Abstract
While the purchase of a ticket marks the theatregoer’s commitment to consuming the Broadway musical, the experience of the live performance is not the end of his consumption of the given musical, or of the Broadway brand. Post-performance, the spectator will communicate his memories of and emotional responses to the musical, along with the ideas it promoted, advertising the musical’s brand for the producers, free of charge. This article traces the developments in musical theatre marketing from the 1960s onwards to illustrate how and why spectators choose to consume musicals. With analysis of marketing campaigns, audience demographic studies conducted by Broadway producers and other archival material, this article privileges the musical theatre spectator's value as both consumer and commodity.
| Translated title of the contribution | Consuming potential: the musical theatre spectator as consumer and commodity |
|---|---|
| Original language | French |
| Pages (from-to) | 137-150 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | L'Annuaire Théâtral |
| Volume | 58 |
| Issue number | Autumn |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Keywords
- musical theatre
- theatre audiences
- liveness
- marketing
- consumption