Off-Broadway

In New York City theaters are divided into three broad categories: Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off - Broadway.

History

Earlier this classification was to be taken literally and therefore easy to understand: The Broadway theater were right on the " Great White Way ", the off-Broadway theaters were a little off, and completely outside the theater district, there was the Off-Off - Broadway theater. Because of the distance to the Broadway Off- Broadway theaters were cheaper to rent, and often shifted to pieces that had proved themselves here, after a short time on a Broadway stage. Famous examples of this approach are the musicals Hair ( Off-Broadway premiere on October 17, 1967 Broadway premiere on April 29, 1968) and A Chorus Line ( Off-Broadway on April 16, Broadway on July 25, 1975).

Meanwhile, both the division of the venues as well as the adjustment to the pieces shown there has changed a bit: A theater is today - even if it is a bit away from Broadway - as a Broadway theater when it has more than 500 seats, with a capacity of between 100 and 500 spectators is called an off-Broadway theaters, including from an off - off-Broadway theater.

In the last few decades have seen an increasing number of gone over to design pieces from the outset for smaller theaters. Off- Broadway musicals today are generally not big productions that end up in small theaters due to uncertain chances of success, but small, lively pieces that represent a clear alternative program to the elaborate Broadway shows. Thus came about in 1982, when were on Broadway just the pathetic, through-composed works in the style of Les Misérables on the rise, which now became a cult piece Off- Broadway musical Little Shop of Horrors out.

In German-speaking American terminology has stimulated the terms off-theater and off- stage and off-off - stage.

Off- Broadway musicals

  • The Fantasticks, dt The novel Ticker ( 1960)
  • Hair ( 1967 Broadway 1968)
  • Godspell (1971, Broadway 1976)
  • A Chorus Line ( 1975 Broadway in the same year )
  • Little Shop of Horrors, dt Little Shop of Horrors (1982 )
  • Avenue X ( 1994)
  • I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (1996 )
  • Urinetown, dt Urinetown (2001, Broadway in the same year )
  • Avenue Q (2003, Broadway in the same year )
  • The Last Five Years, GV "The Last Five Years" (2002)
  • Next to Normal, (2008, Broadway 2009)
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