Entertainment | Music
Broadway broadens horizons
A slew of new musicals has managed to grab the attention of the younger generation and expand theatre's following
- By Josh Getlin, Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service
- Published: 00:07 June 27, 2008
There are telltale moments when Lin-Manuel Miranda, the star and creator of In the Heights, knows who is in the audience to see his new musical about Hispanics in Upper Manhattan: Whenever he mentions the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico in a rap song, or watches cast members unfurl the Mexican flag, ecstatic cheers ring out.
Similar moments occur for Stew (real name, Mark Stewart) , who wrote and performs in Passing Strange, the new musical about a black child from Los Angeles and his quest for artistic identity in Amsterdam and Berlin.
At key points, large blocks of the audience — often blacks and young people — rise to their feet singing, as though they are in church or at a rock concert.
Has Broadway finally found the younger, more ethnically diverse audience it has been seeking for years?
Their creators offered similar explanations for the new faces they are seeing in the audience.
“I wanted to put on a show that looked like the world I grew up in,'' Miranda said. Meanwhile, Passing Strange, Stew said, draws new patrons “because we encourage people to participate. It's like we've given them their own voice in the theatre.''
In a season when blockbuster musicals such as Young Frankenstein and The Little Mermaid were dismissed by critics, the remarkable success of In the Heights (13 Tony nominations) and Passing Strange (seven nominations) suggests the quest for new audiences is gaining momentum.
Although other musicals and plays this season catered to older, more traditional crowds, Miranda and Stew's shows are carrying on a creative — and financial — quest for new audiences that began 12 years ago with Rent and continued with The Color Purple, Wicked, Legally Blonde, Spring Awakening and Avenue Q, A Raisin in the Sun and this year's all-black Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
“Broadway at its best should reflect every aspect of America,'' said Kevin McCollum, who produced In the Heights as well as Rent and Avenue Q. “So it's crucial that we get new people into the seats. Ideally, there should be something for everybody to see.''
The stakes are high: Many believe the Great White Way will lose its cultural relevance unless it taps into a new and younger customer base to replace its ageing clientele. But that is easier said than done.
While producers have sponsored discount pricing programmes, $120 tickets remain the norm for most shows. Promoters also face a cultural obstacle because they are trying to reach a generation that did not grow up going to the theatre.
So far, In the Heights has built an audience with radio, TV and newspaper advertisements, video marketing and word of mouth; its gross sales filled 81.9 per cent of the house recently, according to industry statistics.
But Passing Strange has struggled, drawing only 50.8 per cent, despite a TV and radio campaign and saturation advertisements on city buses.
Broadway's biggest boosters say they have made impressive strides in attracting new audiences. A study by the League of American Theatres and Producers found that 26 per cent of all tickets sold in the 2006-07 season were purchased by non-Caucasians, a record number and a 13 per cent jump from the previous year.
Much of the increased business was sparked by The Color Purple, whose cast included American Idol winner Fantasia; 110 in the Shade, which featured Audra McDonald; and other shows, said Charlotte St Martin, the league's executive director.
As for younger audiences, the percentage of patrons under 24 rose to 22 per cent, compared with 20.4 per cent the previous year.
“We've never been so diverse in the number of shows out there for kids, preteens and people in their twenties,'' said St Martin. “None of this is happening by accident. People made it clear they want these kinds of choices.''
And producers, of course, want to make money. The growth in the youngest slice of the Broadway audience is largely attributable to Disney's box-office success with shows such as The Lion King and Mary Poppins.
But staging new, less familiar shows for slightly older audiences can be creatively and financially risky.
Miranda, a 28-year-old theatre buff, began writing his musical as a student at Wesleyan. He was keenly aware that the last hit musical to portray Hispanics on Broadway, West Side Story, was dark and violent.
His upbeat, family-friendly show offers a radically different view of the Hispanic community, focusing on a Washington Heights neighbourhood facing change and gentrification.
Fuelled by pulsing Latin and hip hop rhythms, it is a feel-good hymn to family, roots and ethnic pride, filled with ordinary people who are grappling with issues of home and identity.
Several critics have compared the visually stunning show to Fiddler on the Roof.
“I had to come see it,'' said Maria Gonsalves, a young woman who has lived most of her life in Washington Heights and was waiting in line at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
“When someone puts on a show about your world, with people like you, you'll go see it.''If Miranda had visions of Broadway success, Stew seems shocked he is performing every night on West 44th Street.
The 46-year-old singer created a show with his partner, Heidi Rodewald, that blends high-voltage rock with performance art and cabaret.
Variety called it “boldly atypical Broadway fare that pulses with a new vitality''. The Wall Street Journal dubbed it “the freshest musical in town ... engaging and unpretentious''.
Passing Strange snared honours for best new musical from the New York Drama Critics' Circle, the Drama Desk Awards and the Obie Awards.
But the irony, mused director Annie Dorsen, is that it is hard to describe the unorthodox production in just one or two punchy sentences.
With its focus on race and artistic identity, and its hard-rock jams, it is a miracle the show reached Broadway, she said.
“Although our producers might hate me for saying it, they feel there are some good reasons to have taken a risk on Passing Strange, even if it ends up losing money,'' Dorsen said. “Everyone believes the show can be profitable.
But there was a little missionary zeal involved. They were bringing a piece to Broadway that could have some real cultural impact.''
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