atreideslioness: (pretty ghani)
Ghanima Atreides ([personal profile] atreideslioness) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2010-09-22 12:00 am

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!]
wwiii: (Hee!)

Re: OOC

[personal profile] wwiii 2010-09-22 11:20 am (UTC)(link)
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.
wwiii: (NomnomnomHAT)

Re: Sign-In IV

[personal profile] wwiii 2010-09-22 11:24 am (UTC)(link)
Warren Worthington III
wwiii: (Heeeee.)

Re: During the Lecture

[personal profile] wwiii 2010-09-22 11:27 am (UTC)(link)
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: Sign-In IV

[identity profile] notlikejack.livejournal.com 2010-09-22 11:29 am (UTC)(link)
Bobby McCallister

Re: Before!

[identity profile] notlikejack.livejournal.com 2010-09-22 11:30 am (UTC)(link)
Bobby was bouncing around, trying to look at everything and generally getting in the way. He was a little excited perhaps.
wwiii: (Up To No Good)

Re: The Show!

[personal profile] wwiii 2010-09-22 12:35 pm (UTC)(link)
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.

Re: Sign-In IV

[identity profile] elephantgadget.livejournal.com 2010-09-22 12:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Helen Haras-Uquara

Re: The Show!

[identity profile] elephantgadget.livejournal.com 2010-09-22 12:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, Helen really enjoyed this!
trigons_child: (OOC: Amy)

Re: Sign-In IV

[personal profile] trigons_child 2010-09-22 12:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Raven
trigons_child: (Interested)

Re: During the Lecture

[personal profile] trigons_child 2010-09-22 12:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Theater was unheard of in Azarath, so Raven was very eager to see Broadway.
trigons_child: (Watching 2)

Re: Talk to the TA

[personal profile] trigons_child 2010-09-22 12:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Raven was there, and thoroughly studying the program. Of course.

Re: Sign-In IV

[identity profile] boho-to-be.livejournal.com 2010-09-22 01:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Christian

Re: Before!

[identity profile] boho-to-be.livejournal.com 2010-09-22 01:11 pm (UTC)(link)
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.

Re: The Show!

[identity profile] boho-to-be.livejournal.com 2010-09-22 01:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Christian simply loved this. It wasn't music as he understood it, but it was so beautiful and energetic it hardly mattered. He was rapt for the entire performance.

Re: Sign-In IV

[identity profile] mathletenomore.livejournal.com 2010-09-22 01:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Lindsay Weir

Re: Before!

[identity profile] mathletenomore.livejournal.com 2010-09-22 01:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Lindsay purchased some M&Ms and a bottle of water even though she thought the price was insane.

Re: The Show!

[identity profile] mathletenomore.livejournal.com 2010-09-22 01:31 pm (UTC)(link)
The show was quite loud and Lindsay enjoyed every moment of it.

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