Shubert Ticketing Blog: Is there a Broadway audience that sees new plays and new musicals, or is the new musical buyer different than the new play buyer?
While the fall season was good for many of the 11 commercial shows that opened, it was not good to all shows. It has been suggested by some that the Broadway audience was no longer supporting new musicals. For those who think the sky is falling (and those who just like information) we did a little research.
2 comments:
Musicals and plays are very different. The obvious reason is that musicals involve the characters singing and dancing, and rely on this as a primary storytelling device. Where as plays tends to be very traditional solely on acting. There are many reasons why someone would be more interested in seeing a musical over a play. Another thing that musicals tend to have going for them that does do not is that they are big a flashy. Broadway musicals today are constantly automating scenery, using crazy fancy lights, and a whole variety of special effects that you can’t simply believe could ever happen on stage. I know plenty of people go to see shows just based off of how technical the production is. In my eyes, there really is no difference between a play and a musical. Both are ultimately telling a story on stage, and for some the best way of telling the story is though song and dance. Jason
People often have a preference, musicals or plays. Musicals seem more exciting because there is a lot of singing and dancing with big numbers. Big numbers with catchy music and flashy lights and big sets interest a wider variety of people. Plays may not seem that exciting, but many of them have very interesting and good stories. Plays often attract a different crowd that like a more sophisticated theatre experience. There is an overlap in people that are interested in both plays and musicals. I personally like musicals more than plays because I am a big fan of music. Plays and musicals are both equally important in the theatre world because they both tell stories and each one has a different message. New musicals and plays can be risky because no one can really predict how a large audience will react to it and how ticket sales will be. Even though new plays seemed a little more popular this season, that does not mean it will not change in the future. It all depends on the particular shows in the season.
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