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Popular Broadway Musicals

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What causes some musicals to be more popular than Tony Award-winning productions? There are several factors that go into making musical theater successful. Musical theater on Broadway is loved by people around the globe for the music, the story, and the creative aspects that leave audience members feeling as though they have been submerged in another world. Many popular Broadway musicals are loved for their beautiful music, their touching lyrics, and their unique soundtracks. Clearly, because “neuroimaging studies have shown that music can activate the brain areas typically associated with emotions,” (syncproject.co), audience members are able to empathize with and relate to the characters of a production while listening to songs that help progress the storyline as well. This happens because the parts of the brain associated with emotion, such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and pathways that transport dopamine, are activated, and viewers begin to share emotions with the character in the musical. The shared emotions between a character and a viewer of a show lead to connections that enable audience members to leave the theater feeling as though they had been a part of the story themselves. However, music …show more content…

Obviously, because “character-driven stories [that develop tension] consistently cause oxytocin synthesis,” (hbr.org), audience members are able to share the emotions shown by characters in the production and will continue to copy their behaviors or feelings after the show ends. When the neurochemical oxytocin is released, the sense of empathy is enhanced. This is extremely important to social creatures, such as humans, because empathy allows them to understand how others are likely to react to a situation. Empathy caused by the neurochemical oxytocin is an important factor that causes performances on Broadway to be popular, but it is not the only

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