u/ProfessorPinkPug

Source material for new musicals has always been pretty impressively varied, from Ancient Greece and Rome, Shakespeare, pop and rock music, literary classics, biographies, and of course, brand new ideas. I think Hadestown speaks very strongly to the notion that even seemingly-stuffy or offputting content can be made to soar musically.

If it were possible, what play or movie would you like to see transformed into a musical?

I've always thought Angels in America is one of the most brilliant plays ever written, and like Ragtime, resonates incredibly with our world 30+ years later. Its very theatrical moments like the Angel's visit and other fantasy elements lend themselves so well to musical theatre, not to mention the sheer scope of the play. It would be, admittedly, a tall order, one which probably no one could write except Kushner himself with Joe Mantello directing. But Kushner rewrote West Side Story for Spielberg, and Mantello directed Wicked! I think Iike to see Adam Guettel's ideas for the music.

One can dream! What would be your dream?

I learned from another Redditor that in Merrily We Roll Along, Joe Josephson's little spiel saying Frank and Charley's tunes needed to be more "hummable" is in response to what critics had said about his prior shows.

I hum or "la-la" even operatic pieces like "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" (which I'm definitely not capable of singing properly), or songs with longlong sustained notes like "Johanna," or slowly-building songs like "Sunday," and even orchestral parts, so I don't get it.

Are there truly Sondheim songs that aren't "hummable"? If you can think of one, will you please explain why it's "unhummable" to me as if I were 5 years old?

Musical Theatre Trivia Chain Letter!

For those too young to know, a chain letter was essentially a handwritten version of what forwarding a FB message to 40 of your closest friends is today. There's a twist to this, though. The message changes each time it's passed on--and each new message is a question!

The idea is to come up with the best, most interesting piece of musical theatre trivia you can think of, that regular theatre nerds could know. Not too easy or too hard.

I'll start, and when someone responds correctly, s/he/they then come up with a new question for everyone to consider. Number your question so it's easy to find if there are more than one going on at the same time. If the answer and new question are good, upvote it!

Even if some folks go to AI for answers, it'll still be interesting for those following to enjoy the questions and learn some things we may not know!

Everyone has different niches of expertise and perspective, making the possibilities for questions pretty endless. The feeling of discovery, "Gee, I didn't know that!" makes me smile all over!

I'm going to post the first question, but it's up to you experts to determine whether an answer is correct or not! Lol. I'll be a referee if needed, but not a judge!

QUESTION #1: Name 2 musical theatre composers from 2 different decades who died before turning 50?

I've had two upright pianos in my life that were perfect for banging out the Scott Joplin rags I discovered in the movie The Sting. My first was a gorgeous mahogany I refinished that had the cool/less common middle practice pedal. My second piano had been converted back from being a player/piano-roll upright to a regular piano, while retaining several signs of its past, including the treadle cabinet and sliding upper doors. And I've been curious about player pianos ever since.

The Aeolian console piano at the Tony's in "Ragtime" was a marvelous thing to behold. I've watched its appearance a dozen times and marvel at its beauty. But I can't get my eye off the pedals. There's no sign of a fold-down door for treadles that would indicate use as a player piano--nor do I even know if consoles provided enough room for all of the equipment needed--but it only has the same two pointed regular-use pedals that mine has.

I've always been under the assumption that while regular pianos have 3 pedals, players would have 2 or 3, perhaps 2 if was no room with the mechanism to allow for it? Could that beautiful Aolian console have been a player piano at one time?

I thought I saw a suggestion in a thread to start a thread to honor those we lost this year in a new sub, where any memories, special moments they gave you, etc could be posted. It's been nagging at me that I should try to thank and honor one, but I don't want mine to stick out if there aren't a bunch of other contributors.

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In Memorium tributes?

There's an important update to this thread, and I can't change the title. I was advised to re-post as an update. I've also added it to the top of the OP:

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"OMG Update! I literally just stumbled across news about the Imperial. I knew a restoration/renovation was imminent, but am stunned to discover that the Shuberts DID buy the adjacent property mentioned in an earlier post and are apparently expanding the theatre into it.

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This directly affects the issue of new theatres. In anyone else's hands that parcel could have been turned into a new theatre, but the Shuberts were federally stopped from owning any more Broadway theatres around 1986 for violating anti-trust laws to prevent monopolies. The order was eased somewhat around the turn of the century, but they are under supervision and must obtain approval for any new acquisitions.

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This means Shubert deliberately prevented Nederlander and AKG from adding competition, while finding a way to profit themselves without violating their anti-monopoly order. The one-in-a-million chance for a new theatre... Just Wow. Just Ruthless."

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There were 100 theatres built between 1900 and 1930. There have been only 10 in nearly a century since. This season all 40 of Broadway's theatres were in use, and predictions for next season are so numerous that it's hard to believe there will be room to schedule all of them.

But this is not an easy problem to solve. There are only 2 ways to add a Broadway theatre to the Great White Way: 1) Restore one of the 6 Broadway-designated theatres from its current repurposing; this could be tricky for the Shuberts to do, as they are under federal supervision to prevent a monopoly.

2. Provide enough financial incentives for a developer within the Times Square Theatre District to include a theatre in a new skyscraper--which must be a tall order if Nederlander settled for cash instead of a theatre for his air rights to a 7th Avenue building.

How would you try to create another Broadway theatre? It's a complex challenge that I've been mulling over for 20 years. Can you come up with a solution, given these parameters?

Here are "the rules," the restrictions and conditions that exist:

These are the only 6 designated Broadway theatres not operating for the live stage. This info comes in part from my own library. If you'd like more info and photos, just ask.

1. The former (Oscar I) Hammerstein Ballroom, now Manhattan Center on 34th Street. Now technically out of bounds as per Broadway parameters, the Theatre District had already moved uptown from Herald Square when this grand venue seating 2,000-2,500 was built in 1906. While unofficially considered a historic treasure, it has no landmark designation and is used for large events with standees making for a current capacity of 3,500. With Hammerstein's extensive history as a Broadway impressario--plus the "theatre District" rule already bent for Lincoln Center Theatre in 1965--I don't see how they could deny it its literal birthright.

2. The Edison Ballroom. Built in 1931 for the Hotel Edison as an Art Deco event space, it didn't become a space for live theatre until 1970. The 550-seat theatre presented long-running shows like Oh Calcutta until 1990, when it returned to use as an event space. Neither the interior or facade are landmarked, but it has nevertheless been immaculately preserved. A twist--It has been deemed both a Broadway Theatre and an Off-Broadway Theatre, and sources all evade the question of which designation it currently holds by saying something like "it is not "currently operating as a Broadway theatre." I've never known the designation to be withdrawn, however, except in the case of the New Victory which voluntarily down-sized to 499.

3. The Ed Sullivan Theatre (formerly The Hammerstein, built in honor of Oscar I by his son Arthur, as an opulent tribute to the elder's opera productions), until recently, used as a radio and tv studio for live audiences. Despite modifications, the interior is landmarked, and all beautiful features survive. Conversion lowered seating capacity to 400, but a schematic drawing shows that half of the original balcony still exists behind a "shell," while at least half of the orchestra was removed for the tv set's thrust stage with more seats unused on the sides due to partial view. Owner Paramount/Skydance Media recently cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, citing the ever-declining demand for live tv entertainment. It is vacant but can not be demolished and can only be used as a theatre.

4. The Hollywood Theatre built in 1930, later The Mark Hellinger seating 1600 and owned by the Times Square Church since 1988. Both the interior and exterior are landmarked, and the church has kept its unique Art Deco style in perfect condition. The church is deemed highly unlikely to ever sell the building.

5. The Theatre Republic, built in 1900 by Oscar Hammerstein I, grandfather of the lyricist, Oscar II, and later called The Victory and now The New Victory. It accomodated 1000 theatregoers, was landmarked both inside and out, and was restored by the 42nd St Redevelopment Project, now New 42, into an Off-Broadway house seating 499 in 1995 used exclusively for children's programming. 1 seat shy of Broadway requirements, it is not eligible for Tony Awards. It is also the longest-producing theatre of live shows in NYC. Adding a single seat might seem like an obvious and easy solution, but a government-created organization that owns most of 42nd Street on behalf of the stste and city (and only leases its properties) made the decision to cap it at 499 and make it a children's theatre and short of abject failure or insolvency, I can't imagine them changing their minds.

6. The Times Square Theatre, built in 1902. With its long series of columns, it is the only full theatre facade visible on 42nd Street. It's also the only one of the 11 42nd St theatres that was not built with a loading dock and freight elevator on either 41st or 43rd Street; for this reason, the venue was considered unusable for live performance for so long that by the 1990s, there was a fully brick-covered retail building on the stage. New 42 too deemed it impractical for use as a theatre and has spent 30 years trying to find a way to repurpose its landmarked interior. A developer has been trying to find a way to turn the 1100-seat interior into a multi-level retail space for the last 5 years. It still lies vacant.

A note adding a call to action: There may have been 11 new theatres added to Broadway in the last 90 years, but 6 of those are "one and done," not to be repeated. The New Amsterdam, Selwyn (Haimes), New Victory, Hudson, Studio 54, and Vivian Beaumont were all existing Broadway houses that had become derelict or dormant and returned to use. There have only been 5 theatres built in nearly a century--the Gershwin, Circle in the Square, Minskoff, and Marquis--all built within mixed-use skyscrapers thanks to government incentives in one 15-year period more than 40 years ago. The only free-standing theatre built in 100 years, the 5th and most recent of these theatres, is the new Lyric, built in 1998 on the footprint of the original Lyric and Apollo Theatres. How likely is it that there will ever again be new theatres?

I have not counted the Palace or Henry Miller/Stephen Sondheim restorations/rebiilds as new theatres or theatres returned to use. They were not additions to the Broadway theatre count, but replacements/relocations of existing theatres.

I apologize for the length, but I wanted those interested to have all of these facts.

EDITED to include Studio 54 as one of 6 theatres returned to use over the past 40 years. Many thanks to r/AloysSunset below for pointing out my omission.

The Tonys are nigh upon us, and awards are in the air! Can you think of shows or films that depict Tony, Oscar, Music, Other, or fictional awards ceremonies?

I'll start with A Star is Born (Garland and Gaga. Versions) and All About Eve!

What musicals are meta-theatrical, about plays, musicals and/or films?

Does the concept really work, or does it just feel like a gimmick?

What musicals are meta-theatrical, about plays, musicals and/or films?

Does the concept really work, or does it just feel like a gimmick?

It just hit me that Death of a Salesman is running in the Winter Garden. This is not only a musical house but the largest of the historic theatres on Broadway. It's clear that there is demand for its 1600 seats, but I can't fathom seeing a maximum number of 7 people--as few as 2--on that huge stage.

I think Eugene O'Neill's Lazarus Laughed played the Winter Garden, but it had a gargantuan cast of 150 in about 500 roles.

Can anyone think of other straight plays that have run in musical houses?

And what's it like seeing such an important play done in such a vast setting? I'd want to be able to hone in on every facial expression, but even with opera glasses, I think I'd be very distracted by all the empty space.

Two categories for each decade:

1. A show that best represents what musical type was both typical of the decade and successful, both critically and popularly

2. A show that is groundbreaking and/or innovative in a way that helped shape future musicals

We've just responded to the very worthy post asking for the defining musicals--plural--of the last century. There were many candidates for every decade. What happens if we really hone in and try to narrow it to just ONE per decade, 11 for the century?

I have no idea how I'm going to tackle this.

In the recent sub about best shows per decade over 100 years, I was somewhat shocked to see in my own response, that these heavy hitters only appeared three times between them--and that the one I would have expected to get 2 "earned" only one place on my list. I'm curious now how Sondheim and Lloyd-Webber would fare if I presented them face-to-face to you.

Who is the more important to the Broadway musical? Name shows by each you deem to be essentials to the canon to explain. Should our answers be affected by Sondheim doing both words and music for most of his career? Add any other criteria you deem important in rendering a verdict!

He now has a family and is unlikely to, say, spend a year learning to dance as he did for How to Succeed in 2011, and knowing his taste, it can't be some old standby like Music Man or Producers. What would show off his talents and range in a totally different way than we've seen??