How do you say "Wicked" in Tagalog? Broadway Spreads Around the GlobeIntroducing Jaques, Gordon Cox's worldly theater Substack
Shalom, Broadway lovers!
Tomorrow Thursday FREE: West Side Story class Heard about Broadway Maven classes but not sure if Membership is right for you? Thursday is the last Rush Week class, on West Side Story. Rush Week is a great no-commitment chance to find out if Broadway Maven Membership appeals to you. Tomorrow Thursday, The Broadway Maven is offering a FREE class on West Side Story, covering themes, lyrics, characters, story, and includes a music theory segment by Mateo Chavez Lewis demonstrating at his piano. Class meets at both Noon and 7 pm ET. In today’s MARQUEE: The Broadway Maven’s Weekly Blast: A) a rundown of Broadway efforts around the globe based on an interview with global Broadway Substacker Gordon Cox; B) a Broadway Blast about Rent; C) a quiz about last words of Broadway shows; D) a video homework about West Side Story; and E) a Last Blast about Assassins and The Music Man.
REPORT: Broadway is a global business these days, and nobody knows more about that trend than Gordon Cox, a writer for Variety who publishes the Substack Jaques (pronounced JAKE-wheeze) covering musical theater around the globe. Gordon and I recently had a chance to discuss global trends in the Broadway industry. Here's an update of what's going on regarding Broadway around the world: • When Wicked came to Brazil, Stephen Schwartz was personally involved with the translation into Brazilian Portuguese, which used local slang, including "let me throw a green," a local idiom for "let me take a wild guess." • London doesn't have the only European production of Starlight Express. Gordon was able to visit the show's long-running outpost in Bochum, Germany, where he examined the mystery of why the show has done so well in such a small town. • India is "a market that people are waiting to really take off," given the cultural love for song and dance showed in Bollywood films. The country just doesn't (yet) have "the same theatergoing tradition" • Japan has been adapting manga and anime into musicals for the last 10-15 years. • Madrid has become a "very prominent European market," rivaling Hamburg in importance among musical theater cities in continental Europe. • Manila has a "robust new musical scene," with many jukebox musicals from "big-deal Filipino bands," but also some successful original musicals. • Paris has been "notably reluctant to embrace musicals," but West Side Story has done well there. • South Korea has "a huge musical theater industry" with "giant shows on par with the biggest Broadway productions." Korean producers have become global players, and the Korean-originated Maybe Happy Ending may create a "foothold" for other shows to have success with Broadway runs. • Taiwan has been the home for a musical version of The Wedding Banquet, which producers would like to see Broadway-bound. Gordon tells me it's an exciting time to be a global observer of Broadway, both in terms of American-grown shows and those that originate abroad: "People have begun to think earlier and more seriously about the international potential of a show that they're working on... There are so many interesting collisions of cultural tradition and the theater tradition that we as Americans know best." I'm pleased to say you can join the nearly 700 subscribers to Jaques at a significant discount. MARQUEE subscribers can get 50% off a subscription to Jaques for up to one year at the button below. BROADWAY BLAST: “La Vie Bohème” in Rent is more than a love letter to counterculture—it’s a declaration that art and sexuality are inseparable in the bohemian lifestyle. The lyrics link creativity and sexual expression, as in “creation, vacation, mucho masturbation,” where self-expression becomes a joyful act of defiance. Lines like “to Sontag, to Sondheim, to anything taboo” celebrate a tradition of artists who pushed boundaries in both their work and personal lives, showing how breaking norms in one realm inspires boldness in the other. The song doesn’t just depict artists in sexually diverse relationships; it presents a lifestyle where avant-garde art and liberated sexuality are entwined, rejecting conformity in favor of authenticity. Through its chaotic energy and defiant lyrics, the song encapsulates Rent’s theme: that living authentically means embracing the radical union of art, identity, and love. GAME: Which major Broadway show ends with the following word? (There may be more than one answer.) Solution at the end of the issue, below the Last Blast. 1. away 2. bientôt 3. comes 4. flour 5. possibilities 6. scrotum 7. slippers 8. tonight 9. wicked 10. wish MEMBERSHIP: Broadway Maven Membership is just $18 a month and includes 5-15 classes and other expert-led Broadway experiences, plus a password to the Clips Archive and periodic giveaways to Broadway and off-Broadway shows, including at least one opening night performance and party (the first such drawing of 2025 will be January 12, for an off-Broadway opening). Upcoming Members-only classes include Guys and Dolls; A Little Night Music; The Book of Mormon; “Savoring Broadway,” and a watch party for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder in which we watch it with the man who won a Tony for writing it: Robert L. Freedman. Join this vibrant learning community at the button below. It’s your home for Broadway appreciation!
Explore the timeless musical West Side Story with The Broadway Maven and delve into the powerful themes, music, and choreography that make it a theatrical masterpiece. Through engaging video lectures, interactive discussions, and guided exercises, you will unravel the show's rich history, from its groundbreaking collaboration among Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerome Robbins, and Arthur Laurents, to the cultural impact it continues to hold today. Learn about the iconic songs, mesmerizing dance sequences, and universal message of love, rivalry, and hope in New York’s streets. And Mateo Chavez Lewis will be on hand at his piano to teach about the song “Maria” and Leonard Bernstein’s use of the tritone. Whether you’re a theater enthusiast or new to musical theater, this class will broaden your artistic perspective and inspire you to fully appreciate and deeply understand West Side Story in a whole new way.
HOMEWORK: Why a fire escape? The interpretive essay in the video homework below answers that questions and many others about the symbolism and thematic material in West Side Story. Your final homework for Rush Week, for your Thursday, January 9 class, is to watch the video, and in the comments explain your answer to the following question: What is the theme of West Side Story? 
Note: A full calendar of upcoming classes is always available at TheBroadwayMaven.com.• Thursday, January 9 Noon and 7 pm ET West Side Story (FREE, register HERE) • Sunday, January 12 Noon ET Counterpoint in musical theater with Juilliard Prof. Edward Barnes (Members only) • Monday, January 13 Noon ET Guys and Dolls (Members only) • Tuesday, January 14 Noon and 7 pm ET A Little Night Music (Members only) • Sunday, January 19 Noon ET Maven Scholar presentations (Members only) • Tuesday, January 21 Noon and 7 pm ET The Book of Mormon (Members only) • Sunday, January 26 Noon and 7 pm ET “Savoring Broadway” (Members only) • Sunday, February 2 Noon ET Watch Party: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder with SPECIAL GUEST Tony-winning book writer Robert L. Freedman (yeah, we’re watching it with the guy who wrote it). (Members only)
LAST BLAST: At one point during "The Gun Song" from Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Assassins, four of the characters sing a barbershop quartet. The segment evokes the most important barbershop quartet in Broadway history, the school board from The Music Man. And the contrast is stark: each is a vision of Americana. However, while one is about destruction, ego, and ambition, the other is about community, unity, and achievement. The darker show is only able to express its irony because the musical form has such associations with quaint, nostalgic, small-town America. SOLUTION TO THE GAME: Annie, Cabaret, Les Misérables, Waitress, Sunday in the Park with George, The Book of Mormon, My Fair Lady, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Wicked, Into the Woods The Broadway Maven is a vibrant educational community that helps its members think more deeply about musical theater. Every month, members may attend 5-15 expert-led classes and innovative Broadway experiences, all for just $18. We also foster enthusiasm for Broadway through the FREE weekly substack newsletter MARQUEE and host an expansive YouTube channel. It's your home for Broadway appreciation. Contact The Broadway Maven at DavidBenkof@gmail.com. You're currently a free subscriber to MARQUEE: The Broadway Maven's Weekly Blast. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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