Broadway百老汇

brief introduction• Broadway is a street in Manhattan, New

York. The street across the island of Manhattan from the south to north. It is the longest and most bustling street in the world. There are a lot of theaters at both sides of the street, so it is the most important cradle（发源地） of drama and musical in the United States. That’s why Broadway became a synonym（代名词） of musical.

These are the night Broadway.American has created a very

vivid word ----The Great White Way（白色大道） , to describe the Broadway’s beautiful picture

in night.

The history of Broadway musical

The Broadway musical originated in the 19th century. Broadway has become the center of drama in that time. In the 1920s, Broadway shows were in a period of great prosperity（鼎盛时期） , but the good times put an end in the 1930s because of Economic Crisis. Today, Broadway musical become New York‘s main stage shows. They are no longer confined to Broadway, or even tour（巡回演出） the world.

Famous people Many Hollywood stars are coming

out from the Broadway stage. One example is Julie Andrews, she was found by director because she was the actress in the musical "The Sound of Music”. Then she changed direction to the screen and became

the American screen idols in 1960s.

There were a lot of musicians in Broadway; the most famous is Andrew Lloyd Webber. He was born in London and fond of music in childhood. He created many musicals which were handed down from his age（传世之作） . He also wrote music for films.

The meaning of Broadway• “Broadway” actually has three meanings: the first

meaning is the geographical concept, referring to the 36 Theatres near Times Square; the second meaning is these shows in the Broadway; the third meaning is the Broadway industry, also including some theaters which shows mainly based on Broadway shows but their position are not in New York. Overall, Broadway is the peak（巅峰） of Western drama and represents the highest level of artistic achievement and commercial success.

"Broadway," the meaning of the word today is not just focused on this street or the theater; people use the word to refer to the essence of American drama. So that an actor’s name appear in a Broadway Theater is the symbol of real success.

The Influence

When a musical has a successful performance in Broadway Theater, it will be famous throughout the United States and throughout the whole Western world. So the musical will be performed in various places. From the same token, the majority of successful musicals in America will move to Broadway Theater, and then it will be advanced to other places by Broadway’s repute.

《歌剧魅影》《 The phantom of the opera 》

Today, Broadway musical has become one of the pillars in New York’s cultural industry. Watching a Broadway musical is an indispensable thing to every tourist who comes to New York.