Broadway Theatres
The Transformative Power of the Musical Hamilton

The Transformative Power of the Musical Hamilton

The theatre crowd-puller pf the decade grabbed star performance with 16 Tony nominations. That’s not it, also the Broadway box...

The Tina Turner Musical

The Tina Turner Musical

An amazing YouTube clip of Janis Joplin, radiant in a 1969 amalgam of purple, crimson, and gold, explains to Dick...

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The Transformative Power of the Musical Hamilton

The Transformative Power of the Musical Hamilton

The theatre crowd-puller pf the decade grabbed star performance with 16 Tony nominations. That’s not it, also the Broadway box...

The Tina Turner Musical

The Tina Turner Musical

An amazing YouTube clip of Janis Joplin, radiant in a 1969 amalgam of purple, crimson, and gold, explains to Dick...

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Broadway

Impressive Facts about Broadway You Never Realized

The alter ego of New York is the Broadway theatre, popularly termed as Broadway. The heart of New York’s theatricals lounges in the 41 theatres that encompasses Manhattan. Whether you are a Broadway aficionado or not, these exuberant factors will definitely indulge you on that Broadway escapade that you will cherish.

Broadway Remains the Epicentre

Out of the 41 Broadway theatres, only four are located in Broadway. The Winter Garden, The Roundabout, The Marquis, and The Broadway Theatre. The rest of them are in the Theatre District, with the exception of Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Centre. But the genesis in the 1900s remained to be Broadway, near Times Square. When Broadway was still known as Great White Hay, 16 theatres were ensuing the Victoria Theatre.

Plays Can Linger Forever

Broadway will stick around as long as there exist a plethora of audiences, and the investors are content. The celestial performance of Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Weber, which dawned in 1988, is worth the wound to your wallet. This year marks its 32nd anniversary with more than a multitude of 18 million people with over 12,500 stagings. The span of these 32 years has staged 15 actors casting Phantom with Norm Lewis being the first African-American actor to be cast as Phantom. The story unfolds a classic love story, where the Phantom is viewed to skulk outside the Paris Opera House.

The Unconventional Tony Awards

The genesis of Tony Awards can be traced back to 1947, and the Tony Awards were considered as theatre analogue of the Oscars. The inception was not by the distribution of statues but cigarette lighters for men and makeup compact for women. In 1947 your reality of being to the Tony Awards could be actualised with just $7, and now it is an enormous $2990 for a ticket. Let’s time travel then! The Producers have bagged the maximum Tony Awards of 12 in the category of a musical. At the same time, the Coast of Utopia won a maximum of seven in the non-musical category. However, Hamilton has received the maximum nomination of 16 for a single production.

Tony Awards

The Delicacy of Broadway Plays Over the Years

There have been emotive episodes in the history of Broadway. The first on the list is Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical was an amalgamation of the bohemian counterculture and sexual revolution sprouted in 1968 and cascaded 1,750 performances. Ultimately it was revived in 2009, winning several accolades, including the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The play’s contentious facet was a momentary nude event with the whole cast that culminated in the first act. Some of the music scores from Hair’s surfaced in the Top 10 hits of that aeon, and in 1979 a feature film adaptation was launched.

Classic

Mamma Mia Celebrated as a Broadway Classic

The box-office hit of ABBA’s narrates the hysterical story of a young woman’s hunt for her birth father. This balmy and comic tale unravels on a Greek island. Ultimately, on the eve of her wedding, the daughter’s pursuit of identifying her birth father ushers three men from her mother’s past to the island.

The power of ABBA’s cinematic storytelling and classic songs catapults this captivating tale of love, laughter, and friendship. The assortment of a massive cast, lively laughs, and passionate dance makes this an indelible voyage. Mamma Mia can be elevated as a paramount rapturous musical with over 60 million people worldwide being heartfelt with the characters, story, and the music.

Mamma Mia is Madly Inspiring

Mamma Mia can be positioned as a forerunner to many such musicals that followed. This show welcomed a younger audience to be enthralled by the idea of a musical theatre while throwing light on a novel category which had dawned because of this musical. This new genre can be termed as the jukebox musical. This is a unique genre from the musical revue that serves as the exceptional hits. Though the genesis of jukebox musical can be attributed to shows like “Forever Plaid,” yet Mamma Mia unfolded that vogue in a jukebox musical and this fad succoured by Mamma Mia is not going to decelerate anytime soon.

Mamma Mia

The Magic of Storytelling

The story is about a 20-year-old who realizes that there are three men associated with her mother’s past, and to unearth the truth, she invites the three to her wedding on a Greek island, much to the vexation of her hippy mom. The songs like “Take a Chance on Me,” “Thank You for the Music,” and “Knowing Me, Knowing You” are intricately entwined in the story.

The Engaging Concoction Remains to be Recreated

The creation of a conventional book musical using ABBA’s songbook and none have surpassed this powerful formula. The musical was based on a 1968 film called “Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell, which was reworked as a musical in 1979s “Carmelina.” The contemporaries do not seem to be as organic and whole as Mamma Mia musical. The mastery can be observed in the blend of existing music being fitted into a story. The magic of the musical was in the characters because of the existence of characters in the musical that each individual could relate to.

Glamour of Songwriting

The Glamour of Songwriting

The artistic tradition was brought to life with the introduction of ABBA songwriters Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus to the fore of Broadway. With songs like “Dancing Queen” and “Super Trouper” furnishing that upbeat tang to the audience, while “Thank You for the Music” reverberates with emotion. The musical culmination presented the audience with a rock-concert zeal, singing, and dancing by the aisle. This kind of a lively piece has its stature on Broadway.

Les Misérables

Reasons to Love Les Misérables

For the unseen, a curious case, for the skeptics, an overrated show, but for the enthusiasts, it’s an out of the world marvel in the hall of fame of musical theatres, and that is Les Miserables. Theatre people always loved the show. This fact is evident in the reappearance of the show in various forms in the span of time.

The music remains ethereal

If you’re a producer at any local theatre, you could surely try out hosting the show a day. For even the least musical of the lot would turn a music saga lover at these mellifluous songs. From ‘I dreamed a Dream’ to ‘Do you hear the people sing’ to many more had captured hearts of people.

Music

Memorable characters

A great story is always played by great characters. From the redemption seeking protagonist Jean Valjean and the youthful Cosette to the villainous Inspector Javert to the comedies of Mr. & Mrs. Thenardier have all painted along with the storyline quite well.

Moving moments

Now don’t tell me you never shuddered in tears at the ‘I dreamed a Dream’ song earlier in the show or further still at the ‘On my own’ and further if you are of the stoics, you will drop a year or two at the end when Jean passes away and is joined with a grateful Fantine.

Hollywood may never replicate it in all its originality

The film adaptation of the show encompasses exceptional acting and singing but never replaces the feel at the live theatre- the theatergoers would vouch for the same. The plain fact that Hollywood can never move the show from stage to screen in itself is an unrefutable proof for its mastery.

Hollywood

Not too cheesy

For some, the Broadway musicals are simply enjoyable because of all the songs and dances. But for the others, it is more of a cheesy kind. Being of such a great plot with compelling characters and a meaningful message, the cheesy feeling is a faraway feeling.

The revolving stage

Of late, the national tours at Les Miz has opted for digital projection. But there’s nothing more amusing than the revolving stage. With 60 plus rotations on the humongous stage, the show was conducted smoothly, leaving the spectators always in awe and wonder.

Political relevance

Though the topic is highly controversial, the theme remains relevant. The growing dissatisfaction of the people to their government is depicted on stage. The show, therefore, mirrors how people view politics and their leaders.

Vive la France

My inner nativity wouldn’t allow me to make this point. But the show gives a great reason to celebrate the brighter days and things of France. There’s no better show that portrays the strength and utopianism of French society.

Moulin Rouge Musical

The Appetizing Moulin Rouge Musical

The musical has been adapted by John Logan and directed by Alex Timbers. The cast includes Les Miserables actor Aaron Tveit who plays the writer Christian, who is passionate about the gorgeous courtesan Satine, played by Karen Olivo. The brilliance of the movie is not discovered in the narrative. It was unearthed in its luxurious design that knowledge in popular music unfolds the heart and succours us to feel our intricate feelings.

In the scene where Christian and Satine profess their love for each other by exchanging snippets of song, just like in the movie – the upshot was the creation of magic for the soul. In the musical, the original soundtrack – Lady Marmalade, Your Son was updated with hits from Adele and Beyonce.

The film, which was created in 2001, scooped $180 million. However, 15 years later, Justine Levine, the music supervisor for the opulent novel Broadway adaptation of the movie, had to elucidate a creative quandary – the encounter between the villainous Duke of Monroth and heroine Satine. The magic bullet was the addition of “Sympathy for the Devil,” and this is how the Duke greets her.

Rouge Musical

The adaptation of Moulin Rouge can be described as a jukebox musical with a difference. The significant fact in the $28 million musical is music. The famous song from the movie “Lady Marmalade” is conferred even more prestige in the musical. The snappy songs in the musical present it with an offbeat and contemporary feel.

The most crucial question was how to retell the story of Christian and Satine. The recreation of their bohemian world of love, sex, and absinthe was a mammoth task. At the same time, the creators maintained a strong sense of ethos in divergence, as mimicking the movie was not their vision. The creation of their beast with an exclusive touch is the essence of this musical, unlike the common peril of many musicals being adapted from films. Tracks by Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Lorde, Gnarls Barkley, and Adele are the extensive collection of songs in the musical.

Similar to the film, the plot of the musical is yet another unfortunate love story of incongruous lovers. The fancy about true love outshining antithetical social origins and personal destinies is alive to this moment if you want dazzle and delight and Catherine Zuber’s seductive costume and Derek Mclane’s flashy set and Sonya Tayeh’s lively choreography and a chorus of Bad Romance and Chandelier and a mammoth blue elephant – an extravagant elixir for the audience.

Tina Turner

The Tina Turner Musical

An amazing YouTube clip of Janis Joplin, radiant in a 1969 amalgam of purple, crimson, and gold, explains to Dick Cavett how Tina Turner became her favourite singer, ” the best chick ever” including her husband and bandleader. But Janis again makes it clear, “Tina’s the show.”

The story begins back in 1939 when Tina was born in Nutbush, Tennessee. At the age of 11, she’s left in the care of her grandmother after her mother resolves to leaves the abusive marriage while her father remarries. By the age of 16, she reunites with her mother and sister in St. Louis, where she also happens to meet Ike Turner. Later, Ik changes her name to Tina Turner. Though she was abused for two years, the couple decides to get hitched. The story unwinds on how her life and career are influenced by the abusive marriage. The show doesn’t evade her failures and struggles, making you acquainted with the tangible experience of the pop star.

Was Tina ever involved in the musical?

Could you possibly bring out a musical without the actual character not being involved? Though it’s entirely possible to get the totality in the picture, the original character being involved would always be the wiser option. The musical was written by Olivier award winner and playwright Katori Hall, and Tina worked together with them to portray the ideal picture in a musical manner.

Along with the drill, Tina in person had worked with them and given tons of inputs, which the director had added in due course.

Tina

Is Tina: the musical just another jukebox genre?

Jukebox often takes along the story of the artist in its song form, making it a bio-musical. This fantastic combo comes along as you can’t separate the story of such a phenomenal artist as Tina from neither her song nor her struggles.

Do the songs emanate from Tina Turner?

Why sneak out for others when you have a whole playlist from the protagonist? Tina has for herself a crazy collection of music that you needn’t look elsewhere. And further, what better way to convey her life than through her songs? The majority would go in for the musical to hear their personal favourites, but the River deep- Mountain high is sure getting through to hearts.

Tina Turner

New cast and new productions

Adrienne Warren, who currently stars the protagonist, has received loads of appraisal and admiration not only from the audience but from Tina Turner herself. Tina is said to be thrilled to see Warren starring the show at the Broadway stage in New York.

Hamilton

The Transformative Power of the Musical Hamilton

The theatre crowd-puller pf the decade grabbed star performance with 16 Tony nominations. That’s not it, also the Broadway box office hit for the most money bagged in a single week of $3.3 million in New York City in November 2016. According to Forbes, the icing on the cake is the 11 Tony Awards, a Grammy, and the Pulitzer Prize for theatre; it has scooped and earning more than $1 billion. The musical is now available across the United States including shows in Los Angeles.

Hamilton has revolutionized the American theatrical experience. The uniqueness in Hamilton can be attributed to it being the creation of a single man, Lin-Manuel Miranda, who fashioned the music, lyrics, and book regarding the musical. Hamilton is a harmonious blend of American history with current politics, and each song veneers the musical past with the musical present – amassing hyperbolic praise, which is fitting in all ways.

Validated the burgeoning of hip-hop and rap

“Holler if Ya Hear Me” fiasco had cast a suspicious glance on Broadway and its acceptance of contemporary sounds. In comparison, Hamilton is not entirely a hip-hop musical, yet an amalgamation of pop, rock, jazz, the American songbook, and show tunes. And Hamilton has been aesthetically appealing and commercially lucrative.

Hip-hop and rap 

Snowballed the Melange in Broadway

This year witnessed a drastic change with 14 actors of colour being nominated for Broadway performance, and seven of them were Hamilton actors. A majority of musicals feature a white cast or one that encircles a specific group. Hamilton overwhelms its stage with the paraphernalia of races and ethnicities – a superior galvanic cast.

Admonishes Donald Trump’s Nationalism

With an array of actors of colour and prominence on numerous revolutionary war luminaries as immigrants, Hamilton puts forth a valued message to its audience. The countless individuals who made America monumental – cannot be restricted to a specific colour nor a particular country as the contributions of immigrants and people of colour remain significant in American history, which has been obliterated in the current political regime.

Now Let’s Talk About the Genius Behind This Box-office Hit

The mastermind is none other than the talented Lin- Manuel Miranda, of Puerto Rican descent. He has won several accolades, including a Pulitzer Prize, three Tony Awards, three Grammys, two Oliviers, and an Emmy. The creation of Hamilton was a consequence of Ron Chernow’s biography of the Founding Father on holiday. The book of the musical was his creation, and he also cast as the title character of Alexander Hamilton.

The musical depicts the story of a young and famished immigrant from the West Indies who metamorphosized into the exemplary American dream through a synergy of intellect and hard work. Miranda fashions an allegory for Hamilton by commemorating him as a sign of immigrant inclusiveness, emancipation, and meritocracy – a theatrical brilliance.