“What’s Around the Riverbend?”

Visiting the Tenement Museum here in New York on our first Monday of class was an eye-opening and emotional experience. Actually walking through the building where real immigrants once lived, and talking to someone who was portraying a little girl who really lived in that building brought the whole situation into a very realistic perspective.

If I was an immigrant coming into America today, and the first place that I stepped foot was in the theatre district, I would be completely overwhelmed. The bright lights, the gigantic colorful billboards, some that are even moving and constantly changing, and the overpowering height of the buildings would all intimidate me very much, especially if I could not read the markings on buildings, or understand the street signs, or ask anyone for directions because I do not speak English. Trying to find a place to live would also be very difficult because the area is very expensive now, and dense with people. I think this might discourage me from trying to stay in the area. I know that I would be very intrigued by it all though, and would want to come back and spend time there once I had learned about all of the culture and history of the place. This is what I might see today:

If the situation was a little bit different, and the year was 1900, I might have an easier time finding a place to live. However, the theatre district and the area surrounding “Times Square” (which was not officially given its name until 1901), were somewhat dangerous. It was a seedy area. It may have taken me longer back then to find this out though because I would not have been able to speak to many people at first, but I might have also been interested in seeing what the area would become. The Broadway theatre’s before 1900 were actually focused in Union Square. It was not until the early 20^th Century, with the birth of the American musical, that theatres began focusing in and around Times Square. The section of Broadway between 40^th Street and 54^th Street would soon come to be called “The Great White Way”. All of this exciting hype might actually encourage me to stay as an immigrant in the Theatre district back in 1900. This is what I would have seen in 1900:

“In the Rain, the Pavement Shines Like Silver”

I believe the street that best represents me is the same street I chose to focus my ethnographic assignment on for the summer: Broadway. I have always been extremely fascinated by the bright lights and musical pulsing of this street, and specifically the theatre district. It is my passion and dream to work on Broadway one day, helping to inspire, create, and continue the everyday workings of this truly American art form we call Music Theatre. The daily routine of it all, the schedule, the eight shows-a-week are all a part of me that I can feel and can’t hardly wait to be a part of. From one side of the stage to the other, I have always integrated myself into live theatrical performance, and I find myself most comfortable and appreciated there.

As a child, I took voice lessons and dance classes and participated in every single community theatre production that I possibly could. From Annie to The Music Man to The Wiz (yep I was in The Wiz), and I loved every minute of it. It kept me alive. The theatre gave me a purpose. Coming to college awakened a different interest in me that brought me to the other side of the curtain. I found myself loving the technical aspects of performance, and wanting to shine the spotlight rather than belt center stage in the middle of it. I know that I belong amongst such a tight-knit and loving community that embraces diversity, acceptance, and love.

Broadway is also a place where I will be spending much of my time this summer, and I get chills just thinking about getting washed away in all the sparkling lights, entrancing music, and affecting art of the theatre district. Its pulse is my pulse. I am it, it is me.

“It’s a life on the edge, it’s a roar or a hiss. But this is what I was made for” – Carner & Gregor

“There’s No Business, Like Show Business”

For the assignment this week, I chose to look through Richard Howe’s photographs of the street corners of Broadway. I chose this section of New York because it is likely that I will spend much of my time around there this summer, and certainly be working there when I move to New York City to live.

Looking through the pictures, I was surprised to find the amount of familiar name brand stores and restaurants that I saw. What was unusual and unfamiliar was the shape of the buildings in which they are housed, in mostly stone and granite facades with bright and varied color awnings. There were many pictures with red scaffolding or covered walkways along sidewalks plus lots of construction cones and street barriers, which makes me think that this street is constantly growing and evolving. There were a couple pictures with small parks, or a few trees planted here and there, but most of the street seemed to be commercial and residential buildings side by side………by side. I hope someone gets that reference.

One of the most interesting parts for me to scroll through was “the crossroads of the world”. Times Square looked, as always, full of excitement and color and of course theatres. There were so many billboards advertising musicals and plays. Being a Performing Arts major, I have learned all about the theatrical community in New York City: the history, the foundation, and the way it is the center of the community for the whole world. You can feel the energy of Broadway especially brightly here, and I can’t wait to be around all of it in person this summer.