Less Is More: The Broadway Production Of A Chorus Line

Broadway was one of the first forms of entertainment. Before there were television programs, or movies, there was Broadway. Broadway originated in New York in 1750, when actor-manager Walter Murray built a theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street. A musical would show about once every weekend. The shows were very male based, and would commonly show a relationship between young boys and their fathers. Women were slowly integrated into Broadway, and as society changed its point of view on women, so did theatre.

In 1951, Frank Loesser’s Guys & Dolls opened and received what were said to be “the most unanimously ecstatic set of reviews in Broadway history” (Block 200). For a show whose development included disappointing librettos from eleven different writers, this feat was truly unbelievable (Lewis 73). The unprecedented success of Guys & Dolls and its ability to remain culturally significant, as a popularly revived piece, is the product of several attributes unique to this show. The unusual writing progression that led to a truly integrated libretto in terms of the relationship of the score to the text, Loesser’s assimilation of a unified, yet distinctive style of speech into his lyrics for the

It’s sometimes easy to forget what it’s like to feel a certain way: to feel like a child again, to feel in tune with nature, or just to feel anything at all. With reading, we can “see ourselves in the other and the other in ourselves” (Deresiewicz 161). We can relate and trace a fictional character’s life as parallel to our own, which fulfills our own lives to a greater degree. Reading stories allows us to rekindle past memories and ignite deep relationships with characters that writers have skillfully crafted before our eyes. From Briony’s naivety and annoying presence as a little sister in Atonement, to the inferiority and flawed experiences felt by Nel in Sula, I can easily relate to many characters of literature. Doing so develops our capacity to realize that other perspectives exist. To know that you are not alone in this journey called life provides us with a reassuring message that we as people can face struggles in life together. It is this empathy that keeps us connected on an emotional

Professor Wolf is the author of Changed for Good: A Feminist History of the Broadway Musical (Oxford University Press, 2011), A Problem Like Maria: Gender and Sexuality in the American Musical (University of Michigan Press, 2002), and the co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of the American Musical (with Raymond Knapp and Mitchell Morris, 2011). She has published articles on theatre spectatorship, performance pedagogy, and musical theatre. Professor Wolf also oversees the Lewis Center’s Music Theater Lab and has experience as a director and dramaturg. Wolf holds a B.A. in English from Yale and an M.A. in Drama from the University of Virginia. She received her Ph.D. in Theatre from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Recent publications include

Starting in the golden age of 1950, a Broadway musical's critical judgement depended on how well the show’s elements were formally integrated. Meaning the outlook of the plot in relation to the music, lyrics and characterization of gender roles. Gender is a fundamental element of Broadway musical theatre, constitutional to the musical’s architecture. It is essential as a building block for characters, music/lyrics, and stage settings. Broadway musical is a popular art, in which conveys social issues in the female gender from the representations of women in the 1950's to today. The Broadway musical participates in a larger conversation about gender and sexuality because it is a commercial, profit-seeking, artistic commodity, entertainment form, and cultural product. Broadway musical is a mainstream form that needs to relate to middle-class audiences’ desires and expectations, one might expect only social issues and stereotypical representations of women. The female gender stereotypes are represented in Broadway musicals portrayed by the character's roles. As time went by, the portrayal of the female characters in musicals changed because of the representation that women in today receives. Thus, these musicals explore social issues of the day, including women’s rights and changing roles in U.S. culture, sometimes directly and sometime obliquely. Therefore, the Broadway musical venerates female performers and provides substantial roles for women.

Disney has taken the world by storm from movies to games to television and now even theatre. Disney is no stranger to the silver screen or to your home television screens, but it has now made its mark on Broadway stages around the globe. Since the early 1990’s, dozens of Disney films have been adapted into Broadway classics. When one show stops, another one begins. Storming into its 24th year, Disney on Broadway is one of the most successful theatre enterprises in the world reaching millions of audience members in more than 40 countries (Tallarico).

Kander and Ebb took a great risk in using the framework of a minstrel show to tell the story in their musical The Scottsboro Boys. Various sources argue that the use of the minstrel show in Kander and Ebb’s The Scottsboro Boys hinders the audiences experience and undermines the importance of this trial. This argument is one of many and goes to show that Kander and Ebb took many risks in using the minstrel show to tell the story of the Scottsboro Boys. Other sources argue that the humor and stereotypes of the minstrel show perpetuate the boys’ lack of individuality. In the article, “Too big for Broadway?:
The limits of historical and theatrical empathy in Parade and The Scottsboro Boys,” it is argued that this lack of characterization “makes it feel as though ‘the Boys’ are being victimized, not by American racism, but by Kander and Ebb” (Stahl 76). With all of the dangers involved in the use of this racist form, it is understandable how the intention of the minstrel show can be misconstrued.

There are many great musicals that the world has ever seen in the past years. Some have often brought us to tears while some may have brought to us to a world far beyond our imagination’s reach. In a world where television and the internet have often given us too many options to choose from as a form of entertainment, the soul and level of perfection still brought about by the broad way musicals are still one of the best for some of us.

So while “Night on Broadway” might not be a play or a musical, with seven or eigt performances, elaborate costumes and sets, and a pit orchestra, the actors and directors will be working just as hard to organize a showcase that not only fundraises for the next dramatic season, but allows students to practice their numbers once more, before performing in front of judges - a crucial step in “putting yourself out there” as a

1. Aladdin: This original Broadway Musical is based off the animated Disney movie Aladdin, whose life was altered when he ran into a genie who magically granted him only three wishes. Aladdin comes head to head with an evil person named Jafar who wants to use the genie for a deceiving reason. The average price for a ticket to see this musical was $109.08 but could range anywhere from $103.53 to $116.02.

The first art piece that I’m going to be discussing is a theatrical production that has a special place in my heart, and it is the Jakarta Performing Arts Community’s rendition of the hit Broadway play, ‘Fame.’ The reason why this piece is so important to me is because it was the first ‘real deal’ production that I’ve meddled in, and was the first production that I was appointed stage manager of. The play itself has a great message and great tunes, to be honest. I really like this play because it’s so naturally high school, the problems are so realistic that it almost didn’t feel like it was some sort of a make believe, and it also addressed things that are so simple yet are so scarcely discussed.

Detroit Theatre Collective will mount a production of a classic play that examines corporate oppression, family dysfunction and the fading mirage of the American dream.  We will unearth the timely (and timeless) content of this work, such as economic 'folklore' of the lower classes and the lies that we tell ourselves in order to survive.

There have been many characters, all which have their own special personalities, introduced this year. Even though they are simply part of a piece of literature, some have become real in a way. They speak their emotions, and share their stories. They tell the audience everything, and begin a relationship with them. They begin to grow on the audience, and some characters may even become their friends.

Being that documentaries and musicals are both a way of addressing concerns happening in the political, economic or social culture of a certain region, it would seem that there would be many documented cases of how documentaries have impacted the American musical. However, not many results seem to surface when searching for this. For the layperson who does a quick search and does not dig deeper into different ways to search, it may seem that there is only one result: Broadway The Great American Musical by Michael Cantor. Thankfully, that is not the case. There are other sources with information about the film form of the documentary and musicals.

Like previously mentioned, they cover a variety of styles and topics. Performances are designed to provoke and create drama. As a matter of fact, this way of communication can be directly connected to both Temple Grandin and Miranda, a 17 year old living with selective mutism. Temple Grandin, an autistic woman with a deep love for animals, is shown giving eye-opening speeches in two scenes of her movie, one after graduating, and one at a convention. Her words rang true with many and she still gives speeches today about her passions, much like a slam poet. On the other hand, Miranda has been living with selective mutism almost her whole life. After joining a performing arts school, though, she felt more confident and happy. The teen wrote, “I felt like part of a family and the people around me loved the same things as me. Performing taught me how to become a different person, an alter ego if you want, which helped me in the real world…. I became a different person and discovered who I really was, not just the shy one who never speaks.” In Miranda’s case, performing gave her an outlet and allowed her a reprieve from the constant anxiety she used to feel when socializing. Mab Jones’ story was told earlier, and it too attests to the idea that the performing arts, poetry, and spoken word in general are a valuable outlet for countless