GLEEk Out!!

Throughout high school I was HEAVILY involved with chorus and drama (actually, I was involved in musical theatre). So, in memory of my high school era days-of-yore, I choose to post about...

Now, Broadway finds it's humble beginnings in the days of Vaudeville, that neighborhood-talent-show-Donald-O'Conor-Make-'Em-Laugh kind of theater performance. Actors sang, dance, performed tricks, anything you can think of. To portray black people in Vaudeville shows, white actors would put on black make-up called "black face,"since blacks weren't typically allowed in theaters.

As Broadway traveled down it's timeline, we brought into the 20th century to hear music from Cole Porter and George and Ira Gershwin, composers who have given us such timeless classics as Kiss Me Kate, Anything Goes, and Crazy for You (originally Girl Crazy).
Continuing on, we arrive in the era of Rogers and Hammerstein (The King and I, The Sound of Music, South Pacific, etc.), Kander and Ebb, Loerner and Lowe (all those great composing duos), as well as some amazing individuals like Stephen Sondheim and Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, anyone?).

Composers like Sondheim and Schwartz have also brought us into the new Broadway age, where books and movies are becoming stage shows (Wicked, Jane Eyre, Little Women, even the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm [Into the Woods]; Legally Blonde, Spamalot, The Wedding Singer) and entire musicals are being written showcasing the songs of one particular artist/group (Jersey Boys, All Shook Up [below, left: my high school's production of ASU... I'm in the sweater vest in the center]).

Ever want to see what it's like to be in a Broadway show? Well, Broadway's got you covered! Musicals (and fine, some plays, too) that revolve around the concept of a show within a show are also out there (Check out 42nd Street).

In our wonderful cosmos that is 2010, we can see Broadway being remediated and re-envisioned everywhere we look. Revivals of shows are popping up every few months, high school productions are putting on shows with their own twists, TV shows use the music to appeal to teens (and adults) all over the world, and high school musical theatre troupes (like the West Boca High School Bulls on Broadway [GO BULLS!!]) are performing individual numbers in neighborhoods around the country.


Glee is the newest remediation of the wonder that is Broadway. From its pilot episode, Glee stars had their fans "hopelessly devoted" to watching every week and listening to the latest covers of the songs features in that week's themed episode. Glee doesn't just stick to Broadway, though. The show has covered songs from genres across the board: pop, rock, folk, gospel, hip-hop, jazz, country, and on.

While Glee has remediate and repurposed a multitude of popular songs from this generation and many of those before it, it has also portrayed a dramatized view of show choirs and glee clubs in the American high school. Believe me, show choir was never that shameful to your reputation, and no one got the outrageous and envious solos of Lea Michele et al.

Broadway has been further remediated onto the internet, too. Sites such as Broadway.com and Playbill.com keep Broadway fanatics up-to-date on all their favorite shows and stars, uploading news stories, pictures, videos, interviews, you-name-it on a daily, if not hourly, basis.

It's as simple as this:
What started out as the most famous never-ending community talent-show has turned into one of the biggest sing-along TV shows, which some major stage shows somewhere in the middle. Broadway is more than just a form of entertainment. It's a way of life.