Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T12:21:33.161Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Synthesizers, Virtual Orchestras, and Ableton Live: Digitally Rendered Music on Broadway and Musicians’ Union Resistance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2019

LIAM E. GIBBS
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

As Broadway musicals embrace contemporary popular music styles, orchestrators must incorporate the digital technologies necessary for producing convincing simulations of genres like hip hop and electronic music. At the same time, as production values soar, producers work to minimize their budgets, often putting downward pressure on the size of the orchestra. Although digital and electronic music technologies can expand the sonic register of the Broadway orchestra, they can also replace traditional acoustic instruments and save money. The Broadway musicians’ union, Local 802, has regularly sought to control the use of digital technologies and ensure that live musicians produce as much music as possible. Thus, Local 802's advocacy for the employment of their members can limit the sounds heard on Broadway.

The following narrative considers three digital technologies—synthesizers, virtual orchestras, and Ableton Live—and examines case studies and controversies surrounding their use in Broadway orchestras and implications for liveness in performance. Informed by interviews with industry professionals, author observation of pit orchestras in rehearsal and performance, archival research, popular and industry media, and previous scholarship, I argue that the union's entrenched interests and antiquated regulations can stifle musical innovation on Broadway by resisting the use of digital music technologies.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Society for American Music , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , August 2019 , pp. 273 - 304
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Music 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

I am deeply grateful to Dr. Todd Decker for supporting this project from the start and providing invaluable feedback on drafts. Thanks also to Jennifer Ashley Tepper for taking me on at Feinstein's/54 Below, which allowed me to conduct much of this research in New York. I thank the Department of Music at Washington University in St. Louis for its generous financial support of this research. I also thank the Special Collections staff at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, those who spoke with me for my research, and those who helped me gain access to observe Broadway orchestras.

References

References

Ableton, . “What is Live?” https://www.ableton.com/en/live/what-is-live/.Google Scholar
Adler, Steven. On Broadway: Art and Commerce on the Great White Way. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2004.Google Scholar
Aguirre-Sacasa, Roberto, and Sheik, Duncan. American Psycho: A New Musical, 2016. Typescript. Billy Rose Theater Division. New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, New York, NY.Google Scholar
“American Psycho Broadway - Killing Spree 5/30/16.” June 1, 2016. http://taytrensch.tumblr.com/post/145276932590/the-infamous-killing-spree-with-the-audio.Google Scholar
Associated Musicians of Greater New York Local 802. “About Local 802.” https://www.local802afm.org/about-local-802/.Google Scholar
Associated Musicians of Greater New York Local 802. “Broadway Collective Bargaining Agreement 1957.” Box 211, Folder 5. Leland Hayward Papers. Billy Rose Theater Division. New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. New York, NY.Google Scholar
Associated Musicians of Greater New York Local 802. “Broadway Collective Bargaining Agreement 2011–2016.” March 7, 2011. http://www.afm.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Broadway_CBA_2011-2016.pdf.Google Scholar
Associated Musicians of Greater New York Local 802. “The History of Local 802.” https://www.local802afm.org/the-history-of-local-802/.Google Scholar
Associated Musicians of Greater New York Local 802. “Local 802 Announces Historic Deal with the Broadway League.” June 27, 2019. https://www.local802afm.org/local-802-press-releases/local-802-announces-historic-deal-with-the-broadway-league/Google Scholar
Associated Musicians of Greater New York Local 802. “Memorandum of Agreement, 2016–2019.” May 11, 2016. http://www.local802afm.org/wp-content/uploads/broadway/802-Broadway-MOA-2016-2019.pdf.Google Scholar
Associated Musicians of Greater New York Local 802, Electronic Music Committee. “Knowledge is Power: Electronic Music Committee.” Allegro, November 2018. https://www.local802afm.org/allegro/articles/knowledge-is-power-2/.Google Scholar
Auslander, Philip. Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2008.Google Scholar
Bianchi, F. W., and Campbell, R. H.. “The Virtual Orchestra: Technical and Creative Issues.” Journal of Sound and Vibration 232, no. 1 (2000): 275–79.Google Scholar
“Broadway Sings Blues Over Synthesizer Invasion.” Robo Daily, July 9, 2010. http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Broadway_sings_blues_over_synthesizer_invasion_999.html.Google Scholar
Church, Joseph. Music Direction for the Stage: A View from the Podium. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.Google Scholar
Cooper, Michael. “Propelled by Pension Fears, a Musicians’ Union Elects Change.” New York Times, December 5, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/05/arts/music/union-local-802-ameican-federation-musicians.html.Google Scholar
Council for Living Music, The. “Don't Let Priscilla Turn Broadway Into the Queen of the Musical Desert!” Save Live Music on Broadway, May 15, 2011. http://www.savelivemusiconbroadway.com/archives/356.Google Scholar
Davenport, Ken, and Starobin, Michael. “Podcast Episode 59—Tony Award–winning Orchestrator, Michael Starobin.” The Producer's Perspective, August 30, 2016. https://www.theproducersperspective.com/my_weblog/2016/02/podcast-episode-59-tony-award-orchestrator-michael-starobin.html.Google Scholar
Davenport, Ken, and Gagliardi, Tino. “Podcast Episode 60—President of Local 802, Tino Gagliardi.” The Producer's Perspective, August 31, 2016. https://www.theproducersperspective.com/my_weblog/2016/02/podcast-episode-60-president-of-local-802-tino-gagliardi.html.Google Scholar
Decker, Todd. “Fred Astaire, Captain America, and the Cyborg: The Technological Body of a Musical Star.” In Star Turns in Hollywood Musicals, 24–40. Paris: Les presses du reel, 2017.Google Scholar
Dennison, Bill. “Machine vs. Musicians: The Virtual Pit Orchestra Scam.” Allegro, January 2003. https://www.local802afm.org/allegro/articles/machine-vs-musicians-the-virtual-pit-orchestra-scam/.Google Scholar
Elsila, Mikael. “Broadway Musicians Take a Stand.” Allegro, April 2003. https://www.local802afm.org/allegro/articles/broadway-musicians-take-a-stand/.Google Scholar
Evans, Suzy. “The Man Behind the ‘Hamilton’ Sound: Hidden Beatles References, the ‘Hip-Hop Horse’ Sample and Why If ‘It's All Computerized, There's No Heart to It.’” Salon, November 27, 2015. https://www.salon.com/2015/11/27/the_man_behind_the_hamilton_sound_hidden_beatles_references_the_hip_hop_horse_sample_and_why_if_its_all_computerized_theres_no_heart_to_it/.Google Scholar
Healy, Patrick. “Broadway Union Takes on ‘Priscilla’ over Music.” New York Times, May 15, 2011.Google Scholar
“Inside the Playbill: American Psycho—Opening Night at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.” Playbill, April 21, 2016. http://www.playbill.com/playbillpagegallery/inside-playbill?asset=00000151-b783-d86d-a375-ffc779440000&type=InsidePlaybill&slide=4.Google Scholar
“Inside the Playbill: Dear Evan Hansen—Opening Night at the Music Box Theatre.” Playbill, December 4, 2016. http://www.playbill.com/playbillpagegallery/inside-playbill?asset=00000155-78e3-d665-a757-fdfb0f520000&type=InsidePlaybill&slide=3.Google Scholar
“Inside the Playbill: The Phantom of the Opera—Opening Night at the Majestic Theatre,” Playbill, January 26, 1988. http://www.playbill.com/playbillpagegallery/inside-playbill?asset=00000150-aea4-d936-a7fd-eef4dee60001&type=InsidePlaybill&slide=4.Google Scholar
“Inside the Playbill: Priscilla Queen of the Desert—Opening Night at the Palace Theatre.” Playbill, March 20, 2011. http://www.playbill.com/playbillpagegallery/inside-playbill?asset=00000150-aea8-d936-a7fd-eefc73310000&type=InsidePlaybill&slide=3.Google Scholar
“Inside the Playbill: SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical—Opening Night at the Palace Theatre.” Playbill, December 4, 2017. http://www.playbill.com/playbillpagegallery/inside-playbill?asset=0000015c-7944-dd06-ab7c-79d5c9140000&type=InsidePlaybill&slide=4.Google Scholar
“Inside the Playbill: West Side Story—Opening Night at the Palace Theatre.” Playbill, March 19, 2009. http://www.playbill.com/playbillpagegallery/inside-playbill?asset=00000150-aea5-d936-a7fd-eef5a96d0000&type=InsidePlaybill&slide=4.Google Scholar
Kennedy, Michael M. “The ‘Death’ of Live Musical Theater? ‘Virtual Orchestras’ and the 2003 Broadway Musicians’ Strike.” Paper presented at the American Musicological Society Eighty-Third Annual Meeting, Rochester, NY, November 2017.Google Scholar
Lennon, David. “Special Situations—Has It Worked, And for Whom?” Allegro, November 2006. https://www.local802afm.org/allegro/articles/special-situations-has-it-worked-and-for-whom/.Google Scholar
McNeil, Donald G. Jr. “New Show Is First Not to Have to Pay Idle Musicians.” New York Times, February 8, 1995.Google Scholar
Meffe, Robert. “How Many Musicians Does It Take? A History and Analysis of the Shrinking Broadway Pit Orchestra.” Studies in Musical Theatre 5, no. 1 (March 31, 2011): 99–115.Google Scholar
Merendino, Sammy. “On the Beat With Sammy Merendino: Talks Kinky Boots, Cyndi Lauper, and Tour.” Modern Drummer, October 13, 2016. https://www.moderndrummer.com/2016/10/beat-sammy-merendino-talks-kinky-boots-cyndi-lauper-tour/.Google Scholar
Miranda, Lin-Manuel, and Jones, Chris. Lin-Manuel Miranda in Conversation with Chris Jones. Chicago Humanities Festival, Public Interview, September 28, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDacl3CBx2M.Google Scholar
Mulder, Catherine P. Unions and Class Transformation: The Case of the Broadway Musicians. New York: Routledge, 2009.Google Scholar
“Orchestra Questionnaire.” February 28, 1984. Box 65, Folder 11, Harold Prince Papers. Billy Rose Theatre Division. New York Public Library, New York, NY.Google Scholar
Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “Luddite, n. (and adj.),” accessed July 2018. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/110928?redirectedFrom=Luddite.Google Scholar
Phillips, Michael. “On Broadway, A Shrinking Pit Orchestra and the Growing Impact of ‘Virtual’ Musicians.” Chicago Tribune, March 16, 2003.Google Scholar
Phillips, Michael. “The Incredible Shrinking Pit Band.” Chicago Tribune, March 3, 2002.Google Scholar
Pogrebin, Robin. “Showdown Over Orchestra Size Looms on Broadway.” New York Times, February 5, 2003.Google Scholar
Pogrebin, Robin. “The Theater Walkout: Overview; Musicians’ Strike Dims the Lights along Broadway.” New York Times, March 11, 2003.Google Scholar
Robertson, Campbell. “Stagehands End Walkout on Broadway.” New York Times, November 29, 2007.Google Scholar
Russell, Susan. “The Performance of Discipline on Broadway.” Studies in Musical Theatre 1, no. 1 (December 2006): 97–108.Google Scholar
Sanden, Paul. Liveness in Modern Music: Musicians, Technology, and the Perception of Performance. New York: Routledge, 2013.Google Scholar
Singer, Jesse. “American Psycho.” Kickstarter. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1798121016/american-psycho.Google Scholar
Skinner, Emily. “The pit at PRINCE OF BROADWAY…” Instagram, August 2, 2017. https://www.instagram.com/p/BXUTdvWBFf3/?taken-by=emilysskinner.Google Scholar
Stockman, Theo, and Webber, Imogen Lloyd. “Broadway.com #LiveatFive with American Psycho's Theo Stockman.” Online Interview, May 31, 2016. https://youtu.be/vx3gMb0xItg.Google Scholar
Suskin, Steven. The Sound of Broadway Music: A Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.Google Scholar
Tepper, Jennifer Ashley. “Are We Living in a New Golden Age of Musical Theatre?” Playbill, June 11, 2016. http://www.playbill.com/article/are-we-living-in-a-new-golden-age-of-musical-theatre.Google Scholar
Wollman, Elizabeth L. “The Economic Development of the ‘New’ Times Square and Its Impact on the Broadway Musical.” American Music 20, no. 4 (2002): 445–65.Google Scholar
Wollman, Elizabeth L. The Theater Will Rock: A History of the Rock Musical, from Hair to Hedwig. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2013.Google Scholar
Woodiel, Paul. “Gee, Officer Krupke, I Need Those Violins.” New York Times, July 11, 2010.Google Scholar
Jabara, Paul, and Shaffer, Paul. “It's Raining Men.” Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Rhino Records 527371, 2011.Google Scholar
Lauper, Cyndi. “The History of Wrong Guys.” Kinky Boots. Masterworks Broadway 88883 70838 2, 2013.Google Scholar
Malloy, Dave. “The Duel.” Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. Reprise Record 560020-2, 2017.Google Scholar
Miranda, Lin-Manuel. The Hamilton Instrumentals. Atlantic Records, 2015 (Internet Release).Google Scholar
Pasek, Benj, and Paul, Justin. “You Will Be Found.” Dear Evan Hansen. Atlantic Records 558631-2, 2016.Google Scholar
Sheik, Duncan. “American Psycho Broadway—Killing Spree 5/30/16.” June 1, 2016. http://taytrensch.tumblr.com/post/145276932590/the-infamous-killing-spree-with-the-audio.Google Scholar
Webber, Andrew Lloyd. “Overture.” The Phantom of the Opera. Polydor 831 273-1 Y-2, 1987.Google Scholar
“American Psycho The Musical—Killing Spree,” June 9, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEeWAuIcCO8.Google Scholar
Jabara, Paul, and Shaffer, Paul. “It's Raining Men.” Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Rhino Records 527371, 2011.Google Scholar
Lauper, Cyndi. “The History of Wrong Guys.” Kinky Boots. Masterworks Broadway 88883 70838 2, 2013.Google Scholar
Malloy, Dave. “The Duel.” Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. Reprise Record 560020-2, 2017.Google Scholar
Miranda, Lin-Manuel. The Hamilton Instrumentals. Atlantic Records, 2015 (Internet Release).Google Scholar
Pasek, Benj, and Paul, Justin. “You Will Be Found.” Dear Evan Hansen. Atlantic Records 558631-2, 2016.Google Scholar
Sheik, Duncan. “American Psycho Broadway—Killing Spree 5/30/16.” June 1, 2016. http://taytrensch.tumblr.com/post/145276932590/the-infamous-killing-spree-with-the-audio.Google Scholar
Webber, Andrew Lloyd. “Overture.” The Phantom of the Opera. Polydor 831 273-1 Y-2, 1987.Google Scholar
“American Psycho The Musical—Killing Spree,” June 9, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEeWAuIcCO8.Google Scholar