Sarah Brightman June 11, 2008

The longest running Broadway play is Andrew Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. It is a story about Music, Love, and Perseverance. Broadway star Sarah Brightman was the inspiration behind such stage hits as Phantom of the Opera and Requiem, written in her honor by ex-husband Andrew Lloyd Webber. Born on August 14, 1960 in Berkhampstead, England, Brightman began dancing at the age of three, and ten years later made her London theatrical debut in Charles Strouse’s I and Albert. By 1976, she was a dancer on the television series Pan’s People, and later led the pop group Hot Gossip, which in 1978 scored a U.K. number one hit with the single “I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper.” In 1981, she was cast in the role of Jemima in Lloyd Webber’s Cats; there she and the composer were introduced, and he divorced his first wife to marry her in 1984. Their relationship lasted through 1990, during which time Brightman created the role of Christine Daae in Phantom of the Opera. Sarah inspired Andrew Lloyd Webber to write the musical phenomenon which is the Phantom of the Opera. Andrew created the role of Christine for Sarah’s voice. The role of Christine showed just how versatile Sarah’s voice is. The Phantom of the Opera opened at Her Majesty’s Theater in London in the month of October, 1986. Sarah then premiered on Broadway in 1988, where she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. Lloyd Webber wrote the part of Christine Daae specifically for Brightman and he insisted that she repeat the role in the New York production. American Actor’s Equity, a labor union representing American performers, objected, claiming that Brightman was not an “international star” or a “unique talent” and could not be exempt from union rules requiring American Equity members to be cast in American productions. After Lloyd Webber threatened to cancel the Broadway production entirely, Equity caved in and permitted Brightman to perform in exchange for an American performer being given the opportunity to work in England. After Sarah got the Broadway role she gave in interview with the Sunday Telegraph. “I always made my mark as Sarah Brightman … I am not saying I am the greatest thing since the world began but I obviously do my work fairly well to have got as far as I have. I had, you know, as strong a career as I could have had by the age of twenty before I met Lloyd Webber,” she told the Sunday Telegraph. She also pointed out that the casting decision in regard to the role of Christine was a collective one with Phantom’s director Hal Prince and producer Cameron Mackintosh. Sarah Brightman hasn’t performed in Theater since the early 1990s and unfortunately does not seem eager to return to the Broadway stage, but it’s for certain that she has left her mark in our culture’s history for decades to come.

Photo 1: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1107/810149102_411af0bb18.jpg?v=0

Photo 2: http://members.tripod.com/~Nicks_star_party/sarah/prem15.jpg

Citation 1: http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608003852/Sarah-Brightman.html

Citation 2: http://www.filmreference.com/film/12/Sarah-Brightman.html

The History of Broadway June 10, 2008

The Great White Way, more formally known as Broadway, is a highly acclaimed institution of art and culture. Broadway is the street in New York that has come to symbolize live theater entertainment throughout the world. Today the area, known to tourists and theater-goers, stretches from W. 41st Street, where the Nederlander Theater is located, up to W. 53rd Street’s Broadway Theater. Only four theaters are located physically on Broadway, the Marquis at 46th Street, the Palace at 47th Street, the Winter Garden at 50th Street and the Broadway at 53rd. At Broadway’s beginning actors were usually called in from Europe, but as the Broadway phenomena grew, more and more people wanted to become involved with the hectic and magical lifestyle that the Broadway stage promises. In 1852 The National Theater and Uncle Tom’s Cabin provided Broadway with its first matinee performances, and the child prodigy Miss Cordelia Howard appeared in 12 performances a week. This performance would be the opening gateway for a phenomena like no other, this performance opened the door for Broadway. “In the 1900-1901 season there were seventy plays or musicals being produced on Broadway. It was the beginning of the boom, and the decades that followed saw the truth of it as the play numbers began to quadruple. In 1914, A newcomer to the theater district, Irving Berlin, composed a Broadway score entirely in jazz rhythms, entitled Watch Your Step. It had a distinctly American flavor and a New World Sound. The following year, in 1915, Jerome Kern (who was also classically trained in Europe, though born in New York) and Guy Bolton, collaborated on the play, Very Good Eddie. For the first time, the songs of a play were part of the action, and “the farsighted got a glimpse of the future of the Broadway musical.” The 1920s, “this will be the decade that sees a push for genuine Repertory Theater with some success. It is the decade that sees blacks on Broadway – not as the secondary entertainment, but as stars in white productions and as stars of their own theater creation, black productions for white audiences. It is also the decade of the cry for a “morality police” for theater, and the new argument between what is “art” and what is not.” “Throughout the 1900’s Broadway shows were strongly influenced by the events of the time, from comedic spoofs to heartfelt dramas. The 1920’s, 30’s, and 40’s saw many ups and downs in theater production, due to historical events such as prohibition, the stock market crash, war, and the draw to Hollywood for much of Broadways top talent.” Today, the longest running show in Broadway history is still in production. The Phantom of the Opera debuted on Broadway in 1988. It is still widely known today as well as being a huge influence on our Musical Culture today.

Photo 1: http://stevenjamesonline.com/images/normal_broadway_sign_6dr0.jpg

Photo 2: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51X04JHT4TL._SL500_AA240_.jpg

Photo 3: http://a4.vox.com/6a00c2251dae5d8e1d00c2251ededc549d-320pi

Citation 1: http://www.talkinbroadway.com/bway101/

Citation 2: http://www.mapsites.net/gotham01/webpages/alisonhannah/broadwayhistory.html