Fame and recognition outside of the ‘theatre bubble’

...another not other...

There are more than two TheateBoarders with a PhD on here. 

(And I’ve heard of both.)

The best example is surely Kerry Ellis - the leading lady of the west end that couldn’t even get through the first round of The Voice.

Anyway, back to Company... do we think we’ll get a cast recording, or a recording of any kind at all? For such a limited run, I’d be surprised if they didn’t try and find a way to make a little bit more money... especially with it being the first production with the gender swap, such a brilliant cast and with the reactions it’s getting.

It really was a brilliant production. My only niggle is that I can’t really figure out why they changed the gender of the 3 possible partners too. Not that I complain... Richard was perfect casting.

Both are probably more known for their TV work - especially in the UK (outside of theatre fans). Idina for Glee and Kristin for Pushing Daisies... and both only had brief spells of popularity.

That said - and fair play to them - they can pull in a crowd in London pretty well. I’m still amazed Idina played Wembley!

Another? That doesn’t make sense.

I’m going to add a PhD to my profile name now too!

To be serious for a moment, what we're talking about is the outcome of the movement from broadcast entertainment - in the sense of everyone seeing the same thing at the same time - to 'narrowcast' entertainment, which has been happening gradually since the roll out of cable TV, through the digital revolution, and sped up exponentially by the internet. Essentially everyone is living in their own little filter-bubble these days of their own interests, and you can narrowly target people by their interest with information and entertainment, instead of broadcasting it to everyone in order to make sure the 2% of people who are really interested see it. It's great for advertising, in that you can make sure you target all of your spending at the people most likely to actually buy a ticket. The downside is that people who are not already interested in something may never discover an interest in it. The risk is that your market will shrink, not grow, as everyone is targeting the same 2% of the population and not attracting people from outside of that niche.

Patti is of course famous - nototrious, even - among theatre fans, while being virtually unheard of by anyone who is not in the theatre bubble. 
It's not a reflection on her talent as a performer, it's a by-product of the modern entertainment ecosystem. Similarly there are reality TV stars and Youtubers I have never heard of who have millions of avid fans.

I've brought this up before, and I know it provokes very strong feelings of alarm among certain board members, but I think it bears repeating: a the moment the most recognisable British musical theatre performer among the wider general public - certainly among the dreaded millennial demographic - is probably James Corden. And that's because he performs musical theatre regularly on the telly/internet with famous people.

If we had a British equivalent of Glee, or a MT casting show still on the telly, that would be different. But we don't. 

I'm actually at the oldest range of millennial, so have several friends who are older and outside the bracket. But as I keep telling them, that's ok, because that means it's not their fault! They get to blame us for everything. 

..and hidden in the ensemble.

What about Michael Ball. I would guess his presence helped Passion open back in the day. Similarly the West End transfer of Sweeney. 

I mean he was (for shame) in Into the Woods. And forthcoming as a Cat of some kind. 


All of this gives me pause to ask 'what IS he famous for?' as a serious question. I knew him from Gavin and Stacey before History Boys (for shame etc, but perhaps proves our point). How did he go from Barry's Island, to sh*t films with Matthew Horne to taking up screen time that should have been Cate Blanchett's? 

As every I don't wish the boy any ill, it's not his fault I lost 3 hours of my life to One Man... he just confuses me. 

Oh, Into The Woods, good shout. Not musical *theatre* as such, but I doubt the average person in the street is going to be as pedantic as I am at any given time.