The Broadway Musical of Today
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CAMERON MACKINTOSH AND THE ~ICDONALDIZATION OF MUSICAL THEATRE ~fARKETING CHARLES RICHARD STUART LEE DEPARTIMENTOFDRAMA GOLDSMITHS COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON A thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) 1 ABSTRACT The emergence of the megamusical format- stage presentations such as Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King and Mamma Mia! that have rapidly developed into globalized products- has not only led to a dramatic escalation in production costs but has also, arguably, resulted in the rapid commodification of the genre. A defining feature of this development has been the increasing centrality of marketing within the overall production process. Marketing strategies and techniques displaying features that reflect the basic principles of George Ritzer's McDonaldization theory superficially seem to have become pre-requisites for producers wishing to achieve high levels of product awareness in an increasingly saturated marketplace. This thesis will consider the ways in which the marketing of the genre has developed since the early 1980s, and will assess the degree to which marketing has been infused with McDonaldized principles. This thesis will also consider the effects that this commodified approach has had on the genre itself, and will attempt to demonstrate that substantial increases in production costs, which are a direct result of the corporatisation of the musical theatre industry, have restricted market entry for independent producers and have, as a result, contributed to the increasingly homogenized quality of musical theatre products. 2 CONTENTS Acknowledgements 5 CHAPTER 1: ARGUMENTS AND METHODS 1.1 Arguments 6 1.2 Methods 19 1.2.1 Sites and Producers 20 1.2.2 Print Research 22 1.2.3 Interviews 27 1.2.3.1 Interview Technique 33 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURES 2.1 Introduction 40 2.2 Adorno and the theoretical framework of mass production and 41 marketing 2.3 Mass Culture and the Growth of Cultural Imperialism 2.3.1 Globalization and McDonaldization 48 2.3.2 Fordism, Consumer Culture and Commodity Consumption 53 2.4 Ritzer's theory of McDonaldization as a model for musical theatre marketing analysis 55 2.5 Globalization and the advent of the global musical product 63 2.6 Conclusions 66 CHAPTER 3. COMMERCIAL LOGICS AND STRUCTURES 3.1 Introduction 68 3.2 Early forms of the musical theatre genre 69 3.3 Ziegfeld and the Shuberts 3.2.1 Spectacle, mass audience appeal and the changing role of the producer 75 3.2.2 Building on the Ziegfeld model: The Shuberts, increased standardization and diversification 80 3.4 David Merrick 3.4.1 New approaches to advertising and publicity 83 3.4.2 The advent of direct mailing and other promotional techniques 86 3.4.3 The increasing cost of marketing and the commercial benefits of audience development 88 3.4.4 The potential for a globalized product 91 3.4.5 Merrick's legacy: product branding and commodification 94 3 3.5 Robert Stigwood 3.5.1 Marketing to a new demographic 98 3.5.2 Globalization and the advent of the globally marketed branded product 102 3.6 Conclusions 108 CHAPTER 4: CASE STUDIES 4.1 Cameron Mackintosh 4.1.1 Logos and branding: advertising and merchandising III 4.1.2 The creation ofTDI and the development of tourist marketing affiliations as a means of facilitating global distribution 122 4.1.3 McDonaldization and the marketing of the musical 4.1.3.1 The development of targeted marketing 128 4.1.3.2 Visual spectacle and predictability 132 4.1.3.3 Universal appeal and the development of a globalized product 136 4.1.3.4 Franchising, licensing and the rise of corporatisation 142 4.1.5 Conclusions 147 4.2 Judy Craymer: Mamma Mia! 4.2.1 McDonaldization and the emergence of a new format 150 4.2.2 Broad appeal, the mass market and global product marketing 154 4.2.3 Logo and Product Branding 157 4.2.4 Licensing and product control 161 4.2.5 Marketing developments: Sponsorship and commercial tie-ins 167 4.2.6 Focus Groups and Audience Surveys 170 4.2.7 Conclusions 174 CHAPTER 5: MARKETING PRACTICE 5.1 Introduction 177 5.2 Product branding, logo development and McDonaldization 5.2.1 McDonald's as a model for musical theatre marketing: superficiaL predictable and standardized product 180 5.2.2 The growth of product branding and product promotion 182 5.2.3 The advent of the experience economy with its emphasis on spectacle; the attendant cost of this paradigm shift 186 5.2.4 The production of Musical Theatre in an experience economy 189 5.2.5 Musical Theatre and the post-modem triumph of spectacle over content 191 5.2.6 The experience economy and Weber's iron cage of rationality 196 5.3 The advent of the global musical: product branding and consumer convergence 199 4 5.4 McDonaldization and its consequences 5.4.1 Corporatisation and homogenization 204 5.4.2 McDonaldized products and the pre-eminence of marketing within the production process 214 5.4.3 Musical theatre spectacle: Las Vegasization, simulation and entertainmentization 221 5.4.4 The Disney model of corporate synergy as a means of countering the burgeoning costs of marketing 225 5.5 Conclusions 229 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS 6.1 Summary of findings 232 6.2 Suggestions for further research 236 REFERENCES 241 APPENDICES Appendix 1: Interview Questions 259 Appendix 2: Sample Interviews Mark Goucher 260 Michael McCabe 268 Judy Craymer 282 Ro b Bettinson 289 Paul Nicholas 297 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank: Robert Gordon for his expert supervision. Sir Cameron Mackintosh and everyone in the London and New York offices of Cameron Mackintosh Limited who gave so generously of their time, especially Nicholas Allott, David Thomas, Martin McCallum, Chris Grady, Rosie Runciman, Marc Thibodeau, Bruce Amick and Alan Wasser; Judy Craymer, Catherine Johnson, Phyllida Lloyd Michael McCabe and all those connected with Mamma Mia! Rob Bettinson, Patricia Macnaughton, Mark Goucher, Julius Green, David Ian, Joanne Benjamin, Dan Crawford, Guy Masterson, Paul Nicholas, Stuart Slater, Anthony Drewe, George Stiles, Sir Tim Rice, Willy Russell, John Napier, Alan Liddiard, Ann Reinking, Anthony Field, Sarah Schlessinger, Tahra L. Millan, Jan Svendsen, Jim Erlick, Erica Jacobson, Carol Chiavetta, David Risley, Scott Walton, Vince Rieger, David Villiers, Martin Fitzgerald, Paul Oxley and Brian Mahoney for their insights into global marketing, ticketing and publicity developments. Susan Lee, whose unstinting enthusiasm and encouragement gave my thesis a clear sense of direction and purpose and whose suggestions in the early stages of my research were totally invaluable. Chris, Alie and Torty for their patience and interest, and my parents for their support. 6 CHAPTER 1 ARGUMENTS AND METHODS 1.1 Arguments In an interview with the Dramatists Guild of America in 1974 (Guernsey, 1974, p. 131-2), Jerry Herman stated: The musical is the American Theater's major claim to fame. We are masters of the musical. Possibly we're behind in drama, or in set design, but constructing a musical is what we do better than anyone else in the world. This is America's own art form, this is not what we have copied from anybody else, this is ours. While such an assessment of musical theatre production may have been appropriate in 1974, when the genre was dominated by American production methods and subject matter, Herman did not anticipate the influence that British producers such as Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber would have on the musical genre in the 1980s. Cats, originally co-produced in the West End in 1981 by Mackintosh's production company, Cameron Mackintosh Limited (CML), and by Lloyd-Webber's Really Useful Group (RUG), was the first of a string of productions that would finally loosen the stranglehold that Broadway had held over the genre. 1 American themes, locations and subject matter would no longer dominate Broadway and the West End, as they I There had been other major British successes in the field of musical theatre before, most notably in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and British comic operas such as those of Gilbert and Sullivan had successfully transferred to the New York stage and had dominated both British and American stages for forty years. However, while the scripts for these shows had been marketed in every English-speaking country, the productions themselves had been much more limited in scope, and none were developed as global products in the manner of, for example, The Phantom of the Opera and Mamma Mill.' 7 had since the 1940s, but a globalized 'megamusicar2 product, exported world-\\·ide like any other commodity, would become a dominant format. 3 Like later CML and RUG productions, Cats was aggressively marketed, especially in America, and, when taking into account the show's emphasis on visual spectacle, which inevitably increased its capitalisation costs still further, it is perhaps not surprising that the success of Cats had an effect on the spiralling costs that were a feature of musical theatre production from the mid 1980s onwards.4 2 The exact origin of the term 'megamusical' is unclear. Various media commentators in the late 1980s such as Fetherston (1988) began to describe Cameron Mackintosh's productions as 'megamusical' productions, although the term was not clearly defined. Burston (1998: 9), however, managed to define the term in a concise and eminently appropriate manner, suggesting that megamusicals 'share a number of criteria which set them apart from other stage musical productions, big or small,' concluding that their globally standardized processes of production have been characteristic of only a 'select and specific group of highly capitalised, globally competent and now even transnational players.' Following this definition, a show such as Mamma Mia! qualifies as a 'megamusical', despite its relatively modest budget and technical simplicity, on account of its rapid expansion into global markets and the standardization of its production process.