is off broadway a brand?
Interesting to see the latest minutes from the Off Broadway Brainstormers’ meeting. They’re valiantly trying to re-energize Off Broadway but what is Off Broadway? I’m not convinced that labels like "Off Broadway", "independent film", "indie rock" actually mean anything as "brands".
The punters – as we call them in Australia – go to shows. No-one says "let’s go see an Off Broadway show", at least, not in meaningful numbers. If a show get’s buzz, it gets an audience regardless of it’s label.
Anyway, the mainstream has absorbed the edgy, so Off Broadway is not culturally distinct. The studios bought the best indie film companies; successful Off Broadway shows more to Broadway; and network tv is as edgy as cable. Creating fresh artistic distinction is the real challenge for Off Broadway. That’s how successful producers – like Scott Morfee at Barrow St – are thriving despite the doom and gloom.