Broadway New York

Every stage actor and producer with ambition wants to be involved in Broadway New York. It's the world famous theatre district of Manhattan and is one of the city's most popular tourist attractions. Tickets for plays and musicals can fetch high prices and many actors have achieved stardom there. The long runs tend to be for musicals and lots of shows go on to national tours. Since around 1900, people have been making their names there. Conversely, Broadway flops are hard to recover from and some theatre critics can be brutal, holding the power to close down a production sometimes. The shows and plays have often been criticized for pandering to the masses, as opposed to more experimental offerings off-Broadway, but Broadway has had its share of critically acclaimed pieces too.

Reputations have been made in the theatres for composers such as Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin, who went on to represent everything that is good about American music. Playwrights like Eugene O'Neill and Neil Simon have fond memories of their Broadway New York productions. Recently, critics have been lamenting the lack of straight plays due to the dominance of musicals. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats was the longest running show and then his Phantom of the Opera took over. A recent hit has been Spamalot, a musical version of Monty Python's Holy Grail movie. Former Python Eric Idle put it together and premiered it on Broadway before moving it to London's West End. Ironically, a large part of its appeal is the way it satirizes the format of stage musicals. It shows that Broadway can poke fun at itself.

Many iconic shows have been staged over the years and some have launched the careers of actors and actresses. West Side Story, The King and I and South Pacific all debuted on Broadway New York and My Fair Lady also enjoyed a long run there. Yul Brynner was virtually unknown until he appeared as the King of Siam. Recent productions to hit the stage have included A Chorus Line, Beauty and the Beast, Chicago, Lion King, Mary Poppins and The Producers. The plot of The Producers involves deliberately putting on a potential flop in order to avoid paying tax. Alas, they have a big hit on their hands. Abba fans have been flocking to Mamma Mia that features all the group's hit songs.

What does the future hold for the theatre district? Musical theater is certainly enjoying a peak in popularity. They are expensive to produce and therefore, financially risky but the benefits of a hit on Broadway New York make it worthwhile. There is bound to be a lull at some point however, and perhaps plays can get more of a look in.