Hischak - Off-Broadway musicals since 1919: from Greenwich Village follies to the toxic avenger

I would like to express my thanks to Mark Robinson, Bill Whiting, and Cathy Hischak who helped in the preparation of the manuscript; to the editors at Scarecrow Press; and to Ron Mandelbaum at Photofest.

Consider two memorable moments in the American musical theatre that occurred within a year of each other:

On May 21, 1959, the opening night of Gypsy , one of Broadways biggest stars, Ethel Merman, launched into the song Some People about fifteen minutes into the show. With her bold and thrilling voice filling the Broadway Theatre, the largest venue in the Theatre District at the time, Mermans Rose proclaimed that she was not like other people and boasted how she was determined to make her young kids into stars. It was a brassy, unforgettable Broadway moment.

On May 3, 1960, about fifteen minutes into the opening night of the Off-Broadway musical The Fantasticks , the unknown ingnue Rita Gardner sang the plaintive song Much More, a naive but heartfelt number in which the Girl vows not to be like other people and exclaims how her life will be filled with romance and adventure. There was no need to belt in the 144-seat Sullivan Street Playhouse, but Gardners direct plea not to be normal was enthralling all the same. It was a charming, disarming Off-Broadway moment.

The difference between Broadway and Off Broadway can be understood from these two contrasting moments. In both cases the female lead sings her revealing I am song but each goes about it in her own unique way, influenced by the theatrical venue where the production takes place. Broadway musicals are bigger than life and offer outsized emotions expressed in large theatres; Off-Broadway musicals are smaller in scale and explore emotions that are more life-size as they are enacted in more intimate venues. When Broadway offers musical comedy, the songs, the dancing, the laughs, even the tears are big enough to fill a large and elaborate theatre. Off Broadway cannot afford such a scale and instead offers simpler productions and a more direct kind of music, dance, and comedy. The satire of Off Broadway is usually sharper than the large-scale spoofs of Broadway. The more serious musical plays sometimes have a greater intensity in the small Off-Broadway playhouses than they can on Broadway. Is one venue superior to the other? Of course not. Their uniqueness makes comparisons futile. The American theatre is richer for the contrasts and much of the diversity in our current musicals can be attributed to these two very different approaches.

Yet the Off-Broadway musical has always received much less attention than Broadway. This is understandable. Broadway is about fame, glory, and success. Off Broadway is about smart, sharp, little shows that make a personal impact. Many actors, writers, and directors first find critical acclaim Off Broadway, but only Broadway can make stars and super showmen. In these days when many Off-Broadway musicals make the transition to Broadway, it is easy to forget that Off Broadway began and found its identity as an alternative to Broadway. It has always been less expensive to produce an Off-Broadway musical than one on Broadway, and today it often seems that Off Broadway is a discount venue used to find fodder for Broadway. This was hardly the case in the 1950s. An Off-Broadway musical didnt want to go anywhere but Off Broadway. It was written and produced with Off Broadway in mind. In fact, it defied Broadway, often made fun of it, and took pride in not being big and glossy. As Broadway got more diverse in the 1960s, presenting rock, ethnic, and other kinds of musicals outside the mainstream, it made sense that successful Off-Broadway shows would aim for Broadway. Yet as the variety of musicals on Broadway widened, Off Broadway suffered. Off Broadways costs escalated, actors with marquee value were sought, and the musicals became expensive enterprises. By the 1980s one had to go to Off Off Broadway to find the true alternative to Broadway. Much More became Too Much, and the experimental nature of Off Broadway diminished.

Yet there are still fundamental differences between the two venues, and that is the focus of this critical look at 381 Off-Broadway musicals over the decades. This is neither a chronicle nor a detailed history of Off-Broadway musicals, though the book is arranged by decades and all the major musical works are discussed. The goal here is to look at the most representative Off-Broadway musicals over the years: remembered hits, forgotten failures, escapist musical comedies, demanding musical dramas, revues, and musical tributes to singers or songwriters. Revivals of Broadway musicals produced Off Broadway are not included in this discussion. The nature of an Off-Broadway musical is determined by attitude not venue. So when the 1934 Cole Porter success Anything Goes and the 1938 Rodgers and Hart hit The Boys from Syracuse were given smart and small-scale revivals Off Broadway in the early 1960s, they were still Broadway musicals; they were just reimagined for Off Broadway. There is often a fuzzy line between Off and Off Off Broadway, and only important musicals in the latter classification are discussed, particularly if they later moved up to Off-Broadway status by change of venue or contract. The Off-Broadway musicals covered here include both long runs and short flops, for that is the nature of the theatre season in New York. Short runs included in this book sometimes had notable cast members, noteworthy artistic staff, or were just unusual enough to be considered.

Often Off-Broadway musicals accurately reflected what was going on musically and culturally in this country, as seen in productions ranging from satiric revues to passionate antiwar musicals to early and important musical works dealing with race, feminism, and sexual identity. Off Broadway sometimes picked up on the pulse and temperament of the nation in a way that Broadway could not or would not. Also, some Off-Broadway products have been very influential in determining the direction of the American musical theatre even though they may not enjoy the popularity and recognition of the bigger, brighter Broadway shows. There is so Much More to Off-Broadway musicals than has been given credit. This alternative venue is not a subplot in the story of the American musical; it is often the heart of this uniquely American art form.