PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE: "2009 was a thermometer-bursting year for West End theater.
Despite the world economic crisis, the West End set a record with a yearly gross of £504,765,690 or approximately $786,134,270, which is a 7.6% increase (!) from the previous year.
But that's not what's got me curious/burning with envy."
3 comments:
I definitely think it could be partly that the West End is now the "testing ground" for Broadway. Broadway's budget is so tight they're scared to try anything new, so the West End is opening all the new productions. They also get all that hyped revenue.
I guess once the shows transfer to America the hype has already died down a little bit. Though obviously this is only one small factor probably among many. I've never been to the West End and I have no idea how they work, but I'm sure good marketing helps quite a bit. And a few celebrities can do quite a bit for marketing.
Europe has always had a greater appreciation for the arts, or so it seems. Maybe its just the stereotype, but I would assume that that would generate a greater audience for theater. More and more, people are rely on movies and television to see theater, and as producers realize that, they keep bringing movie stars to take leads in Broadway shows. However, it never seems to transfer well, and shows simply are not good quality anymore.
Another reason theater might be getting greater turn outs in West end is the television culture that we have going in the United States. If New York and Broadway are our theater capital then LA and Hollywood make up the competing capital of film and TV. Brittan has it's own television and film for sure but the American input into production for the screen is much more massive. Maybe part of the reason our theater attendance is down is that our time, energy, and advertising all direct our public to the movie theater or their television sets rather then the stage.
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