On Broadway: Art and Commerce on the Great White Way (review)

How much of art is commodified? Where does one draw the tethered line between art and entertainment? How much of "old" Broadway is still functioning? All of these questions and others are offered for consideration and uneasily answered in Adler's timely study. The author takes an in-depth look at the transformation of Broadway since 9/11, where the economy has declined, entertainment needs to be instantly gratifying, and fewer and fewer people are attending theatre. Not unlike the corporate ladder, the hierarchy in the business of Broadway is such that the producers are given more voice and, as Adler points out, it is money that talks. Broadway-bound musicals and straight plays need to be housed in high-rent theatres in order to recoup expenses. For those practitioners who believe that theatre should be both entertaining and culturally valuable, Adler's argument could be disheartening, for clearly, one is often obtained at the expense of the other. Still, anyone who has studied theatre, attended a Broadway show, or even purchased a musical soundtrack will find many things of interest in Adler's book. Producers, stage managers, actors, and the audience find a voice in this work.

The author's research is extensive. His study is filled with interviews with several people currently working in the industry. Formerly a stage manager on and off Broadway himself, Adler uses his connections in the business to garner ample opinions both for and against the current situation of Broadway. While many of the interviewees may be unknown to the lay person, he helps his readers by providing a brief biography for each and lists the date and place of each interview. Adler's interviewees are drawn from the many roles on- and backstage necessary in order to produce a Broadway product. The role that he most examines, however, is that of producer. Indeed, Adler regards the position as so influential that chapter 2 is devoted entirely to it.

Adler examines not only the producer's role in the mounting and maintaining of a Broadway production, but also how much this role has changed in recent years. He argues that the war between the independent producer and the corporate giant is steadily being won by the latter. Still, he sublimates his personal opinion in favor of the independent producer by balancing quotations from both. Despite Adler's liberal leanings, he does a wonderful job of providing a clear case from both perspectives. Perhaps because nowadays there are few independent producers remaining, these noncorporate sponsors having to gather funds from several individuals to put up a show, Adler's case is easily realized. The author reminds the reader of the stakes involved. A musical today costs no less than ten million dollars to mount. With dwindling audiences in light of higher ticket prices, Disney seems to be the only producer that can reliably afford to stay in the game: "Only Disney, which does not need to raise investment money at the Broadway level, has evidenced any real ability to fund several shows at once" (58). This claim underscores one of the stronger arguments of the study: that only financially safe productions will now be seen on Broadway. Further, by exploring the current practice of using not-for-profit theatres as Broadway tryout houses, Adler reveals the problems of producing a show headed for a Broadway audience rather than the theatre's own community. The money recouped from a Broadway run can support a theatre for years (for example, the Public Theater's production of A Chorus Line), but often at the cost of creating a safe and mainstream production.

One of the most interesting sections of Adler's book is the study of the renovation of Times Square by the Disney Corporation after the corporate giant decided it would like to try theatre as yet another for-profit venture. With Disney's presence promising a greater measure of financial security, other corporate retailers and restaurants...