MarilynMonroeSmash said: "I think a lot of it comes down to people's ingrained thoughts of basically racism. Producers see a show that is utterly fantastic and probably better then most shows on Broadway that is written by a black playwright or lyricist or composer. They are approached about transferring it, but for some reason in their mind they think "this won't work because it's a show for a black audience and Broadway is a mostlywhite audience." I've see
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Sure –– it's a vicious cycle, especiallywhen you have largely white wealthy people over 40 as the core audience (75% white, 65% female), the Lead Producers, the theatre owners, and the Tony voters, which all dictate the type of work that gets produced on Broadway. More diverse Lead Producers(positions that require access to money and industry connections) presenting acclaimed work by artists of color couldbring higher attendance rates fr
HeyMrMusic said: "I’ll also say that many producers take risks with shows like Fun Home, What the Constitution Means to Me, the Oklahoma revival, even works by playwrights like Lucas Hnath and directors like Ivo van Hove. They all have the potential to not be financially successful, so it’s not just about “money talks.” People need to take more “risks” with the countless other shows being created by “others.” Maybe even works created by
Back to the original question: How many musicals by a Black playwright who wrote the book, music and/or lyrics has been produced on Broadway in the last 10 years?
We are now including jukebox musicals, but let's separate them on the list.
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Money talks.Like anything that sets a trend in this industry,the shows must be profitable.
If a show comes to Broadway and bombs, that contributesto the lack of confidence. Plenty of producers and theatre owners have turned down shows on the basis of "Passing Strange,Fela, Once On This Island,Caroline Or Change, Holler If Ya Hear Me, Chinglish, Sweat,Eclipsed, Stick Fly, Porgy and Bess, andAfter Mid
cjmclaughlin10 said: "darquegk said: "Do people of color WANT to write musicals? I’ve talked to at least two who feel uncomfortable with the historical baggage and commercialism of the genre; this may be why the fields of spoken word poetry and solo shows are often dominated by performers of color speaking truth."
That explains why they have have such a hard time getting commercial productions, they just don’t want them so they tu
darquegk said: "Do people of color WANT to write musicals? I’ve talked to at least two who feel uncomfortable with the historical baggage and commercialism of the genre; this may be why the fields of spoken word poetry and solo shows are often dominated by performers of color speaking truth."
Gorl... What kind of question is this...? Of course they do. Ch...
Like I said above, plenty of musicals by people of color are being produced off-off and off
HeyMrMusic said: "Besides Lin-Manuel Miranda, there are hardly any writers or composers of color on Broadway, period. It’s also an issue across the board in basically every department in theatre. It’s definitely a huge problem."
Right, but for me the problem comes from the work being produced regularly off Broadway but not transferring. It would be very different if we simply were not making things.
I'm looking for BROADWAY productions from the last decade with original book, music, and lyrics. The entire team doesn't have to be Black and I would argue that jukebox musicals don't count, but let's throw them in the mix since the pickings are looking so slim...
So now we can include 'Ain't Too Proud' and 'Shuffle' alongside 'Color Purple'.
Black people are writing original musicals, the proof is off and off-off Broadway (
ren598 said: "Just curious what they had in terms of merch? Similar to what they had in London?"
They are truly selling everything you could want or imagine. Shirts, keychains, souvenir books, cast recordings, tote bags... Biggest merch booth I’ve ever seen.
Whatever they had in London, I’m sure they have that and more.
I personally think it will complete the run through Sept. 8, but beyond that I doubt it.
Down to One Aug 3
2019, 01:21:19 AM
Also, Lena is totally unrecognizable in that wig. I was wondering if it was her or not for the longest. lol
Down to One Aug 3
2019, 01:16:00 AM
Saw this tonight. This first act is rough. Lots of folks seemed disappointed. But the second act pays off...a little.
Lots and lots of effects, but after reading what was going on in the London show, it seems like they don’t compare. No elevators, no cars falling in pits, no exploding motorcycles. There was mostly just a lot of smoke, loud sounds, an interesting video thing and confetti.
During the car scene, a set piece — a gold streamer curtain — broke and fell on Lena. lol <
AEA AGMA SM said: "Valentina3 said: "Agh so many great possibilities. I won't even be in town but would love to see Brian D'Arcy James play the part."
Statements like this are why I'm glad many posters here do not work in casting. There is no world where a 51 year old actor is remotely appropriate for Seymour."
After Eight said: "“I think because it’s Sondheim people are falling for the hype.“
Well, they're the ones who've helped create and perpetuate the hype down through the years.
It's simply a bad show, and had it been written by anyone other than Sondheim, it would probably never have even been presented on a stage, much less be revised and revived multiple times."
Kad said: "OffOnBwayHi said: "ljay889 said: "......and Encores! Isn’t meant for works in progress. It’s been doing completed musicals since the beginning. You should know what you’re getting into it. If you didn’t want to pay a lot, there were plenty of $25 seats available. "
I know both of thosethings; I knew what I was getting into, just never experienced it.ALLseats should be $25 (honestly, free for this) and readings
Jordan Catalano said: "And I wanted to say that in theory the radio show concept could have worked but it was such a half-baked idea it was never clear as to that’s what it was. I understand the reasoning behind it but for me, it was just a total waste. And when the director said today how it was meant to all just fade away as the performance went on, I took that as a total cop out that it just didn’t work and was basically forgotten about halfway through. "
ljay889 said: "......and Encores! Isn’t meant for works in progress. It’s been doing completed musicals since the beginning. You should know what you’re getting into it. If you didn’t want to pay a lot, there were plenty of $25 seats available. "
I know both of those things; I knew what I was getting into, just never experienced it. ALL seats should be $25 (honestly, free for this) and readings of completed, already produced
