[78-L] Upcoming shows on PBS for Pledge Drives in March^

[Kristjan Saag]

Cary Ginell wrote:
>As a semi-frequent visitor to Broadway for my job, I've discovered that the 
>New > York theater scene is now catering to casual tourists rather than 
>aficionados. I
> refer to it as the "Shrekification" of Broadway.
--
And Jeff Sulthanoff wrote:
> The entire nature of live theatre throughout the world has changed. The 
> problem > started several years ago, with such musicals as "Miss Saigon," 
> "Phantom," and > the like. If audiences are going to shell out a lot of 
> money, they want 'production > values.' Now that tickets are over $100.00, 
> audiences have a real dilemma.
--
What you're talking about is Broadway, which
a) isn't "the New York theatre scene"
b) doesn't correspond to "live theatre throughout the world"

Good plays are being written and produced in the US as elsewhere and you 
don't have to pay a fortune to see them. But you may have to go off-Broadway 
or off-off Broadway to find them. The same in London where you may ruin 
yourself on big scale musicals or see first class productions of European or 
American plays for 10 pounds, even in the West End. That's how it always has 
been, or at least the past 30 years during which I've been working as a 
theatre critic.
Kristjan