"The best thing that Broadway can do is attract as much talent as possible," argued the founder of digital marketing firm Situation Interactive. "Innovator development is the best path to audience development."
Bazadona is one of the organizers of TEDxBroadway, a conference where industry leaders discussed where the Great White Way will be in 2032. Fostering creativity was one of many topics at the event, which brought together theater movers and shakers to present on a multitude of issues from audience development to ticketing at New World Stages on Monday.
Event organizer and Broadway producer Ken Davenport, whose current credits include "Chinglish" and "Godspell," opened with an overview of the last 20 years on Broadway. From skyrocketing ticket prices to Jonathan Larson's "Rent" ushering in a new age of the musical, the Main Stem theater has certainly evolved over the past two decades.
Attracting the next generation of audience members, producers, and performers was a prevalent theme among each of the event's 15 speakers and performers. Even Neil Patrick Harris, who addressed to the crowd via pre-recorded video, had a few things to say about what talent will look like in the future.
"Every show should star Hugh Jackman," the "How I Met Your Mother" star and two-time Tony Awards host joked. When asked who he wanted to see starring in Broadway shows, he responded, "many more NPHs and fewer Hugh Jackmans."
Humor aside, the trend of celebrities taking over Broadway starring roles was seen as a potentially serious problem since more unknowns are being overlooked for roles. Bazadona referred to it as a "talent war," and theater artist Matt Sax argued through poetry that Broadway needs to get "back to creating stars, not importing them," adding, "It's my goal to tell stories that inspire my generation."
Strategist Patricia Martin, who specializes in connecting brands with consumers through culture, argued that the industry is ready for a renaissance, and that the best way to connect with the industry's next wave is through human connection, which is strongest when it happens live.
This idea of live performance was very important to Jordan Roth, president of Jujamcyn Theaters, who also challenged the definition of what an original work can be.
"No one steps out to do something unremarkable," Roth said, arguing that original shows can come from pre-existing source material. "If it fell short, it doesn't change their intent or good will."
Producer Randy Weiner, who brought the innovative hit "Sleep No More" to Off-Broadway, definitely knows how to be original. As a leader in what he calls Narrow-way, Weiner specializes in bringing niche concepts to a wide audience.
"Different is my favorite word," said the site-specific theater leader. "Different is what I'm always striving for in my shows."
One of the day's more moving talks came from New York City school M.S. 343 principal Vincent Gassetto, whose work in the South Bronx challenged attendees to think differently about who the next generation will be. Gassetto presented a video of children from his district, one of the city's poorest, experiencing their first Broadway show. The outing was made possible with the help of Situation Interactive.
"Schools plus Broadway equal infinite possibilities," Gassetto advocated, saying that the 1.1 million children in New York City schools will be the next Broadway artists, investors, audience members, and producers.
But other than probably being a New York street and a place people go to see theater, the future of Broadway is unknown to many.
"We know how easy it is to disrupt the storytelling technique," argued Columbia professor and former Lincoln Center Theater artistic director Greg Mosher, explaining that oral storytelling traditions evolved into books and many others forms of narrative. As to how theater artists and lovers can embrace what's to come? "Accept failure," Mosher said. "Many of the greatest things in this world were mistakes."
