Discover New York : Broadway makes its show

In 1866, Charles M. Barras, a New York impresario looking for a way to fill the 3,200 seats in his theatre, Niblo's Garden, had a genius idea. Learning that a troupe of French dancers who were to present a fairy-tale ballet were out of work because the theatre that was supposed to house them burned down, he decided to hire them to complete his Gothic melodrama. Thus was born The Black Crook, a grandiose show in the form of a melodrama, which tells the story of Rodolphe, a penniless artist, who falls into the hands of a swindler, a former master of black magic, blithely mixing theatrical intrigue, machines, song and dance. The innovation is total. The show will tour and run for over a year. The Black Crook will be covered eight times over the following decades. Many producers will follow him and offer, in their turn, shows that are increasingly excessive. The history of the American musical is in motion. If music is designed to entertain the greatest number, it is an art in its own right, with its history, its codes, its repertoire, its masterpieces and its actors. This clever mix of art and commerce, entertainment and reflection, comedy and tragedy, song and dance is increasingly popular with a growing audience.

01_Intersection de Broadway et Times Square © Andrey Bayda - Shutterstock.com.jpg

02_L'intérieur du New Amsterdam theatre © Pit Stock - Shutterstock.com.jpg

Broadway theaters

Broadway refers to a location in the theater district of Manhattan, New York. This neighbourhood extends around Times Square, between 35th and 50th Streets, on either side of the oldest and longest avenue, which runs diagonally across the city. The definition of a "Broadway Theater" is primarily based on its size, not whether it is located in a particular location or style of performance. It must be able to accommodate 500 people or more. There are about 40 theatres. Below that, it is called an "Off-Broadway Theater", and if it receives less than 100, it is an "Off-Off-Broadway Theater". Broadway theatres also pay performers and technical crews better, mainly because they can sell more seats. Their large stages allow for more elaborate productions, which means a larger audience, but also more expensive tickets. Beyond this perimeter, about 300 small theatres, installed in the most diverse premises (sheds, lofts, garages, churches), offer a repertoire alongside confirmed successes.

From the first steps..

In the United States, theatre took a long time to establish itself, as it was viewed with suspicion by the Puritan pioneers. The emphasis was first of all on entertaining, wordless numbers that were suitable for the greatest number of people. Variety, then, was more like a circus or a fair than a theatrical performance. Vaudeville, a variety expunged of its vulgarities, then minstrels shows, performances composed of songs, dances and sketches that featured a group of black musicians, played by black-faced white artists who mimicked the accent of plantation slaves, evolved the genre. These different forms contained the main ingredients of the musical in a scattered way: theatrical plot, song, dance, and farce. At the turn of the 20th century, new names appeared: Victor Herbert, who would swing his whole life between light and classical artistic proposals, George M. Cohan who would propose the unofficial anthem of the New York theatre district with "Give My Regards To Broadway" and then Florent Ziegfield, and his Ziegfield Follies with their fatal weapon the Ziegfeld Girls, the embodiment of beauty and carefree. Little by little, what is called the Musical Book was formed: all the individual practices (tap dancing, singing, dancing) are integrated into the dramatic plot. Several composers emerge thanks to the songs they write for magazines, such as Jerome Kern, George Gershwin or Cole Porter. For Broadway, 1927 was a pivotal year in a world where money was flowing in floods for the musical. That year, 8 new theatres were built and about 50 new shows were created (on the evening of December 26th, 11 premieres took place at the same time.) Despite the blossoming of talking pictures, the musical comedy genre held up very well in New York and continued to attract more and more curious people until it reached its golden age in the early 1950s. The first musical blockbuster is called Oklahoma! It has been performed more than 2,000 times in New York City and will return to Broadway in 2019.

... to the success of Broadway shows!

Broadway is a special world. Unbelievable stories took place there, embodying New York extravagances. So by the end of 2018, some fans were willing to pay the crazy sum of US$40,000 for a Springsteen on Broadway ticket as the artist completed his Broadway residency after 236 shows. An Irish woman who had waited four days on the sidewalk outside the Richard Rogers Theatre to buy tickets to see Hamilton, found out at the last minute that she was 20 dollars short, and a New York police officer offered her the missing dollars. And it is not uncommon to find aficionados in the queue to buy tickets, who have travelled thousands of miles just to get the precious sesame. Phantom of the Opera, still running in 2019, 33 years after its debut, still holds the record for the most performed musical on Broadway. Global revenues exceeded $5.6 billion and Broadway alone generated more than $845 million of this success. The oldest Broadway revival is Chicago, which has been performing ever since its creation in 1996.

How to choose your musical

There are dozens of shows on the bill, so choose carefully... And don't choose only according to a particular artist, because actors often change or don't always have the lead role. To find out what the biggest hits are, check out the results of the Tony Awards, the Oscars for Theatre plays. Don't be afraid not to understand the English lyrics: you don't need to be bilingual to follow the show, just taste the show and let yourself be transported for a few hours. The other solution is to select musicals based on films. Because revival is popular. With proven works, it allows for a lower investment and less risk-taking. Then choose your seat carefully and arrive at least 30 minutes early. You can also book your restaurant in advance too! Or choose to live American-style, and opt for a burger at 5pm. Once the show is over, or when your favourite actor has finished playing, try to approach the stage doors, to ask the artists before they leave and get their autographs.

If you opt for a very popular show, it is imperative to book in advance, otherwise you may not find a place on the day. It is always possible to buy your ticket directly at a TKTS stand, which offers very interesting and unbeatable prices. However, even if this solution is attractive in terms of prices, it is less practical because places are limited and demand is high. It is therefore advisable to go to a TKTS stand one hour before it opens. The Times Square stand is located under the famous red stairs in Father Duffy Square. Two other TKTS booths are located in South Street Seaport at the corner of Front Street and John Street and in Downtown Brooklyn at the corner of Jay Street and Myrtle Avenue Promenade.

The Richard Rodgers Theatre is packed every night to see the Hamilton show, which tells the story of the rise of Alexander Hamilton, an orphaned immigrant from the Caribbean who is followed from his childhood to his commitment to state independence and his appointment to the highest offices of state. In his early performances, Hamilton was often considered revolutionary because of his musical style, which, for the first time in the history of musical theatre, glimpsed (a little) into hip-hop. Winner of eleven Tony Awards, 2016 Pulitzer Prize for theatre and repeatedly cited by Hillary Clinton in her official speeches, the show is a huge success and the play is in great demand. A Hamilton application even exists to participate in a lottery that allocates seats. It is therefore imperative that you buy your ticket several months in advance of the chosen date or, failing that, wait for any cancellations in the queue in front of the theatre.

Since the 1980s, Walt Disney has invested in the Musical in which he exploits stories that have proven themselves on the big screen. The $20 million invested in The Lion King in 1997 quickly paid for itself. A Tony Award-winning musical, The Lion King is Broadway's best-known musical and is a perfect adaptation of Disney's film. The show lasts about 2 hours and 45 minutes and takes place at the Minskoff Theater. Another Disney proposition, the musical Aladdin offers you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of the Arabian Nights. If there are no parrots or talking monkeys on stage, the staging is sumptuous. It's up to you to guess how the magic carpet miraculously moves before your eyes... This show lasts 2 hours and 25 minutes and takes place at the New Amsterdam Theatre

Inspired by the novel by French writer Gaston Leroux, The Phantom of the Opera is Broadway's biggest hit. It tells the story of a masked man who lives in the basement of the Paris Opera. Alternating between intimate scenes and great spectacle, the universe proposed is unique. And you won't regret your first foray into the catacombs of the Paris Opera. This comedy lasts 2h30 and is performed at the Majestic Theater. The show Chicago tells the story of two women imprisoned for crimes of passion, which evolve between murder, corruption and show-biz. The musical received six Tony Awards, a Grammy and two Olivier Awards. It is presented at the Ambassador Theatre

If you would like to discover a more original show, discover Stomp, an acoustic choreographic and musical creation that uses everyday objects to transform them into percussion. The show is performed in a small room at the Orpheum Theatre. Even more striking is The Book of Mormon, the first musical comedy written by Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park , which has been playing since 2011, but has lost none of its gritty quality. The story of two Mormon missionaries, one serious and dedicated, the other clumsy and yet willing, who are sent to Uganda to convert citizens to the Mormon religion. When they arrive in Africa, they discover a community struggling with poverty, AIDS and violence. Winner of nine Tonys, including Best Musical in 2011, this hilarious musical has become a Broadway classic. The show is presented at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.

You can choose Pretty Woman: The Musical, one of the most popular Broadway shows right now with a great story that everyone knows, great acting, and music by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. Another King Kong proposition, with its innovative combination of robot and puppets and a soundtrack by Marius de Vries, a close collaborator of Björk, or Beetlejuice , based on Tim Burton's 1988 film with Alec Baldwin and Winona Ryder. Finally Moulin Rouge! The Musical, whose first shows started in July 2019 and which has no less than 70 hits, from the 1940s to today, including songs by Elton John, Sting, Katy Perry, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie or Bob Dylan.

Do you dance?

To go further in the discovery, push the door of musical theatre schools. The New York Film Academy offers short (1-4 weeks) dance and singing workshops, led by some of the artists performing on Broadway stages. The Broadway Dance Center is not just for seasoned dancers. This dance school, one of the largest in the world, also offers an initiation for beginners, in all styles, which will allow you to find yourself for a few hours in the shoes of a Broadway performer.