(Joanne Kaufman’s article appeared in The New York Times, 12/13; via Pam Green.)
With tickets to certain musicals going for sums in the high three figures — and don’t forget the long, snaking lines even to get in the door — Broadway audiences surely deserve a little extra acknowledgment.
Something that says, “We’re glad you’re here” — maybe in song. And shows like “Come From Away,” “The Band’s Visit” and “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical” are obliging nightly.
“You’re asking people to spend two-plus hours,” said Kyle Jarrow, the “SpongeBob” book writer. “That’s a big ask. There’s something appropriate about a song that basically says, ‘Welcome — we’re going to be here together for a while.’”
Such songs — the classic of the genre may be “Willkommen,” from “Cabaret” — are part of a tradition that dates back at least to Shakespeare. What’s a prologue if not a welcome?
(Read more)
