Is Broadway Still Relevant?

Last night I met up with a group of friends I first worked with nearly 10 years ago at the Guthrie Theatre's Summer Experience for Actors Still in Training.  

We reminisced about that summer, looking back with great fondness. "That was the funnest summer of my life," a friend told me.

After a few minutes someone asked the relevance of Broadway. "Does is still matter in America and how?"

The three of us fell quiet trying to answer this question seemingly out of left field. But it was important, particularly for three men who'd dedicated much of their lives to performing on stage, and now that one of us was a teacher hoping to shed light on it's value to his students on a weekend trip to New York from Tennessee. 

Eventually we all concluded that it did matter. It mattered because it served as the "mecca" of stage performance, for better or worse. And though we may not have been fans of all the productions that graced its stages, we recognized it served as something to strive for. 

The goal was really not the point, but rather who you became in it's pursuit. When you know there is a place filled with hardworking and like-minded people who already do what you want to do it puts a bounce in your step and hopefully turns your will into an outward force. 

That's something we can all benefit from.