Which Way To The Stage?

  "You know how some people have these little habits that get you down? Like Bernie. Bernie liked to chew gum. No, not chew. POP. So I come home from work one night and I'm real irritated, and I'm looking for a little sympathy. And there's Bernie, lying on the couch, drinking a beer and chewin'. No, not chewin'. POPPIN'. So I said "If you pop that gum one more time..." And he did. So I took the shotgun off the wall and fired two warning shots... into his head." This is a famous line from the Broadway musical Chicago.  Musical theater can be traced back to the theater of ancient Greeks, they included music and dance in their stage comedies or tragedies.  Musicals have a story line just like every movie or play but the most important factor is music, without it there is no show.  Many people believe that musical theater has lost most of its popularity in the past couple of years. And investments in these productions has become a big interest.
   In recent years familiarity has been taken in by investors and producers that are anxious to guarantee they can regain their investments or at least make a healthy profit.  What this means is that many producers and investor invest a lot of money in musicals that are very well known and popular among audiences because they are sure they can make a good profit.  For example,  many have invested in Hairspray, Grease, West Side Story and The Color Purple.  Because they are well-known and they hope that the shows have built-in audiences,  which will guarantee a big profit of some kind.  Today it is not likely for a sole producer to back up a production.  Now a days Broadway is being dominated by corporate sponsors.  At times alliances are made on stage musicals that may require investments of $10 million or more.  Some productions invest a lot that they end up loosing money instead of making profits.  In 2007, Lord of the Rings was made into a musical and it was billed as the biggest stage production in theater history.  But instead of making profits, this expensive show lost money.  As you see,  a lot of money is put into these productions and many peopledon't see why because they believe that musicals have lost most of their popularity.
  I have asked a couple of people and 2 out of 10 would rather see a regular film instead of a musical.  A lot of people don't like watching people acting and singing on stage.  But they don''t know that a musical isn't just singing the shows have a story line.  The music helps the show better itself because it gives it an artistic feel.  Music is a big part in these shows because it is practiced until every beat and note is perfect.