Broadway's Beautiful Day

The Broadway on Broadway Concert is one of those spectacular events that makes people believe that New York City is the best in the world. Home to fantastic cultural events, New York is known for its theater above all else. But, because of the great expense involved in going to a Broadway show, many people rarely experience the wide variety of performances currently available. Broadway on Broadway is an event that makes Broadway accessible to anyone from any budget level because it is absolutely free.

This annual concert features an impressive lineup of performances from many of the shows currently playing. On September 14, 2008 the 17th annual Broadway on Broadway concert was held. Hosted by Drew Lachey (star of Dancing With The Stars and currently performing in Spamalot), the concert again took place in the middle of Times Square on a beautiful, sunny, and slightly warm day. Those people in the audience that were lucky stood up right near a large stage, but thousands of other theater-fans could watch the performances on two huge screens placed right on 42nd street. The truly well-connected Broadway industry insiders were able to sit on bleachers set up on the sides of the street.

Some dedicated Broadway-fanatics woke up as early as 6 in the morning to secure themselves places near the performers (the event officially began at 11:30 and ran until around 2 p.m). Not all of the audience was quite so crazy about Broadway although all seemed excited to see what the performances would bring. This year's audience was a large and diverse group: tourists, families, college students, and of course native New Yorkers.

This year's Broadway on Broadway was definitely a testament to the diversity and range of performances currently gracing the Broadway stages. The event kicked off with the extremely young cast of Thirteen, the newest musical targeted at families and children. The energy and pep in their performance was high and the young actors were enjoyable for people of any age. Thirteen was followed by Gypsy; the performers in this show sang about stripping, a far cry from the innocent Thirteen. The songs were definitely eared at audiences of different ages, although the song "totally f--ked" from Spring Awakening was censored to "totally stuck."

As Drew Lachey said, the concert featured "a little bit of everything" and the "different styles represented on Broadway." Diversity was a theme apparent in the contrasting young rock musical Spring Awakening, a new country musical Pure Country, the classic operatic show Phantom of the Opera, and a London import, Billy Elliot. Older shows like Wicked and Chicago continue to reappear, while newer shows like [title of a show] and In the Heights are given necessary exposure and advertising. Broadway on Broadway has also become a forum for introducing completely new shows that have yet to open such as Thirteen. Families and students that have never heard of many of the shows develop desires to frequent Broadway because of the introduction they gain during the Broadway on Broadway concert.

One downside to Broadway on Broadway is its slightly small-scale nature. Many of the shows that are appealing because of their big dance numbers and huge casts lose something when they attempt to downsize to fit on the smaller stage. Some performers forfeit their costumes all together, like those in Legally Blonde and Lion King. Something was slightly lost from these performances because their production is part of what adds to their charm. Other musicals came in full costume anyway, like Spamalot and Irving Berlin's White Christmas, which also featured a flurry of fake snow.

Ultimately, Broadway on Broadway is a huge advertising dig for Broadway. Big stars frequent the event, like Bebe Neuwirth and Christy Carlson Romano (who will be heading to Avenue Q), and announcements are made (such as the announcement that Hair is moving from central park to Broadway.) This huge marketing ploy also turns into a cultural event that brings Broadway to people that would never even hear about many of the less grand and publicized musicals. Whether you are a Broadway lover or not, young or old, this event of pure entertainment was sure to please. See you next year.

You can see video of all the show stopping numbers in our video blog with high-grade audio. Sample the new shows like Thirteen, and enjoy classics like Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins, and Lion King. All the performances are in our blog.

For additional Broadway features visit http://www.broadway.tv/broadway-features-reviews

Tags:
Broadway on Broadway Concert, Drew Lachey, Dancing with the Stars, Spamalot, Thirteen, Gypsy, Spring Awakening, In the Heights, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Billy Elliott, Pure Country, The lion king, Legally Blonde, Irving Berlin White Christmas, Avenue Q, Bebe Neuwirth, Christy Carlson Romano, Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins