beginning
  of the 20th century as we now it today
• in the early 1900s theaters started settling near
  The Times Square
• Great White Way

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1900-1917 The Era of Good Feelings

• As of 1900 there were thirty-three legitimate
  Broadway theatres, and many more were built
  within the next decade
• theatre district attracted a large audience,
  predominantly of the middle class
• exploding population increasing mobility
  conduced to success, praise and popularity

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1900-1917 The Era of Good Feelings

• - most famous actor, singer, dancer, writer,
  director, manager and powerful producer was
  George M. Cohan
• Give My Regards to Broadway is considered one
  of the national anthems of the Broadway
• he introduced the song format the AABA form

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Give my Regards to Broadway
Click
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1900-1917 The Era of Good Feelings

• 1909 The Man Who Owned Broadway was performed
• At that time George M. Cohan truly owned
  Broadway (by Robert Rusie)
• he opened the Cohans Theater in 1911

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1900-1917 The Era of Good Feelings

• competition of two musical traditions
• 1915 Musicals made their debut on Broadway Very
  Good Eddie
• ? credited as the first show that incorporated
  songs as part of action
• ? feature was continued and 1927 fully realized
  in Showboat

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World War I

• ? Irving Berlins show Yip, Yip, Yaphank as
  entertainment for soldiers
• Ziegfeld Follies girls wear costumes in the
  colour of the American Flag and a picture of the
  leading actress reportedly helped to recruit
  French soldiers
• Broadway stars organized food drives, promoted
  Liberty Bonds on stage and raised money for the
  Red Cross

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World War I
Poster by Winsor McCay Liberty Bond commercial
paper to finance a war
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Passing Show introduced hit song On the
back cover of that Good Bye Broadway, Hello
France sheet (among other songs)
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Post-War Period

• in 1918 worldwide flu epidemic reached the US
• ?theaters reached the brink of economic ruin
• in in 1919 Actors Equity Association went on a
  strike for a month demanding better working
  conditions for members
• ? achieved 30.00 per week minimum wage ( 5.00
  fee for playing out of town) and four week limit
  on unpaid rehearsals
• ? first-ever strike in the history of the
  American theatre
•  

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The Roaring Twenties

• in 1921 Shuffle Along was the first Broadway show
  that was produced and performed by black actors
  for white audience
• ? encouraged the Harlem Renaissance
• in 1925 The Golden Age of the American musical
  began
• ? four hits opened within a period of seven days

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The Roaring Twenties

• 1926 Eva LeGallienne opened the Repertory Theater
  
• ? with this theatre she associated a school where
  young and promising newcomers would lern the best
  possible skills of theatrical art
• ? prices were affordable for every part of the
  population

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The Roaring Twenties

• in 1926 the musical Sex was performed
• ? it was defined as nasty red-light district
  show
• ? actress Mae West was arrested for impropriety
  of her performance
• ? result the Wales Padlock Law
• prohibited plays depicting or dealing with
  sex degeneracy or sex perversion

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The Roaring Twenties

• 1927 Show Boat by Oscar Hammerstein, Otto Harbach
  and Jerome Kern (and producer Flo Ziegfeld)
• ? first musical form as we know it today
• ONeill owned the Broadway in the twenties as
  Cohan did in the teens

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The Roaring Twenties

• 1928 was the climax of Broadways most
  production-packed decade
• ? approximately fifty new musicals opened in a
  single season
• ?people paid up to 3.50 a seat
• more than 80 theatres
• 1929 stock market crash
• ? led to the Great Depression

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Playbill listing from 1928
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The Great Depression

• stock market crash had great effects on Broadway
• ? approximately 25,000 people in the theatre
  community lost their job
• ? prices dropped to 25-cent minimum, and 1.00
  maximum for the best seats
• ? the fall in new productions continued until 1939

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The Great Depression

• ? producers suffered from a series of flops
• ? many of the producers rushed into the film
  industrie (app. 75)
• ? many theatres were closed
• ? many of the Broadway theatres were owned by an
  entertainment organisation and presented the new
  talking pictures (movies)

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The Great Depression

• in 1930 Pleasure Man
• ? Mae West was arrested again and 52 members of
  the cast, some of them were men in drag
• ? amendment to the Wales Padlock Law writers and
  producers, but not actors, were responsible for
  obscenity
• the theatre that was the most up-town of
  theatres less than 50 years ago, had become the
  most downtown

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The Great Depression

• in 1931 foundation of the Group Theater
• ?a group of young talent created a theatre with a
  closer relationship to art
  
• no star system
• existed 10 years
• in 1935 Dead End and film version in 1937 with
  Humphrey Bogart

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Humphrey Bogart in Dead End
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The Great Depression

• 1935 the Theater Works Project by LeGallienne and
  Hallie Flanagan national programme with
  chapters
• ? each chapter was to include a school at which
  new talent could learn the skills of theater
• ?The Living Newspapers (socially significant
  themes)
• ? existed 4 years, till 1939 distributed 46
  million, financed 1,200 productions and provided
  employment for 12,000 people

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The Great Depression

• many productions were co-opted by Hollywood
  directly from the stage
•  
• in the thirties the Theater Guild realized itself
  as a commercial production company

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World War II

• When the United States declared war on Germany
  and Japan in 1941, Broadway demonstrated that it
  was conservative in its loyalty to the nation.

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World War II

• The American Theatre Wing entertained and
  provided food for servicemen.
• In 1940 the USO offered Camp Shows to alleviate
  some of the boredom of the military life.

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Broadway in the 1940s

• During the 1940s, Broadway began to lose its
  originality and drive.
• Some theatres were pulled down and from then on
  theatre no longer dominated Broadway. The theatre
  business was declining all over the city.

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Broadway in the 1940s

• In comparison to the 264 productions in
  1927-1928, the number dropped to 187 in
  1930-1931, and only 72 in 1940-1941.
• The Republic Theatre became Billy Minskys
  burlesque house.
• -gtTheatres all over the area were being torn down
  or turned into slums.

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Broadway in the 1940s

• The result of all these pressures on Broadway
  theatre was a shocking 80 unemployment rate for
  Broadway actors in 1948.
• Although Broadway theatre had lost some of its
  scope, it still retained its liveliness and
  joyfulness in an increasingly corporate
  environment.

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Broadway 1950-1970

• After 1950, Broadway and the theatre business
  continued their decline that began in the
  thirties.
• However, Broadway was still attracting audiences
  from other parts of the country.
• At this time when New Yorkers were beginning to
  drift away from theatre, the Louisville
  Courier-Journal and the Columbus (Ohio) Citizen
  organized "show trains."

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Broadway 1950-1970

• Broadway theatre was also being affected by the
  politics of the time.
• -gt People were negatively influenced by the
  Vietnam and Korean wars, the assassinations of
  John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King and the
  cold war in general.

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Broadway 1950-1970

• Despite the fact that Broadway at this time was
  depressed, there were many memorable musicals
  that emerged in 1950-1970.
• Some of these shows included West Side Story, My
  Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Fidler on the
  Roof, Man of La Mancha and Hair.

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Broadway Today
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The Lyceum Theatre and the Empire Theatre
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The Lyceum Theatre

• Opened November 2nd, 1903
• Built by producer-manager Daniel Frohman
• It originally was called New Lyceum Theatre
• Seating capacity 922 (divided in orchestra,
  mezzanine and balcony)
• The first theatre with electrical light

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The Lyceum Theatre History

• New York's oldest surviving theatre in continuous
  legitimate use
• Playwrights George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart and
  their team of theatre folk bought the theatre in
  1939
• The Shuberts took ownership of the theatre (1950)
  and have operated it ever since.
• the first Broadway theatre to be assigned
  landmark status (interior and exterior) in 1974.

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The Lyceum Theatre Productions

• the Lyceum has housed many new plays, revivals,
  and repertory companies
• The inaugural production The Proud Prince (1903)
  
• stars who graced the stage of the Lyceum in its
  early years Billie Burke, Humphrey Bogart,
  Leslie Howard, Bette Davis

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The Lyceum Theatre Productions

• the Lyceum's biggest hit Born Yesterday (1946),
  1642 performances, the theatre's longest run
• one person shows like Whoopi Goldberg (1984,
  2004), the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning
  I Am My Own Wife (2003)

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The Lyceum Theatre Architecture

• Designed by architects Herts and Tallant
• handsome gray limestone façade with six ornate
  Corinthian columns
• In the foyer two grand staircases lead to the
  mezzanine
• Above the theatre, Frohman built an apartment for
  himself

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The Lyceum Theatre
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Empire Theatre

• The first theatre on Broadway
• Seating capacity 1100
• Built 1893 by Charles Frohmann
• The theatre moved from Herald Square to the Time
  Square
• In 1948 the Astor estate purchased the theatre

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Empire Theatre

• They announced, that it would be torn down to
  make way for an office tower
• Demolished 1953
• Productions Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet,
  Sherlock Holmes,

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Empire Theatre
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The Off-Broadway

• Developed since 1950
• The theatres of the Off-Broadway were aloof of
  the main Broadway
• Seating capacities between 99 and 500
• The productions are smaller and less expensive
• Plays which were successful in an
  Off-Broadway-theatre often moved to Broadway
  stages (e.g. Hair)

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The Off-Broadway

• Today the classification and attitude towards
  these stages have changed
• A theatre, which is aloof, is classified as
  Broadway theatre if it has at least 500 seats
• Productions designed for smaller theatres
• An Off-Broadway theatre has 100-500 seats
• Less than this Off-Off-Broadway

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The Off-Off-Broadway

• First mentioned 1958-1960, mainly developed since
  1985
• Reaction to Off-Broadway
• Rejection of commercial theatre
• Smaller theatres than Broadway and Off-Broadway
  productions
• The theatres usually have less than 100 seats

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The Off-Off-Broadway

• They are not located around the Broadway, but all
  over New York City
• Professional, semi-professional and amateur
  productions

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Broadway theatres
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Off- and Off-Off-Broadway theatres
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How a Broadway Show is produced
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Idea

• Producers idea ? creative teams idea
• Established talents ?
• New unknown writers ?
• One has to get the producers attention

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Workshops
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Raising Money

• Costs of a musical
• 4 6 millions
• Producer teams
• A brochure that has to be approved of by
  government offices
• Limited partnerships

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Raising Money

• well-known sponsors
• newspaper advertisements
• Hollywood
• Backers Auditions

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Raising Money

• Broadway is a brutal business and a risk !

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Finding the Cast Actors Auditions

• Open Call Auditions
• Actors Equity Association
• Callbacks

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Rehearsals

• 8 10 weeks
• rehearsal studios in New York
• Sitzprobe (first time full orchestration)
• move to actual Broadway theatre
• gypsy run through

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Tryouts and Previews

• the show is staged in another town
• songs or technical pieces are refined or changed

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Rehearsals, Tryouts, Previews...
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Opening Night

• a glamour event
• Gypsy Robe Ritual

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After the Opening...

• reviews
• the challenge of keeping a successful musical
  vital and fresh
• TV appearances etc.

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The Tony Awards

• Antoinette Perry Awards
• 27 categories
• Most important Best Musical

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Fame and Fortune...

• ...in the Musical business are rare
• only 2000 of 20.000 Equity members make a living
  with it

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Sources

• Books
• Marx, Henry, Die Broadway Story, Düsseldorf Econ
  1986.
• Taymor, Julie, Der König der Löwen. Das Broadway
  Musical The Lion King - Pride Rock on Broadway,
  German, translated by Rheinhard Thiel, Berlin
  Ehapa 2001.
• Internet
• Kenrick, John, How Broadway Musicals are made,
  http//www.musicals101.com/makemusi.htm
  (22/12/2008).
• http//www.tonyawards.com (22/12/2008)
• http//www.shubertorganization.com/theatres/lyceum
  .asp (28.12.08)
• Internet Broadway Database (28.12.08)
• http//www.ibdb.com/venue.php?id1245
• http//www.newyorktheatreguide.com/broadwayTheatre
  s/lyceum.jpg (28.12.08)
• http//www.mapsites.net/gotham01/webpages/alisonha
  nnah/Broadway/Broadway2.JPG (28.12.08)

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Sources

• http//mapsites.net/gotham01/webpages/alisonhannah
  /broad1900to1918.html
• http//www.musicals101.com/1900to10.htm
• http//www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/theatre/theatre_
  history.shtml
• http//www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/hello/operetta.ht
  ml
• http//www.talkinbroadway.com/bway101/2.html
• Film
• Show Business. The Road to Broadway, DVD, Dir.
  Dori Berinstein, Liberation Entertainment 2003.