Pop Songs on Broadway: Familiarity Breeds Cash

       Hello, dear readers, and welcome to yet another Big On Broadway post. For this post, I shall discuss a growing trend on Broadway, that of the jukebox musical. For some time now, musicals have reverted to fusing two art worlds: pop music and the stage. There are some cases where this has been successful, as well as others that have proved not be as successful. There are also times when pop music writers have composed strictly for the stage, another prevalent trend in the last decade or so. There is a simple reason for this, one that, having promoted such jukebox musicals. That brings me to my theory.
        Tourists love familiarity. It is as simple as that. If someone is going to spend a substantial amount of money on seeing a Broadway show, they want to know that that show is going to offer something that is worth their money. Often times, when they come to Broadway and hear that their favorite songs  are now being performed on stage, they'll tend to drift toward that show. Hence shows such as Mamma Mia, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Jersey Boys, Rock of Ages, American Idiot, Disaster and more have enjoyed success on Broadway. These shows arrive with a fan base already intact, and often, when everything works on stage, they enjoy a multi-year run on Broadway. However, for every Mamma Mia & Beautiful, there's a Lennon, the short lived bio-musical of Beatle John Lennon, and Good Vibrations, the Beach Boys jukebox musical which played on Broadway for only 49 and 94 performances, respectively. However, this has not deterred pop writers from bringing their talents to the stage.
           Broadway, whether we like it or not, has come back to the forefront. It is now "in," thought if you ask me it shouldn't have ever been out. Much like the Great White Way was host to legendary performers who then took their talents to stage in writing songs, from Duke Ellington to Burt Bacharach, during its earlier heyday, we have seen that trend return.  Recent years on Broadway have found the likes of Paul Simon (The Capeman), Harry Connick Jr (Thou Shalt Not), Sir Elton John (Aida, Lestat), Bon Jovi's David Bryan (Memphis, The Toxic Avenger Musical) compose for the stage. The past 3 years on Broadway, we have seen Sting get nominated for a Tony Award for The Last Ship, Duncan Sheik win for his score to Spring Awakening and Cyndi Lauper become the first woman to win the Tony for Best Score for her work on Kinky Boots. This season also has had its share of crossover writers with Sheik returning to Broadway with American Psycho and Sara Bareilles composing the tunes for Waitress. Next season will bring a host of pop icons with The SpongeBob Musical (At press time, those contributing to the score are David Bowie, Aerosmith's Steve Tyler & Joe Perry, Lady Antebellum, John Legend, Lauper and more. Pop stars will continue to write for the stage, and hopefully, audiences will flock to cheer them on.
      The resurgence of pop stars returning to Broadway, whether it be their stories in song, their hits set to a story, or completely original work,will only contribute to the growing awareness and survival of the Broadway musical, an art form many thought at one point was dying. With new artists joining, fresh faces will stroll into Broadway theaters, eager to witness something remarkable.  With these new audiences, Broadway should enjoy a thriving reign in the entertainment world for years to come. Until the next time, this is Mike signing off, ghost light lighting on.