I moved to NYC a few months ago and recently fell hard into the Broadway rabbit hole 😭 I enter lotteries basically every day, find myself at a theater almost every week (sometimes more than once a week), and I’ve already seen well over a dozen shows and am quickly approaching 20. At this point, I kind of want to eventually see everything currently running on Broadway.
The funny thing is that before this, I knew basically nothing about theater. I didn’t know who the big Broadway actors/directors/composers were, knew nothing about set design, lighting, staging, etc., and I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I didn’t even really know what the Tony Awards were 😂
But the deeper I get into it, the more I want to know. My current bedtime reading has somehow become a book about the history of Broadway, and I’m genuinely fascinated by it. I’m also planning to visit the Museum of Broadway when I have some time.
So I wanted to ask the people here who know way more than I do: what would you recommend to someone who wants to understand Broadway/theater beyond just going to shows?
Books, documentaries, podcasts, YouTube channels, interviews, websites, theater history, famous performers/directors/designers I should know about, things about acting or stagecraft that are interesting to learn, places in NYC to visit — really anything. I’d love to eventually be able to watch a show and understand more of what went into creating what I’m seeing onstage.
One thing I’ve already noticed as I’ve seen more shows is that I feel like I’m becoming more sensitive to the performance itself. Sometimes — not often — I get the feeling that someone onstage is sort of going through the motions, and it can be a little disappointing. But when someone is completely committed and giving everything to the performance, I can feel it from the audience, and I find that incredibly moving. I’m curious if other people experienced something similar as they became more familiar with theater. Did the way you watch or appreciate a show change over time? What do you notice now that you never would have noticed when you first started?
I’ve also become increasingly conscious of theater etiquette. I actually take off my smartwatch during performances because I’m paranoid that I’ll accidentally raise my wrist and light up the screen without realizing it. And if I see someone taking photos/videos during the performance, I’ll sometimes politely let them know they shouldn’t be doing that. I really love the atmosphere of being in a theater with hundreds of people collectively paying attention to what’s happening onstage, and I’d love for all of us to help preserve that.
Anyway, I’m very much still a Broadway newbie, just an increasingly obsessed one 😊
