Lullaby of Broadway

Those of us in the business of assessing ads, can often get lost in analysing matters of craft, concept, storytelling and so on. 

We can lose sight of the fact that it’s quite cool if a spot has you squealing ‘Oh my days! I must have/see/do that thing RIGHT NOW! 

This simple, joyous offering for Broadway's national trade association, gives the product, live theatre, a chance to speak – sing, dance, tap and high-kick – for itself. Resulting in this viewer in particular feeling an urgent desire to hightail to the nearest theatre and get lost in a flurry of jazz hands and joie de vivre.

When the pandemic struck, all Broadway theatres closed, rendering 90,000 people jobless and putting rather a dent in New York City’s US$13 billion industry. Now the theatre lights are getting ready to blaze once again and the industry’s key players, from unions to producers to theatres, have come together to create an integrated marketing campaign, This Is Broadway.  

Brilliantly conveying the glee and glamour of a cracking live production, the campaign film is voiced by Oprah Winfrey and comprises archival footage from 99 shows – from A Chorus Line to Hamilton – and featuring stars such as Hugh Jackman, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sara Bareilles and Denzel Washington. 

Among the most rousing is the fabulous Angela Lansbury (pictured) singing Everything’s Coming Up Roses, in the 1974 revival of the 1959 Stephen Sondheim/Jule Styne musical Gypsy. 

“Curtain up, light the lights, you got nothin’ to hit but the heights!...” quite so Angela. The quintessence of Broadway, the song was also popularised by Ethel Merman, see here for a glimpse of the diva in action.