When people think of theatre, everyone’s minds immediately go to Broadway, the global capital for theatrical productions.
Known for its dazzling stages and exciting dance numbers, audiences from all over the world have spent hundreds of dollars to experience just one Broadway show in their lifetimes.
But, Broadway, and musical theatre all together, has slowly been shifting to appeal to a new generation of theatre-goers, which makes some wonder if this new shift in direction will lead to its downfall.
Musical theatre, as a genre, has always been very different from its contemporary counterparts that can be heard on the radio, such as pop, rap, and hip-hop, to name a few.
Musical theatre songs are made up of live recorded orchestras and singers who guide listeners through a story. Some of the most popular musicals such as Les Miserables, or Jesus Christ Superstar are rock operas, meaning they are entirely sung.
The lyrics are masterfully written, and the orchestras pound through the music, note after note, to deliver something that has never been heard before. But that rich and beautiful sound is hard to come by nowadays.
The latest musicals on Broadway, such as Bad Cinderella or Beetlejuice, lack the wonder that these older musicals brought. Many of the sounds are borrowed from pop music, giving an electronic sound, and making you wonder if there even was an orchestra present during the recording.
Overall, the new lyrics lack beauty and depth.
For example, the song “Revenge Party,” from Mean Girls the Musical features the lyrics, “Imagine a party with dresses and cake, and singing and dancing and cake.”
Those lyrics cannot even be compared to the masterful writing that came from older shows such as Into the Woods, where the song “No One is Alone,” had lyrics such as “Sometimes people leave you halfway through the wood, others may deceive you, you decide what’s good.”
Overall, these new musicals and their pop-like tunes have completely destroyed what musical theatre is truly about: telling compelling stories.
The biggest blow to Broadway’s rich history came with the sudden and unexpected announcement that the longest running show on Broadway, The Phantom of the Opera, will be closing in February 2023 after a 35 year run.
Meanwhile, new shows such as Mean Girls the Musical only stayed open for three years, which has become the standard for newer Broadway productions.
As Broadway seems to shift into a new world of pop tunes and sounds, current students studying musical theatre and vocal performance in college worry about how it will affect their futures.
Aidan Edwards, a first year student studying musical theatre at Wright University, had this to say about the new direction of Broadway, “From a training perspective, I’ve had to add heavy pop into my musical theatre rep. From an artistic perspective, I want to create new work and not just bring someone’s smash hit album or movie on to the stage… something that Broadway may not have again for years to come.”
The shift can best be seen as a classic Broadway show, The Music Man was recently revived, but critics slammed it for transforming the leading female role from a legit operatic sound to a more modern and belty sound.
As Broadway continues to gravitate towards a new audience, it is both exciting and nerve-wracking to see what its future holds.