The Origin and Development of Dance Drama

Musical drama (which can also be translated into musical drama) originated in Britain in the19th century and evolved from comic opera. His early works include Happy Girls by British composer Jones. Therefore, the theater in West End of London is regarded as the hometown of musicals.

Later, British musicals came to the United States with touring troupes. 1866, new york staged a drama "Black Hook" which combined the characteristics of comic opera, burlesque and ballet, and caused a great sensation. After 25 years of continuous performance, it was recognized by later generations as the first musical comedy that really got rid of the opera mode. It is this drama that not only promotes the creative momentum of American playwrights and actors, but also lays the foundation for what people usually call "Broadway musicals" now. Musical comedy is the official name of Broadway musical. It is not a comedy in the general sense, and sometimes the plot is similar to a tragedy.

At the beginning of new york's business, Broadway was just an ordinary road, inhabited by some pioneers who established farms and operated livestock-related industries. /kloc-At the beginning of the 9th century, some drama practitioners originally from other parts of new york gradually entered this area. Park Theater was founded in 18 10, and it was the first theater to appear on Broadway. Broadway Opera House, which really made Broadway famous, was formerly known as Metropolitan Concert Hall. It was once transformed into a casino, roller skating rink and exhibition hall due to poor management, and it was not until 1887 that it was transformed into the current Broadway theater. After Broadway Theatre, several other famous theaters, such as American Theatre and Olympia Theatre, also appeared one after another. Broadway musicals reached their peak in the 1940s and 1950s. However, with the end of World War II, the new generation after the war has new values and developed their favorite rock music. Broadway is gradually declining because it can't attract young audiences. Until the 1970s, some new generation writers brought rock music and some new concepts to Broadway, giving Broadway a second spring with a long history and creating world-famous dramas such as Cat, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and Miss Saigon.

At present, there are dozens of plays on Broadway, where plays are often staged for seven or eight years or even more than ten years. In the whole Broadway area, the total annual box office revenue is about1200 million dollars. According to American income standards, each ticket is not expensive. Ordinary audience can buy tickets with good location for 40 yuan, and the best seat ticket is 100 ~ 150 yuan. If you go to the ticket office in Times Square to buy the remaining tickets for the day, the price will be cheaper.

The mutual mapping between drama and repertoire

A theater is famous for putting on a play. For example, Miss Saigon is on Broadway, and Beauty and the Beast is on New Amsterdam.

The management and operation of Broadway musical performances are very distinctive, that is, the mapping relationship between theater and repertoire is very obvious. A theater is famous for running a certain play. This mode of operation is actually due to the complexity of the stage and lighting production of the musical itself. These fixed props will not be moved to other theaters except for touring performances, but it also forms a very unique operation mode of Broadway musicals. The most traditional plays of Broadway musicals include Les Miserables, Cats, Miss Saigon and Phantom of the Opera.

Les Miserables was originally a novel by the French writer Hugo. 1985, the British musical Les Miserables was put on the London stage by Macintosh production company (composed by Schoenberg), and it was staged on Broadway in new york two years later. Since then, it has become popular all over the world. Among them, the empty house is one of the most classic tracks in the play. At present, Les Miserables has been staged in the world for 16 years, and a performance version of 17 has been derived, with a global box office income of nearly1800 million US dollars. In the summer of 2002, Les Miserables was performed in Shanghai Grand Theatre, which caused a sensation.

Cat was written by andrew lloyd webber in 1977 based on the works of the famous poet thomas eliot, and this work was not completed until 198 1. After the premiere, it caused a great sensation. After that, more than 65 million people around the world watched Cats. It has been staged in nearly 300 cinemas and 150 cities around the world, with more than 40 versions in 14 languages. It started from 10 in June 2000 and lasted for 18 years. According to the statistics of 1997, cats, with the slogan of "from now on, even forever", have brought new york a huge amount of money. Cat staged 7397 performances, sold 30 million tickets, earned about 380 million dollars at the box office, and promoted the economic growth of related industries (restaurants, bars, gifts, etc.). ) reached $3 billion in nearby communities. In 2003, the cat also came to the Shanghai Grand Theatre, which was also a success.

The story of "Miss Saigon" took place in the Vietnam War, telling the love story of an American soldier and an infatuated Vietnamese dancer. Miss Saigon premiered in London on 1989 and at Broadway Opera House in new york on April 199 1, and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical. By 200 1, 1, the program officially ended with 4092 performances.

Phantom of the Opera, the most successful musical in andrew lloyd webber, premiered in London on 1986. Up to now, there is a mass production version of 16 in the world. The play has been performed in more than 20 countries, and won 7 Tony Awards including the Best Musical Award and 3 Oliver Drama Awards. In 2004, Phantom of the Opera was successfully staged in Shanghai Grand Theatre.

Ticket sales and project organization

Tickets for Broadway Theater District are divided into three grades. General first-class fares range from $30 to $75; The second-class ticket price is between $20 and $45 each; The third level is below $ 15. Broadway theater also provides discount coupons for some hotels, universities or some government agencies, such as "buy one get one free" discount coupons, and buy two tickets at a time to calculate the price of one ticket.

There are many ways to buy tickets in Broadway theater area, and viewers can buy tickets directly at the ticket offices of various theaters; Or call the online ticketing center in the Broadway theater district to buy tickets with a credit card. The ticket center will give tickets to the audience, and the audience can pick them up themselves. From the total analysis, most of the tickets are sold at the theater ticket office. But at the same time, the Internet has become an increasingly important means of purchasing tickets. At present, Internet ticketing accounts for 14. 1% of all ticketing methods, while it was less than 1% five years ago. At the same time, the ticket center also prepared performance brochures, trailers and other services for the audience to choose from.

Broadway's audience-attracting projects are also colorful, such as:

Sightseeing tour. The sightseeing project is open to tourists. There are 15 theaters with different styles in Broadway theater area, and the backstage of the two theaters can also allow tourists to enter and leave freely. Visitors can see the rehearsal process of some programs and other behind-the-scenes stories. Each tour lasts two hours and costs $25 per person.

Free concert. Every year, the League organizes theaters in the Broadway Theater District to hold free outdoor concerts, such as the Broadway Star Show on the Trail every spring, the Broadway Show on the first Sunday morning in September every year, and the Broadway under the stars in June.

Award an art prize. Every year, the League awards various awards to theaters and their performing groups in Broadway theater to encourage them to contribute to the artistic achievements in Broadway theater within one year. Among them, the Broadway Tour Award, which is used to reward the best tour program of the year, and the Tony Award, which symbolizes the highest honor in the theater industry, have become recognized, representative and rewarding awards in the theater industry.

Children's night on Broadway. Children and teenagers aged 6 to 18 can watch any drama in Broadway theater area for free. At the same time, participants can experience the backstage operation of Broadway musicals. In addition, parents with children can also enjoy a series of corresponding preferential services, including dining and parking. The purpose of this annual activity is to guide more young people into the wonderful world of drama and make Broadway drama areas and Broadway musicals accepted by more young people.

The rapid rise of brokerage companies

The research report shows that the musical industry is the pillar industry in Manhattan, and the middle class is the main consumer of musical.

It is Broadway Asia Entertainment that introduces different Broadway performing arts and entertainment products to different markets in the world. They mainly take advantage of the differences between European and American performing arts markets and Asian performing arts markets. In just a few years, its main business markets are all over China, Hongkong, China, Macau, China, Taiwan Province Province, China, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries and regions. Chairman MarcRouth proudly said, "We are completely commercialized."

Combination mechanism of business talents. Performing arts and entertainment industry belongs to the creative field, so talents play a decisive role in the performing arts and entertainment industry. Broadway Asia Entertainment Company, starting with talents, integrates performing arts groups, managers, directors, actors and other talents with performing arts and entertainment projects according to the consumption power and taste of the relatively locked Asian market, and then makes use of the relatively broad market space to obtain huge profits through large-scale operation.

Get through brokerage, planning and production. Broadway Asia Entertainment Company, originally only engaged in performance brokerage business, contracted relatively independent performance markets, institutions, works and talents at low cost, and introduced performing arts and entertainment projects from one region to another. After a period of operation, the company gradually increased the project planning components, actively studied the potential market, found new demands, and planned unique and creative performances. The company successfully introduced The Sound of Music to China a few years ago, and now it is planning to introduce the Chinese version of The Sound of Music to China. This has changed from simply buying and promoting copyright to creating and owning independent copyright, and you can also sell your own copyright. In fact, the company occupies the value terminal with the lowest cost and the highest added value in the performing arts and entertainment industry chain, which may be the core mystery of the company's rapid rise.

Successful operation brings high return on capital. The successful operation of Broadway Asia Entertainment Company has brought investors a high rate of return of 35%. In the United States, the success of financing mainly depends on the rate of return. The high rate of return has formed relatively fixed financing customers for the company, and new social financing projects are relatively easy to carry out. Not only American companies, but also many Asian companies actively cooperate with them to launch their brands and products while they perform musicals.

Musical is a very exciting industry. Recently, the company is doing a research report to prove that the music industry is a pillar industry in Manhattan. From the research, it is found that the musical industry will drive tourism, catering, shopping, transportation and other industries. The middle class is the main consumer of musical, and 60% of the tourists in Manhattan are related to going to Broadway to see the play. Simone Genatt, one of the founders of the company, bluntly said that Shanghai is very similar to Manhattan and can become a scenic spot for musicals in the future. The development of musicals in Shanghai will also have a great impact on Shanghai's tourism.