Image by Playbill

For my Paradigm shift project, I have decided to focus on the drastic shift of musicals in our society, and how they have gone in and out of cultural significance.

As I have learned throughout the musical theatre history courses I have taken, Broadway musicals have not always been at the forefront of society. Frankly, I do not think musicals have truly moved to the front of our culture yet, but over the years, the creation of some shows has really brought public attention to the theatre scene as a whole.

On August 6, 2015 Hamilton opened on Broadway, and it completely changed musical theatre for the better. It not only gathered a great deal of press for that one show, but it also brought a huge spotlight to the whole theatre community. Many other musicals, such as 2017 Tony Award winner Dear Evan Hansen, began to then also garner great attention because people began to take interest in NYC theatre, and expected the quality of the shows to be that of Hamilton. People began to think that if Hamilton was “that good,” the majority of Broadway shows must be as well. According to an article in the New York Times, the 2017 season of musicals brought in a record 1.3 billion dollars. This article claims that New York Theatre has never experienced this many hits before, and it is most definitely because people are starting to take interest in many different Broadway shows (Paulson).

I plan to start my research in the 20’s, during the famous Tin Pan Alley period, and show how musicals of this time period were comprised of hit songs that the public already knew. Because these musicals used the popular music of the time period, they were at the forefront of culture, and people were eager to see their favorite songs sung live in the theatre. I will then talk about the 30’s and how people flocked more towards cinema because it was simply cheaper, and quicker in escaping the harsh realities of the time. In the 50’s, the era coined The Golden Age of musical theatre, the musical form drastically changed, but the TV grew in popularity, so people were less likely to go to the theatre. This is somewhat also true of the 60/70’s, but then the introduction of Disney musicals in the 90’s completely revamped Broadway. It brought huge attention to all shows running in NYC, and Disney actually spent millions of dollars trying to clean up Times Square so that theatre-going became a whole family affair. Finally, I will conclude with Hamilton and how shows for the modern audience have truly brought Broadway into 21st century culture.

Image by Amazon

Of course, I have not completed my research in the slightest, but I am eager to continue to fill in the gaps, and trace just how much Broadway has fallen in and out of the spotlight over the years.