need for broadway music airplay

[broadway]

broadway music should be played on the radio
the lyrics you hear on radio now are awful
you just hear sounds and beats
and same singing style
all sound alike

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Plenty of stations play showtunes if you hunt for them, and a lot have internet sites where you can "tune-in" with your computer. Do some Google-ing!

 

[fourstarbanner]

I think its interesting that more and more movies are coming out of Broadway shows. Rent just came out, and Hairspray will be here soon, and Sweeny Todd is being filmed in London.

The only problem is that advertisements for the movies don't tell audiences that they are musicals. They leave any trace of music out of commercials! What's up with that?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think there's an unfortunate sense on the part of producers and exhibitors that people don't want to see musicals -- it's the whole "conventional wisdom" thing that everyone in the business seems to believe but which isn't necessarily true. It surprises me, actually -- just this past year, "Dreamgirls" made a barrel of money, and you'd think there'd be interest in riding that bandwagon.

As far as show tunes on the radio go, I'm all for it. Maybe a good place to start is to check into your local low-power community station -- if they don't have someone already who'd be interested in adding such music to the playlist, you might be able to volunteer yourself!

 

[fourstarbanner]

I think there's an unfortunate sense on the part of producers and exhibitors that people don't want to see musicals -- it's the whole "conventional wisdom" thing that everyone in the business seems to believe but which isn't necessarily true. It surprises me, actually -- just this past year, "Dreamgirls" made a barrel of money, and you'd think there'd be interest in riding that bandwagon.

As far as show tunes on the radio go, I'm all for it. Maybe a good place to start is to check into your local low-power community station -- if they don't have someone already who'd be interested in adding such music to the playlist, you might be able to volunteer yourself!

I think Dreamgirls was ok, but I feel like it was successful in bringing in audiences due to Beyonce and Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson's voice. I don't think people knew it was a musical prior to being a movie.

 

[Dagwood]

I think there's an unfortunate sense on the part of producers and exhibitors that people don't want to see musicals -- it's the whole "conventional wisdom" thing that everyone in the business seems to believe but which isn't necessarily true.

I agree to the extent people don't want to see "modern" musicals. Broadway shows written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, etc. were uplifting, boy-gets-girl type of shows. Coupled with the fact that the songs were catchy, people flocked to them.

Modern musicals, by contrast, are often glum and want to explore "deep" issues. Even Wicked touches on prejudice. Although older Broadway shows often touched on deeper issues (South Pacific also addresses prejudice), the shows were still, in essence, boy-gets-girl.

If producers started making uplifting musicals once again, I think people would again flock to them.

 

[Senator Jack]

I was recently talking with an operatically trained Broadway actress and it seems the actors and directors have had enough of these 'jukebox' musicals as they call them. The producers, of course, haven't, as they rake in the tourist bucks. I recall reading a Times article as far back as the early 80s that said 'the standard' is dead. By now, it's a mouldering skeleton.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[broadway]

regarding broadway music

yes the actors and directors want to work on better shows
but the money people want
things that sound very commercial
they very rarely think of needing artistic things.
broadway is in a sad state.
even off-broadway is becoming quite commercial.
.

 

[dhermann1]

Part of the problem is that people can't sing anymore. There's a general idea that being able to sing is abnormal (like being able to do math). People just automatically go into a dissonant monotone, even when singing Happy Birthday. I think this is due to the lousy sound reproduction on TV's (maybe I'll get into that on another thread) and of course to Rock n Roll. Anyway, you know things are bad when 5th graders get miked for school plays!

 

[DeeDub]

XM Radio channel 28, On Broadway, plays show tunes. Not far from that, in frequency or subject, is channel 27, Cinemagic, playing movie soundtracks.

 

[broadway]

no good broadway singers around?

older broadway type singers can still sing but the shows being produced do not have parts for them. parts like in the wonderful shows of the past which did not rely on sound and mikes. i think technology ruined it for broadway.

 

[John in Covina]

The only problem is that advertisements for the movies don't tell audiences that they are musicals. They leave any trace of music out of commercials! What's up with that?

Hollywood has a skewed sense of what the public wants. They produce a fair number of films each year that the public doesn't like because of it's subject matter or perspective of the film. These are the "about artists, by artists, for artists" films that are seperated from the viewers because it wasn't made for them, it receives critical aclaim and no one sees it. Plus it is used as an example to re-enforce their ideas of what the public wants, crude with explosions only. Next the concept of demographics comes in where the idea that a film is for teens and twentysomethings, current HW thought is this audience could not stand to sit thru "some corny musical" because of the times we are living in today. A film needs action, explosions, bathroom humor and crude ghetto language which is tough to reconcil with musicals.

Much of what comes out today is flash over substance where the story, character developement, and visual sweep are substituted by MTV like soundbites. Most of today's film makers cannot conceive of making a film like The Godfather, Lawrence of Arabia, Breakfast at Tiffany's, or A Streetcar Named Desire because they think it would not sell. Remarkably about once a year or every couple of years we get a strong film with great scope and story that usually does really well at the box office. Maybe they just cost too much money and these projects are hard to get backing to produce?

I think that modern musicals are all in the kid's genre now and are succesful it that section because kids aren't jaded yet.