fandomhigh | Cultural Appreciation, Week IV [Wednesday, Periods 4 & 5]

"Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 large professional theatres with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan, New York City. Along with London's West End theatre, Broadway theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. The Broadway Theatre district is a popular tourist attraction in New York City, New York."

"New York did not have a significant theatre presence until about 1750, when actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theater company at the Theatre on Nassau Street, which held about 280 people. They presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as The Beggar's Opera. In 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theater in Williamsburg, Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The Anatomist. The company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida. The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York, but thereafter theatre resumed, and in 1798, the 2,000-seat Park Theatre was built on Chatham Street, now called Park Row. By the 1840s, P.T. Barnum was operating an entertainment complex in lower Manhattan. In 1829, at Broadway and Prince Street, Niblo's Garden opened and soon became one of New York's premiere nightspots."

"Theater in New York moved from downtown gradually to midtown beginning around 1850, seeking less expensive real estate prices. In 1870, the heart of Broadway was in Union Square, and by the end of the century, many theaters were near Madison Square. Theaters did not arrive in the Times Square area until the early 1900s, and the Broadway theaters did not consolidate there until a large number of theaters were built around the square in the 1920s and 1930s. As transportation improved, poverty in New York diminished, and street lighting made for safer travel at night, the number of potential patrons for the growing number of theaters increased enormously. Plays could run longer and still draw in the audiences, leading to better profits and improved production values."

"Today we're going to go see a Broadway show," Ghanima said. "STOMP is a high-energy, percussive symphony, coupled with dance, played entirely on unconventional instruments, such as garbage can lids, buckets, brooms and sticks. It is movement made original through the use of everyday objects in non-traditional ways. There’s no traditional storyline, per se, except maybe a running gag involving a character who marches to the beat of a different drum, literally." She smiled, dimpling as she held up a small bag. "For those who have sensitive ears or dislike loud noise, I do have earplugs, as it can get rather loud towards the end of the show."

[OOC: Post ~~isn't up until the OCD sings!~~ discovered the OCD wasn't Equity, but opened the house anyway!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Musically!

Warren Worthington III

Re: Sign-In IV

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Jot down notes, talk to your classmates, wonder how loud the show could actually be.

Warren couldn't help but grin through the lecture, today. Broadway. New York. Going to New York alone, even for a couple of hours, was like going home. Coupling that together with the idea of being on ground level, doing things with people? Experiencing it?

He felt like a little boy all over again.

Re: During the Lecture

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Theater was unheard of in Azarath, so Raven was very eager to see Broadway.

See Robin. See Robin bounce with excitement. Bounce Robin, bounce.

Theater wasn't really a done thing in Attilan--the people whose Terrigenesis made them most suited to performing before others were few and far between, and generally more in the musical vein--so Medusalith found herself very curious about this thing.

Squall didn't know the importance of any of the names or dates she mentioned, but he took some cursory notes anyway, just in case they were tested on it later.

Theater. Whatever. It was probably going to be all boring and old.

Ooh. Theatre. How promising. Though this sounded like a rather irregular sort of theatrical performance.

New York. Now that was a field trip. Jack's expression lit up and while he was trying to be casual, he was visibly paying a lot more attention than he usually seemed to.

Get concessions, queue for the restroom, chat with your friends, and read the program.

Bobby was bouncing around, trying to look at everything and generally getting in the way. He was a little excited perhaps.

Re: Before!

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Christian bought a box of candy, seeming excited. Between London in science class and the theater now, today was turning out to be a wonderful day of classes.

Lindsay purchased some M&Ms and a bottle of water even though she thought the price was insane.

Dolf was there, rifling through what little pocket change he had left to buy something to eat.

He really needed a job.

Robin was looking around with awe, and determination. Someday, someday he would see all this from the stage. Someday.

Medusalith purchased a bottle of water and some chocolate, which as far as she could tell was the best thing the humans had going for them. She wasn't quite sure, as she didn't have experience with a wide range of purveyors, but the prices seemed rather appalling to her.

There were so much to look at. Rilla felt herself quite overwhelmed, and that was just the lobby.

In a setting like this, she felt very much like a simple country girl.

Get loud!

Okay, so getting comfortable in the theater seating was a bit of a challenge, but it was one that Warren was absolutely willing to face. The show was impressive.

They even managed to work in the kitchen sink.

Oh, Helen really enjoyed this!

Re: The Show!

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Since it's only about 105 min, there's no intermission. Talk about the show and give your impressions.

Once she tags in.

Raven was there, and thoroughly studying the program. Of course.

As you do!

GET LOUD BBS

STOMP. STOMP STOMP STOMP.

Trufax: After seeing this show with my dad when they were on tour, I spent about an hour afterwards drumming on his head with two rolled-up programs.

Sign-In IV

Re: Sign-In IV

During the Lecture