Later, the British cabaret came to the United States with touring troupes, and in 1866, New York staged a play that synthesized the characteristics of comedy, farce, and ballet, Black Hook, which caused a great sensation, was performed continuously for 25 years, and was recognized by posterity as the first musical comedy ever to truly break away from the operatic mode. It was this play that not only drove the creative momentum of local American playwrights and actors, but also laid the foundation for what is now commonly known as the "Broadway Musical". The musical comedy is the official name of the Broadway musical, which is not a comedy in the usual sense, but sometimes has a plot that resembles a tragedy.
Broadway was just an ordinary road in the early days of New York City, inhabited by a few settlers who ran farms and ran livestock-related businesses, and in the early 19th century some theater practitioners who had been working in other parts of New York gradually moved into the area. The Park Theater, established in 1810, was the first theater to appear on Broadway. The Broadway Opera House, which really made Broadway Avenue famous, was the former Metropolitan Recital Hall, which was poorly run and turned into a casino, roller skating rink, and exhibition hall until 1887, when it was converted into the current Broadway Theatre. Following the Broadway Theatre, several other famous theaters such as the American Theatre, the Olympia Theatre, etc., also appeared. 1940s and 1950s Broadway musicals reached its peak, but with the end of the Second World War, the new post-war generation had new values, the development of their own love of rock 'n' roll music, Broadway due to the inability to attract young viewers, and gradually declined. It wasn't until the 1970s that some of the new generation of writers brought rock 'n' roll and some new concepts to Broadway, which gave the historic Broadway a second springtime, creating world-famous shows such as Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables and Miss Saigon.
Now, there are dozens of plays staged on Broadway, and the plays that are staged there are often performed for seven or eight years, or even more than a decade. And throughout the Broadway region, the box office grosses about $1.2 billion a year. Each ticket, by American income standards, is not expensive, with the average audience member able to buy a well-placed ticket for $40, and the best seat tickets selling for $100 to $150, or even less if they go to the box office located in Times Square to buy the day's remaining tickets.
Theaters and productions mirror each other
A theater is known for running a particular play, such as "Miss Saigon" at the Broadway Theatre and "Beauty and the Beast" at the New Amsterdam Theatre.
The business and operation of Broadway musical performances is very distinctive, that is, the mapping relationship between the theater and the show is very obvious, a theater is known for operating a particular show, this method of operation is actually due to the complexity of the production of the musical itself stage, lighting, etc., the fixed props and scenery in addition to the tour, generally will not be moved to other theaters to use, but, thus, it also creates a very unique mode of operation of Broadway musicals. The most traditional Broadway musicals include Les Miserables, Cats, Miss Saigon, and Phantom of the Opera.
"Les Misérables" was originally a long novel by French writer Victor Hugo. In 1985, the English version of the musical "Les Misérables" was brought to the London stage by Mackintosh Productions (with music by Schoenberg), and was staged on Broadway in New York City two years later, thus beginning its course of becoming popular around the world. One of the most iconic numbers in the show is "People Going Out of Their Minds".
Les Miserables has been staged continuously for 16 years and has spawned 17 performances around the world, earning close to 1.8 billion dollars at the global box office.
Les Miserables was performed at the Shanghai Grand Theatre in the summer of 2002, causing a sensation.
"Cats" was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1977, based on the work of the famous poet Thomas Eliot, and the work was completed intermittently until 1981. The premiere caused a huge sensation and more than 65 million people have since seen Cats around the world. It has been performed in 14 languages, in more than 40 versions, in nearly 300 theaters and in more than 150 cities around the world. It ran for 18 years, from October 1982 to June 2000, and 1997 statistics show that Cats brought money to New York City with the tagline "Now and Forever". The show ran for 7,397 performances, sold 30 million tickets, generated $380 million in box office receipts, and drove $3 billion in economic growth for related industries (restaurants, bars, giftware, etc.) in nearby communities.
"Miss Saigon" story took place in the Vietnam War, about an American soldier and infatuation of Vietnamese dancers love story. 1989 "Miss Saigon" premiered in London, April 11, 1991 "Miss Saigon" in the United States of America in New York's Broadway Opera House public performances, the show that year that was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical. To January 20, 2001 the show officially ended performances, a **** performed 4092 shows.
The Phantom of the Opera is Andrew Lloyd Webber's most successful musical, which premiered in London in 1986. To date there have been 16 productions worldwide. It has been performed in more than 20 countries and has enjoyed seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and three Olivier Drama Awards. 2004 saw a successful production of The Phantom of the Opera at the Shanghai Grand Theater.
Ticketing and Program Organization
The Broadway Theatre District has three levels of ticket prices. Typical first-tier tickets range from $30 to $75 each; second-tier tickets are between $20 and $45 each; and third-tier are under $15. The Broadway Theater District also offers discount coupons for some hotels, universities or certain organizations, such as "buy one get one free" discount coupons, which count as one ticket for the price of two at a time.
The Broadway Theatre District sells tickets in a variety of ways, including directly at the box office of each theater, or by phone or credit card from the Broadway Theatre District's online ticketing center. Tickets are mailed to patrons at the box office, or patrons can pick them up themselves. In terms of total volume, the majority of tickets are still sold at theater box offices. But at the same time, the Internet is becoming an increasingly important means of purchasing tickets. Currently, Internet ticketing accounts for 14.1% of all ticket sales, compared to less than 1% five years ago. Meanwhile, the ticketing center also prepares other services such as show brochures and trailers for the audience to choose from easily.
The programs that attract audiences to Broadway are also varied, such as:
Sightseeing Tours. This tour opens up the 15 different theaters in the Broadway Theater District to visitors, and backstage at two of the theaters is also freely accessible to tourists. Visitors can see the rehearsal process for some shows and other behind-the-scenes stories. Each tour lasts two hours and costs $25 per visit.
Free concerts. Each year, the League organizes free outdoor concerts with theaters in the Broadway Theatre District, such as Broadway on the Trail in the spring, Broadway on Broadway on the first Sunday morning in September, and Starlight in June. Broadway Under the Stars" in June.
Awards for the Arts. Each year, the Alliance presents awards to Broadway Theatre District theaters and their performing companies for their contributions to the artistic excellence of the Broadway Theatre District during the year. The Broadway Touring Award, which honors the best touring show of the year, and the Tony Awards, the highest honor in the theatre world, have become the most recognized and prestigious awards in the theatre community.
Broadway's Kids' Night Out. Children and young adults between the ages of 6 and 18 can attend any show playing in the Broadway theater district for free. Meanwhile participants can experience how a Broadway musical works backstage. In addition, parents with children will be able to take advantage of a range of corresponding discounted services, including dining and parking. The purpose of this regular annual event is to guide more young people into the wonderful world of the theater and make the Broadway Theater District and Broadway musicals more accessible to the younger generation.
Agencies rising fast
Studies show that the musical theater industry is a mainstay in Manhattan and that the middle class is the mainstay of musical theater consumption.
Introducing Broadway's different performing arts entertainment products to different markets around the world is Broadway Asia Entertainment, who primarily capitalizes on the differences between the European and American performing arts markets and the Asian performing arts market. When only a few years, its main business markets in China, Hong Kong, China, Macau, China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries and regions, Board Chairman MarcRouth is not proud to say: "We are completely commercial operations."
Commercialized talent portfolio mechanism. Performing arts and entertainment industry belongs to the creative field, thus, in the field of performing arts and entertainment industry, talent has a decisive role. Broadway Asia Entertainment, starting from the talent, according to the relative lock of the Asian market's consumption ability, taste, to performing arts entertainment projects, transnational integration of performing arts groups, management, directors, actors and other talents, and then take advantage of the relatively broad market space, from the scale of the operation to obtain lucrative profits.
Breaking through brokerage, planning and production. Broadway Asia Entertainment, originally only engaged in the performance brokerage business, low-cost underwriting relatively independent existence of the performance market, organizations, works and talent, will be introduced to a region of the performing arts and entertainment projects to another region. Over time, the company has gradually added a program planning component, taking the initiative to research potential markets, identify new needs, and plan unique and creative performances. The company was the first to successfully introduce The Sound of Music to China a few years ago, and is now planning to make a Chinese version of The Sound of Music for China. It has developed from merely buying and promoting copyrights to creating and owning its own copyrights and selling its own copyrights. The company has in fact taken possession of the lowest-cost, highest-value-added terminal in the performing arts and entertainment industry chain, which is perhaps the core mystery of the company's rapid rise.
Successful operation brings high return on capital. The successful operation of Broadway Asia Entertainment has brought investors a high rate of return of 35%. In the U.S., the success of financing is largely based on the rate of return. High rate of return for the company formed a more fixed financing customers, new social financing projects are also easier to carry out. Not only U.S. companies, but also many Asian companies have taken the initiative to work with them, launching the brands and products of these companies while they perform their musicals.
Musicals are highly driven industries. The company was recently doing a study to prove that the musical theater industry is a pillar industry in Manhattan. From the study, it was found that the musical industry drives tourism, restaurants, shopping, transportation and other industries, that the middle class is the main consumer of musicals, and that 60 percent of Manhattan's tourists are associated with going to Broadway to see a show. Simone Genatt, one of the company's founders, said bluntly that Shanghai is very similar to Manhattan and can become a musical theater destination in the future, and the development of musicals in Shanghai will also have a huge impact on Shanghai's tourism industry.