pgmusicals

// Using as source material the videos linked to the wiki schedule page illustrating musical theatre, the dvd seen in class covering the development and making of Taboo, Caroline, or Change, Wicked, and Avenue Q, as well as The Fantasticks, speculate on aspects of the shows presented that appear to have led to their success and/or failure in the periods in which they were developed. In other words, why have some shows succeeded while others have failed, during the period when they were created? //

The success or failure of a musical on Broadway depends on a delicate recipe consisting of the right timing, target audience, subject matter, music, the Tony awards, and, of coarse, play reviews. There is also the element that is harder to define; something that is both simple and relates to audience in a way that is rare, that keeps people coming year after year. An example to support this hypothesis is the musical, //Wicked//, which, in comparison to its competition, has survived and thrived on Broadway for almost a decade this fall. Shows like //Taboo//, //Caroline or Change//, while artistic and well-done in their own way, simply did not have the ability to sustain an audience the way that //Wicked// has for several reasons, including, an overconfidence in their target audience, an outdated subject matter, and music that was not as iconic or romantic. //Avenue Q// possessed many qualities of both a successful Broadway musical and factors that were problematic; however, it was propelled by winning at the Tony’s.

One of the most important aspects to the success (financial and otherwise) of a musical is considering the target audience. //Wicked//’s genius is that it tapped in to one of the most lucrative and reliable target audiences, the family with children. In particular, girls responded very positively to Galinda and the Wicked Witch of the West played by Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel respectively. In the DVD, Menzel showed that she had been sent many letters and drawings done by younger girls saying how much they loved her character. Likewise, girls were encouraged to dress-up for the play, an added promotional ploy to target the children. This powerful example demonstrates how aspects of the play appealed to little girls, which prompts entire families to come see the play and is a strong factor in the success of //Wicked//. On the contrary, the show //Tabboo//, which clearly had a cult following, did not have a large enough target audience. Based on the Club culture and life of Boy George, the subject matter was, just as the title suggested, taboo. The target audience, therefore, largely excluded families and was counting on other demographics to fall in love with the show. While many of their followers were very loyal to the show—one girls said she had seen it 15 times on closing night and it was only open for a couple months—the demographic that the producers of //Taboo// were counting on did not show up in large enough numbers.

Having a strong target audience in mind is not everything, however, and a play can gather momentum in a number of different ways. In the DVD, the major critique of //Avenue Q//, even before it debuted, was that it did not have a strong enough target audience. The masterminds of //Avenue Q,// Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, conceived of the play as targeting the generation that grew up with Sesame Street—those in their 20’s and early 30’s. As was pointed out by the table of reviewers in the DVD, those don’t come to the theatre like they once did. This musical, however, was the big winner at The Tony Awards, taking Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Book Writing. Winning at the Tony’s was a major factor in gaining notoriety and credibility for //Avenue Q//, which survived on Broadway until 2009 and turned out to be lucrative for investors. This play beat the odds because it was extremely well written, scored, and directed and captured the prize that all of its competition was vying for.

Although the musical, //Caroline or Change// was nominated for 6 Tony awards, the production only lasted 3 months and was largely considered a failure because it failed to tap into a relatable theme for New York audiences. Based on the experiences of the playwright Tony Kushner, the play is set in Louisiana and concentrates on the life of a maid for a Jewish family, and is set in the civil rights movement. In this case, the media lauded the musical performance (particularly of Tonya Pinkins who went on to win Best Performance by a Female Actor) and the show came out to mixed reviews. While it is hard to say why this musical did not attract a substantial audience, there are a number of reasons that it could have been including an outdated story, a subject that people did not want to pay to see, or that the music was not catchy enough. Ultimately, the musical was very contrasting to the two more successful musicals, //Wicked// and //Avenue Q//, in that it had a more dreary and sad tone—another possible reason for its failure. For example, the longest running musical of all time—The Fantasticks—has a distinctly whimsical and romantic quality to the story and music, something that //Caroline, or Change// does not have. Thus, audiences might be more attracted to musicals that are happy and romantic and not about the struggles of life.

Another insight into the success of a musical is through examining Julie Taymor’s //The Lion King,// which has achieved remarkable success and recognition throughout the world and shares some characteristics that make //Wicked// as successful as it is. First, both these productions appeal to families and envolve the reimagining of familiar stories to the theatre. //The Lion King//, takes the familiarity of the songs and story of the original Disney movie and morphs it into a spectacular and cohesive theatre experience. Likewise, //Wicked// is inspired by the famous characters from //The Wizard of Oz// and, while telling the less familiar story of the witch sister, is ultimately based on something that is extremely prevelant in popular culture. This is the genius of these two musicals: they take what is already very popular and adapt it to the stage—in impressive fashion, nonetheless. While they don’t get as many points for originality, the shows pull at an already existing thread of popularity in the entertainment landscape.