The Global Media Site for Entertainment.
Menu
It can be difficult to have a long-running Broadway hit if your play or musical portrays a time of merry and cheer for the holidays. However, there are a few that have done just that. Going to Broadway for the holidays isn’t traditional in the sense that most people think of churches or the Rockettes when it comes to thoughts of Christmastime. These Broadway hits have somehow managed to be classics while portraying the happy holidays.
In 1977, a little orphaned red-haired girl stole everyone’s hearts as she found a new home with a wealthy billionaire. Annie ran for nearly six years with 2,377 performances which set a record for the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre). The production won seven Tony Awards, launched several national tours, and inspired two movies. The original Broadway hit had a run time of 2 hours 45 minutes. The revival was unfortunately less popular as it opened in late 2012, but closed its curtains in early 2014 with less than 500 performances. Still, the little orphan Annie shows a spectacular Christmas scene as Annie herself descends the grand staircase of the mansion.
In late 2008, we were greeted to a harsh time of the U.K. miner’s strike as Billy Elliot debuted on Broadway. Even though Billy Elliot only ran for three years, it gathered 10 Tony Awards, 4 Oliver Awards, and an international U.K. and Ireland tour. The score features songs by Elton John and Lee Hall with a run time of 110 minutes. Similar to other child-like fantasies, the show sets up a dream-like state where the young actors are dressed as the toys they would be playing with if it weren’t for the strikes. Unfortunately, even after 40 successful previews before opening to the public, the story didn’t resonate with those in the U.S. as it did in the U.K. The show stayed on the West End in London for 11 years.
While there are several Broadway hits modelled after successful movies, Elf didn’t have a stage adaptation for nearly ten years after the movie. The musical debuted with cheerful new songs that quickly became heard on radios across the nation including ‘Sparklejollytwinklejingley’ as Buddy makes his way through the concrete jungle and tries to impress his biological father. Unfortunately, as this show is centred solely on the holidays, it had a short run after 15 previews and 57 regular performances but is brought back regularly for each holiday season both on Broadway and the West End.
Perhaps one of the most successful musicals that portrays the holidays is Rent. The musical ran on Broadway for 12 years, making it one of the longest-running shows on Broadway. With a run time of 2 hours 30 minutes the show inspired a movie with a star studded cast, won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, four Tony Awards, and three Drama Desk Awards. Rent shows a time of struggles during the holidays unlike most movies where everything is cheerful and great during the holidays. It certainly becomes a great holiday when Angel shows up fully decked out in a Santa outfit to cheer everyone up.
Janine has always been a part of music and performing. The first show that inspired her to go into theatre was the Velveteen Rabbit which she saw as a child, and Drew works to keep that magic alive in her work. When Drew was accepted into an internship program for audio engineering at a recording studio, she jumped at the opportunity. That was at the start of 2020, and so much has happened since then, both in her career and in the world. Since then, Drew has taken several opportunities to work at recording studios, concerts, festivals, and even large theatres while spending some time on tour. Drew's favorite by far though, has been the chance to work on Broadways and West End shows, as this was a dream come true. Drew is honoured to get to share these experiences from being inside the entertainment industry.
Read Full Profile
© 2021 TheatreArtLife. All rights reserved.
Thank you so much for reading, but you have now reached your free article limit for this month.
Our contributors are currently writing more articles for you to enjoy.
To keep reading, all you have to do is become a subscriber and then you can read unlimited articles anytime.
Your investment will help us continue to ignite connections across the globe in live entertainment and build this community for industry professionals.
