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The Statistics of Broadway.
Broadway is spectacular in all ways, even in its statistics. In 40 theatres, box offices collected almost $940 million worth of tickets in the 2007-2008 season. Just in ticket sales. For every ticket sold, a hotel room is occupied and many wonderful meals are consumed and paid for. It’s going to be a very similar story in 2009 and 2010. Broadway’s theater district encompasses the space from 41st Street to 53rd Street between 6th and 9th Avenues. Although known as Broadway, only 4 of the 40 theatres that are officially part of the theatre district are actually located on Broadway. Seven million tickets are sold every year to the more than 1500 shows produced on and Off-Broadway. If you want to get lost in a crowd, go to a show!And, as a result of the opportunities that abound for performers in New York; talented actors, singers and dancers flock here. And, as a result, directors and producers have their pick of talent from a huge pool, ensuring audiences the best performances on offer anywhere in the world.
The Broadway Shows You Don’t Want To Miss
In a city like New York, making choices about what live theater to see can be a near impossible task. Like most, your budget is probably limited and you only have a short while to spend in the theater during your stay in New York, so you have to plan accordingly. For a guaranteed night to remember, catch Wicked at the Gershwin Theater. Based on Gregory Maguire’s well-regarded novel about the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked has been universally well-received for its story and music since opening in 2003. For singing and dancing you can’t beat Billy Elliott at the Imperial Theater. Billy Elliott is an inspiring tale about a young boy who dreams of making it as a ballet dancer, against almost insurmountable odds. In the realm of straight plays (non-musicals) you can see Sienna Miller star in After Miss Julie at the American Airlines Theater. Patrick Marber bases his play on Miss Julie, a play by August Strindberg, taking audiences to the English countryside for a tale of sex and power. For something with a lighter tone, and an authentic New York appeal, Neil Simon can’t be beat. Simon’s very funny comedy Brighton Beach Memoirs plays at the Nederlander Theater.
Broadway Musical Theatre. A 250 Year New York City Tradition.
We know Broadway as the home of the most fantastic and extravagant musical theatre in the world. For 250 years, audiences in New York have been thrilled by the live theatre spectacle. The first recorded theatre to have been built in New York went up in 1750. But the New York theatre experience of today is quite different from that of old. In the beginning, a popular choice was a Shakespearian play, by the mid 19th century minstrel shows had a following. The 19th century New York stage experimented with a variety of entertainment forms; vaudeville, musical entertainment, operas and melodrama to name a few. In the late 19th century, imported European burlesque took the city by storm. While musical theatre has its origins in the 19th century, it was not until Show Boat was first produced in 1927 that the modern musical was born. Every element of the show ran together in a package where all the parts played into each other perfectly, instead of being formatted more like a disjointed variety show. Mid-town Manhattan is the home of the theatre district today, although at one stage most of the theatres in New York were downtown. The Broadway theatre district of today has been rooted in place since the 1920’s. Thanks to the openness of New York audiences and the unbounded creativity of the city’s performers in the 19th and 20th centuries, we are fortunate to have the spectacular theatre available to us on Broadway today.
While in New York Visit The Grandaddy of Broadway Theatres
There are 40 professional theatres on Broadway, but two stand above the rest in terms of longevity. The New Amsterdam Theatre and the Lyceum both opened for business in 1903, and only the Lyceum has operated under its original name the entire length of its history. And since that very first opening night the Lyceum, which you will find at 149 W 45th St, has been in perpetual operation. The Lyceum was built by producer Daniel Frohman, some of whose furnishings, such as his monogrammed desk dating from 1903, are still housed in the theatre. The Lyceum was built in the French Beaux-Arts style and maintains most of its original architecture including the undulating marquee that clearly distinguishes it from neighboring buildings. Basil Rathbone, Ethel Barrymore and Fanny Brice have been among the many famous names to tread the boards of the Lyceum. Many noteworthy plays have enjoyed successful productions at the Lyceum; The Importance of Being Earnest, A Taste of Honey, Look Back in Anger and I Am My Own Wife to name a few. To catch a show at the Lyceum you will have to wait until November 19th 2009 when playwright Sarah Ruhl has her first Broadway opening with her play, In The Next Room.
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Article Source: Fun Personality