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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2016 18:12:46 GMT
This topic seems to split opinions, but what do you prefer?
Personally, I love the West End with all the variety of shows, from new to old and jukebox to revival as well as the plays. They seems to get some great British talent too on stage too, recently!
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Post by Steffi on Jun 16, 2016 18:25:35 GMT
Tough one. I've been seeing shows in the West End for much longer than on Broadway (first visited New York in 2009 and only started flying over regularly in 2014).
I prefer the atmosphere in the West End. And Broadway audiences can be quite annoying at least from my experience. But for me sitting down in a theatre on Broadway to watch a show is extra exciting for sure (however, that might just be because I've been seeing West End shows for so long it doesn't feel that special anymore).
If you like seeing stars on stage (and I mean actual stars, not z celebrities) Broadway definitely is the place to go. Not saying the West End doesn't attract star names but Broadway is another level.
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Post by Jon on Jun 16, 2016 18:35:13 GMT
I love Broadway and like the fact theatres are grouped in blocks so they're easy to travel to but some of them do lack the charm that West End theatres have. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, the West End is great for plays but Broadway is great for musicals.
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Post by viserys on Jun 16, 2016 18:54:53 GMT
It can't be "either or" for me. Broadway admittedly tends to have more good new musicals, but the West End has the edge on plays.
Overall I think the West End wins for me. All other things aside there's the geographical aspect: I can always pop over to London for a weekend, but I don't see a point in wasting so much money on expensive transatlantic flights to always the same location when there are so many interesting cities to see in the world.
Other points:
* Okay, on Broadway it's often easier to get generous 40-50%-off discounts in advance, but they don't have anything as wonderful as our cheap front row dayseats (their "rush" is often limited to students and then often bad seats)
* The West End doesn't do the kind of insane hype Broadway does (see Producers, Book of Mormon and now of course Hamilton) with insane ticket prices to boot.
* Times Square. Can't tolerate it. It's the seventh circle of hell for me. Leicester Square is unfortunately heading that way too but since theatres are more spread out, it's much easier to avoid.
PS: I disagree that you can see more "stars" on Broadway. Yes, you get the odd Hollywood star there like Tom Hanks or Bruce Willis (!) since they are Americans starring in the American theatre capital. But I wouldn't think of people like Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Tom Hiddleston, Benny Cumberbatch (etc etc) as lesser stars.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2016 18:56:51 GMT
Tough one. I've been seeing shows in the West End for much longer than on Broadway (first visited New York in 2009 and only started flying over regularly in 2014). I prefer the atmosphere in the West End. And Broadway audiences can be quite annoying at least from my experience. But for me sitting down in a theatre on Broadway to watch a show is extra exciting for sure (however, that might just be because I've been seeing West End shows for so long it doesn't feel that special anymore). If you like seeing stars on stage (and I mean actual stars, not z celebrities) Broadway definitely is the place to go. Not saying the West End doesn't attract star names but Broadway is another level. Yes I agree with you about the at atmosphere. The West End does get good names though, in recent years. Imelda Staunton, Rebel Wilson, Sheridan Smith, Glenn Close, Glenda Jackson, Celia Imrie, Beverley Knight, Richard Madden, Keneneth Brangah, Lily James etc. They do get good names sometimes |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2016 18:59:13 GMT
* Times Square. Can't tolerate it. It's the seventh circle of hell for me. Leicester Square is unfortunately heading that way too but since theatres are more spread out, it's much easier to avoid. PS: I disagree that you can see more "stars" on Broadway. Yes, you get the odd Hollywood star there like Tom Hanks or Bruce Willis (!) since they are Americans starring in the American theatre capital. But I wouldn't think of people like Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Tom Hiddleston, Benny Cumberbatch (etc etc) as lesser stars. Totally agree about the "stars" thing! All those names are huge, and there have been loads more too! I think it would be nice if Leicester Square had huge signs for West End shows and direction to theatres, like Times Square does! |
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Post by Jon on Jun 16, 2016 19:05:37 GMT
I think it would be nice if Leicester Square had huge signs for West End shows and direction to theatres, like Times Square does! Leicester Square doesn't have the space for those billboards, I for one am glad London hasn't succumb to those giant billboards with just the one in Piccadilly Circus. |
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Post by Steffi on Jun 16, 2016 19:19:31 GMT
Of course the West End gets stars too. Lots of them. :-)
I still feel Broadway gets more of them, especially those that basically everyone knows and that - in true Broadway style - will get their name above the title of the show on the posters.
But a star name rarely is the reason I see a show (unless it's Hugh Jackman). And when it comes to great plays I think the West End is ahead of Broadway while Broadway wins in the musical department.
Although I don't watch a lot of Broadway shows when I'm over these days so can only judge from the limited amount of Broadway I've seen.
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Post by viserys on Jun 16, 2016 19:19:34 GMT
I think those billboards (both on Times Square and Piccadilly Circus) were still okay when they were really just billboards lit up by hundreds of tiny lights.
These days with them showing fast-moving animations, videos and what not, they drive me insane. And they seem to have grown bigger in Times Square too, especially towards 42nd Street.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2016 19:53:31 GMT
I think Broadway wins in the new musical department but I think West End wins in plays and the West End pull of some cracking musical revivals too! Just look at all the revivals we've had recently - and they've all been amazing!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2016 21:32:29 GMT
For plays, Off West End is usually much preferable to the West End. For example, seeing Kenny Morgan at the Arcola this week was a far more satisfactory experience than it would have been in an overpriced West End barn, and with a delightful theatre cafe and bar attached the whole evening is so much more pleasant.
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Post by theglenbucklaird on Jun 16, 2016 21:43:46 GMT
When I was there a tout realising I was English and he wouldn't be able to rinse me as he was looking for a big musicals profit dismissed me with a 'oh you're English, you'll only like plays'.
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Post by Jon on Jun 16, 2016 22:04:58 GMT
The subsidied theatres over here are second to none compared to the main not for profit in New York. Roundabout, Manhattan Theatre Club and Lincoln Center Theater which do produce great work but they rarely transfer it unlike the National, Donmar, Almeida etc
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Post by kathryn on Jun 16, 2016 22:32:27 GMT
Well I have never been to Broadway, but the shows there seem to be much more exciting than ours. The best new musicals in London are Broadway imports now - and it's been that way for a few years now. Granted we've sent the odd play over, but nothing that made a huge splash (or so I'm lead to believe). On the issue of 'stars', yes we have them, but our stars seem to reach superstardom upon going to America for work. We get more TV stars than Movie stars - Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones being current examples of stars on the west end. As nice as it is to see Dame Judi, Dame Helen etc, there's a definite buzz when a Hollywood star pops over for some CV credibility. Eh, are they really more exciting, or is there just more hype? The flow of both 'stars' and young talented actors goes both ways, with home-grown talent from both countries generally wanting to go back to their theatre roots at some point. I can't see that changing. One thing is for sure, the West End is cheaper, and we're generally better at cheap ticket schemes and trying to attract a younger audience. In fact Roundabout's 'young person' scheme, Hiptix, is for anyone 35 and under - if you're defining 35 as 'young' and needing a discount your audience has got to be skewing really old and rich! I could never afford to go as frequently to Broadway shows as I do to West End ones. |
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Post by DuchessConstance on Jun 16, 2016 22:52:51 GMT
Definitely West End. But 99% of the time I only see plays, not musicals.
Mainly I like the range, and the commitment in London to new writing. The theatre world in the UK also feels much cosier and friendlier than in NY.
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Post by Phantom of London on Jun 16, 2016 23:08:16 GMT
They say you see a play in London and go to New York to see a show, the problem is I have seen some brilliant musicals in London and cracking plays in New York.
London is the epicentre for theatre, we do more plays on the South Bank that Broadway and off Broadway do put together. New York thinks it is the authority in theatre, but that is bogus, because it pays the wages and attracts the big stars (who where ear pieces, Bruce Willis, Al Pacino, Forest Whitaker) and publishes its grosses, but in New York you have so many hanger ons, that make production costs astronomical, I have seen really decent stuff in New York, but their theater is bloated.
Also their theatres can be dark for long periods, where we have back to back shows here.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Jun 17, 2016 6:12:38 GMT
I prefer West End, but Broadway is better for diversity.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2016 8:25:49 GMT
Broadly the West End is better for plays and Broadway is better for musicals, but I'd happily go to neither ever again as long as I still got to go to the National, the Globe, the Almeida, the Bush, the Young Vic, the Chocolate Factory, etc. I'm very happy with London as a theatre capital, and there's WAY more out there than the West End, a lot of which is WAY better.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2016 9:10:59 GMT
Definitely West End. But 99% of the time I only see plays, not musicals. Mainly I like the range, and the commitment in London to new writing. The theatre world in the UK also feels much cosier and friendlier than in NY. Yes, I agree with "cosier and friendlier". There have for a long time also been top-of-their-game touring and regional theatre companies, which are streets ahead of most actual product offered in the West End, but the ongoing age of austerity of the last decade is now beginning to achieve a much more integrated theatre ecology in the UK where the West End and the preferentially subsidised London venues are all intertwining with everything else. So now Royal Court shows also play in Manchester and Birmingham, Sonia Friedman premieres Anthony Neilson in Liverpool, Bryony Kimmins and Alexander Zeldin take over the Dorfman and then tour, and the Edinburgh Fringe includes a vast showcase of small scale, tourable shows of outstanding impact from seemingly every significant UK theatre company outside the West End. And they all contribute to Latitude and the like with orts and fragments, seeds and fully realised work. Oh what a time it is to be alive in these isles. But tough as sh*t to earn a living. |
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Post by Hamilton Addict on Jun 17, 2016 9:21:05 GMT
I used to prefer the West End, but the more I went to see Broadway, the more I fell in love with it. What the West End wins on: The plays are definitely better over here. Don't actually ever think I've ever seen a 5-star play on B.Way, been to two 5-stars Off-Broadway (Grounded and The Spoils), but that's it. They have good plays, but none that compare to the ones over here. Ticket prices are better, although recently, not that much better. The theatre's are organised a lot better. B.Way have a stupid system of having a long queue outside the theatre, leaving you little time to go to your seats. I love how some West End theatres open their bars an hour before. What Broadway wins on: Hamilton They have a lot of fresh new musicals, which the West End seem to be lacking. The new musicals we do have all seem to flop. Hamilton The atmosphere of a Broadway theatre. Perhaps it's just because I go to the West End so often, but there's just such a magical atmosphere when I enter a B.Way theatre. Hamilton They seem to have better stars, ones that appeal to me more anyway. Because of B.Way I have managed to see some of my favourite actors of all time. Hamilton I don't know why, correct me if I'm wrong, but do B.Way shows have a bigger budget? They just seem grander. Hamilton The Tony's are better done than the Olivier's Hamilton The majority of my favourite shows are on B.Way, including Hamilton.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2016 9:22:41 GMT
There's no denying that Broadway dominates on terms of musicals. Just look at the last few years; Hamilton, Fun Home, Waitress, Something Rotten.
Whereas, I feel we're much better with new plays; King Charles III, Hangmen, People, Place and Things - though we have the subsidised sector to thanks for those.
What I do love about Broadway is their ability to sell a show on a Broadway star; a Sutton Foster or Jessie Mueller. Over here it has to be a Sheridan or an Imelda.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2016 15:30:22 GMT
I do think that Broadway wins in producing the new musicals section. All the new musicals over here, that sell well, seem to be transfers from Broadway. I'd love to see more British musicals being made.
I do think, however, that the Oliviers are just as good as the TONYs?! I think the Oliviers are marvellous, and they are certainly getting bigger seen as they're going to the Royal Albert Hall next year. I think the atmosphere is better here too and we seem to understand theatre etiquette better.
Plays seem to be better over here too.
I do think we win on musical revivals though. Doesn't anyone else agree? The amount of musical revivals over here, in recent years, have been great! They all seem to do well financially and attract great star names!
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Post by Jon on Jun 17, 2016 15:44:35 GMT
I do think that Broadway wins in producing the new musicals section. All the new musicals over here, that sell well, seem to be transfers from Broadway. I'd love to see more British musicals being made. I do think, however, that the Oliviers are just as good as the TONYs?! I think the Oliviers are marvellous, and they are certainly getting bigger seen as they're going to the Royal Albert Hall next year. I think the atmosphere is better here too and we seem to understand theatre etiquette better. Plays seem to be better over here too. I do think we win on musical revivals though. Doesn't anyone else agree? The amount of musical revivals over here, in recent years, have been great! They all seem to do well financially and attract great star names! The Oliviers suck in comparison to the Tonys but I think Americans just do award shows better than us. Musical revivals I think neck and neck. I've seen some great revivals on Broadway like Anything Goes and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and many of the not for profits do fantastic revivals like the LCT productions of The King and I, South Pacific etc and the Roundabout productions of She Loves Me, On the Twentieth Century etc |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2016 15:56:12 GMT
The Oliviers and Tonys argument isn't a fair comparison. There is SO much money thrown at the Tonys, and they have a much greater exposure.
I also think we're matched in regard to Musical Revivals. We have Chichester and Sheffield, but they have the Lincoln Centre and Roundabout.
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Post by Jon on Jun 17, 2016 16:08:40 GMT
The Oliviers and Tonys argument isn't a fair comparison. There is SO much money thrown at the Tonys, and they have a much greater exposure. I also think we're matched in regard to Musical Revivals. We have Chichester and Sheffield, but they have the Lincoln Centre and Roundabout. I suppose the equivalent to Chichester and Sheffield would be A.R.T which is in Cambridge, Massachusetts and La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego. The Public Theatre has also made it big with Hamilton, Fun Home as well as the revival of Hair |
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