BWW Blog: Parker Hughes - Broadway Caliber

Recently I spoke with an old friend of mine. We met when we both performed in a local theatre production of Cinderella. Being the high-class hipster wannabes that we are, he suggested we share a coffee and chat a while. So, I ordered myself a french vanilla and caught up with my buddy. He'd been up to a lot since he graduated high school, he told me, and that there was a delightful little community theatre by his apartment that he was dying to take me to. "Parker, they are sooo good! Their production of Rent was BROADWAY CALIBER!"

At the time I was like "yee-haw sign me up for this rodeo," but when I got home and indulged myself in some classic over-thinking, I started to question what exactly "Broadway caliber" was and why it was so impressive and unattainable. After an hour or two of on again off again contemplation, it dawned on me that maybe "Broadway caliber" was just "shows with ridiculous monetary backing kinda look better."

When we sit down to think about it, what really separates a community theatre production of, let's say Guys and Dolls, from Broadway's? It's all about the people, isn't it? Well, didn't Aaron Tveit start on the small stage? If you've got a hardworking, talented cast, under the direction of brilliant directors and choreographers, dressed in great costumes, selected by a strong casting director, and a reliable tech crew there to make the magic happen, then your show is up their with the best. Right? Community theaters have Tony winners perform on their stages, before and AFTER their big break. I mean, you could fill a local theater's stage with Tony winners, and it would it still have to fight to meet "Broadway caliber" standards.

So then I thought, "okay, maybe it's not the cast that separate Broadway from community. It's also probably not the personnel, like directors and choreographers. Perhaps the difference lies in the tech!" If you've ever seen a Broadway show, save for Bridges of Madison County (and probably a few others), you probably haven't seen an actor or techie carry a set piece on or off stage. You probably haven't heard "set change music" while sitting in the Gershwin. Machines make the sets glide out on the floor, and sometimes the stage straight up grows, turns, or becomes a hole. Clearly not something you are able to do on most community theatre stages. But does seeing an ensemble member roll a desk out on stage really take that much away from the overall production?

Then it hit me. The dreaded answer to what separated Broadway from Off-Broadway from Off-Off-Broadway. It was all because of money.

Yes! Money! Theatre people love to hate it! We all need more of it, but we're quite obsessed with making sure no one's making too much of it, lest it ruin the sanctity of the stage. Here's the tea: shows performed on Broadway, the theatrical center of the world, are pretty much completely commercial. It's not for the art, no, it's for the money. Broadway shows rent out a theatre from one of three big wigs, and basically have to sustain operating costs as long as they can. When they can't afford keep anymore, down the curtain comes. Well, you must know Off-Off-Broadway and our little community shows can't even afford to pretend to be commercial. The profit margin is impossible.

See, I don't want to shame Broadway, but it appears that the true spirit of theatre, the love of creation, art, and performance, is alive on our community stages. Where broke actors try to make it through the run without going broke, working the strangest hours, only for maybe a week of performing. The actors, crew, and personnel in a community show are there not to make money (because let's face it, they wouldn't), they're there to make art and do theatre. They do it because they love it. Sometimes they put their entire life on hold to do three months of rehearsals for free, just out of love for the stage. And don't even get me started on techies.

It does not matter where a show is performed, how many seats are in the theater, of how much money is behind it all, it should be a work of love. The inner-city basketball team can squash the rich prep school squad with enough hard work and practice. Some of the best productions you will see will not be performed on a Broadway stage. And that's okay! Sometimes, those shows are in a whole separate class of their own. When you sit in the audience of a community production, don't think about the ensemble moving sets, or the visible accompaniment. Instead, reflect on the sweat upon each performer's brow. How each cast member, ensemble to star, is fighting but the same gleeful grin. Consider the stage manager silently cheering to themselves every night as their crew executes another cue brilliantly.

Art is not money in the bank or hydraulic pipes moving ostentatious sets onstage. Rather, art is blood, sweet, and tears, an open heart, and unrestrained passion. "Broadway caliber" cannot be found in the choreography or the costumes, it can only be assumed by the seats in the building. Open your mind to the idea that fantastic performances can occur ANYWHERE!

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