Bruce Springsteen on Broadway: The Boss on His ‘First Real Job’
- 7 years ago
Bruce Springsteen on Broadway: The Boss on His ‘First Real Job’
Thinking that only Broadway could offer the kind of elegant, intimate experience they were looking for, Mr. Springsteen
and Mr. Landau scouted theaters available from all three of the major Broadway owners — Shubert, Nederlander and Jujamcyn — before deciding on Jujamcyn’s Walter Kerr, one of the smallest.
People stay in their seats.” He added, “It invites a certain decorum and a certain atmosphere
that is very conducive to the nuances of what Bruce does with this particular show.”
In Colts Neck, Mr. Springsteen led me through his home studio, a long, wide-open room with row upon row of guitars — “the land of 1,000 guitars,” he said with a laugh — along with assorted keyboards
and drums, where he has worked on most of his music for a decade.
“Our idea was to respect Broadway as a unique place
and to try and to do what’s customary as long as our creative needs were being met,” Mr. Landau said, listing off what he called “the conventions of Broadway”: “The show starts, there’s absolute silence.
In Broadway terms, Mr. Springsteen is planning a one-man show; unlike in his arena marathons,
he’ll be onstage for two hours with a baby grand piano and an “array of guitars,” he said.
But he intends to offer something different from a typical concert, where the songs and spoken words will add up to what he calls a “third entity.”
“This isn’t a rock concert transported onto a small stage,” Mr. Roth said.
“The way he combines the spoken words with the songs he’s chosen to do sounds like a very simple thing,” Mr. Landau said.
Thinking that only Broadway could offer the kind of elegant, intimate experience they were looking for, Mr. Springsteen
and Mr. Landau scouted theaters available from all three of the major Broadway owners — Shubert, Nederlander and Jujamcyn — before deciding on Jujamcyn’s Walter Kerr, one of the smallest.
People stay in their seats.” He added, “It invites a certain decorum and a certain atmosphere
that is very conducive to the nuances of what Bruce does with this particular show.”
In Colts Neck, Mr. Springsteen led me through his home studio, a long, wide-open room with row upon row of guitars — “the land of 1,000 guitars,” he said with a laugh — along with assorted keyboards
and drums, where he has worked on most of his music for a decade.
“Our idea was to respect Broadway as a unique place
and to try and to do what’s customary as long as our creative needs were being met,” Mr. Landau said, listing off what he called “the conventions of Broadway”: “The show starts, there’s absolute silence.
In Broadway terms, Mr. Springsteen is planning a one-man show; unlike in his arena marathons,
he’ll be onstage for two hours with a baby grand piano and an “array of guitars,” he said.
But he intends to offer something different from a typical concert, where the songs and spoken words will add up to what he calls a “third entity.”
“This isn’t a rock concert transported onto a small stage,” Mr. Roth said.
“The way he combines the spoken words with the songs he’s chosen to do sounds like a very simple thing,” Mr. Landau said.