Broadway Magic!

     Technology in broadway has come a long way and it definitely adds to the immersion and storytelling. Many of the broadway plays I have seen recently have had some pretty cool stuff in it! It definitely adds that special effects found in movies and bring them right to the audience!

     Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark is the first one that comes to my mind when using special effects. Now there was absolutely no way to save a Spiderman broadway show cause think how bad that idea is, but they added some web slinging action as Spiderman would swing around the theatre right to the audience to add some immersion along with a Green Goblin battle. That seems awesome and it is... half the time when they do it right. Make sure to see this broadway show when they are on there A-Game or your gonna see some serious injuries.

     Newsies was another play that used a creative choreography through the use of what looked to be moving stairways and hallways to show all the action during their songs. It was a great musical and it was one that needed a lot more space than a stage which is why they made such great use of this giant prop.

   
     Chiddy Ciddy Bang Bang didn't really offer to much that I remember in technology except for one of the coolest things at the end! Right at the end of the last song they took that magical flying car and had it drive up into the audience making the effect that seemed as if it was flying. In a musical about a flying car they needed to back it up like this in such a cool fashion!

     Lion King was one that didn't use technology in the props, but in the characters themselves. Every actor and actresses heads were present throughout the whole musical, yet it did not take away from the immersion. They created very detailed costumes and masks placed on the top of their heads which was very clever because in a story about nothing but animals, you needed the performers to have their voice heard and not muffled in Disney World costumes. I think the way the outfits were decorated had become a milestone in broadway.

Now to get away from Disney musicals, the Phantom of the Opera was another one that definitely used the chandelier to add the the horror and suspense. In the theatre, a giant chandelier hangs above and looks like it's just apart of the place as a decoration but as the Phantom starts to cause terror, the chandelier begins to rock back and forth and starts to turn on and off repeatedly and even to the point where it almost drops on the audience. It's a freaky thing that if your not aware about it before you walk in you'll have no idea what to expect!