SOCIAL EXPERIENCE AND US MUSICAL THEATRE ON SÃO PAULO’S STAGES Abstract
At the turn of the twenty-first century, Broadway musicals began to be produced in many countries outside the United States. In Brazil, particularly the city of São Paulo, new laws, business interests, and the fascination of some artists with US productions converged to enable the creation of a new system of musicals. In this article I examine the social elements I consider fundamental to understanding the proliferation of musicals in recent years. My description focuses especially on how some actors orchestrated multiple procedures and interests to organize a unique and fertile setting that changed the city’s theatrical production. In the process, I explore theatre as an expressive form that acts as a thermometer of social desires and practices.
Keywords: Social experience; musical theatre; São Paulo; Broadway