Broadway musical commercial theater in the context of the socio-cultural environment of the 70s of the XX century

Abstract

Broadway musicals created in the 70s of the XX century are a reflection of many socio-cultural phenomena taking place in the USA at that time. Their dynamic, originally formed musical dramaturgy, an appeal to topical topics consonant with the public consciousness of the era of the 70s, makes this period of development truly unique. The works created during these years by Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Schwartz, John Kander, Fred Ebb, Marvin Hamlisch, Edward Kleban greatly influenced the development of the musical genre, enriching it with new musical and dramatic techniques, a fundamentally new worldview for that time. The 70s of the XX century were the heyday of the creative work of musical theater di- © К.А. Брейтбург, 2022 rectors such as Harold Prince, Bob Foss, Jerome Robins, Michael Bennett, whose work revealed the musical and dramatic features of musicals, created an atmosphere and a unique charm of entertainment, but at the same time a special psychological depth, for which such musicals as “Chicago”, “Corps de Ballet”, “Company”, “Little Night Music” became famous. Commercial theater is also professional management and non-trivial production solutions that promote artistic works to the market. Perhaps because of this, these musicals have become beloved by a huge audience and iconic in the history of the genre as a whole. The 70s were especially difficult for the life survival of Broadway theaters, because the conditions of the economic crisis in the United States were increasing. Society, on the one hand, became more and more divided, on the other hand, various racial and gender minorities united, intensifying the struggle for their civil rights, the women's movement for equality was gaining more and more strength. Since its inception in the middle of the XIX century and up to the beginning of the XXI century, the Broadway musical has been and remains a vibrant, viable entertainment form. The musical as a kind of musical theater has endured devastating economic and political crises, radical shifts in public consciousness and the development of much more modern, less expensive and supported mass entertainment media with enviable resilience. This type of musical and scenic art continues to live and develop steadily, and in recent years its importance in social and cultural life and popularity among the general population, including in our country, has increased significantly. The stage American musical is a constantly adapting commercial musical and theatrical entertainment form, which is the product of a dynamically developing socio-cultural environment. It is impossible to separate the processes occurring in the genre-stylistic evolution of the musical from the economic, socio-political and social phenomena occurring at each individual historical stage of the development of society. That is why the materials presented in the article are interdisciplinary. They are connected not only with the musical as a kind of musical and scenic art, but, what is fundamentally important and new for this kind of research, with the socio-historical background that influenced the formation of certain trends in the development and formation of musical theater.