We mentioned in the first lecture that the term globalization is often used in a pejorative, i.e., negative sense where it stands for standardization, loss of local identity, a packaging and branding of products so that they are salable anywhere in the world. Starbucks coffee, McDonald's hamburgers, Levi jeans, and so on. Theater, on the other hand, is often framed in opposite terms as being uncompromisingly local. It is produced and consumed in the here and now and almost exclusively for local audiences. Every production is different. Costumes and sets are fashioned especially for the individual production. Actors and spectators speak the same language, and so on. So, can there be a theatrical Starbucks? Yes. The global, or megamusical, which the theater scholar and dramatist Dan Rebellato has impolitely named Mc Theater. Rebellato is thinking in particular of musicals produced in London or New York, which are then exported in identical versions to other global cities. The key element is standardization, says Rebellato. This is a homogenous product, quote: " [...] typical of the method of global capitalism." Now, musicals have been around for a long time, at least since the 1930s, when the genre was created on Broadway. These works were often restaged on London's West End. Then they went on tour, and were sometimes filmed. And at some point, amateur groups could obtain the rights and stage them, too. If you come from the English speaking world, you will probably have seen an amateur production of Oklahoma, South Pacific, or The King and I. You may even have been in one. The megamusical of the Mc Theater variety is a different beast. It is associated with two names, the London theater producer Cameron Mackintosh and the entry of the Disney Company into the musical business. We're talking of Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, or musical versions of Disney animated films such as The Lion King, Tarzan, or Beauty and the Beast. They're usually staged in extremely large, sometimes purpose-built theatres, which require head mics for the performance. As with all commercial theater, they use the long run system, offering up to eight performances a week, in a performance style marked by precision and perfection. The profitability of these musicals appears to contradict the famous theory of the cost disease. By cloning the original production in other global cities in conjunction with optimized rehearsal and production processes, a high level of standardization is achieved. Costs are controlled, and thereby, profits assured, albeit always at a risk. The comparison with an assembly line is sometimes made. Apart from the box office, merchandising generates considerable additional revenue. The Lion King is a show designed to sell the program and many other items of merchandising, quips Dan Rebellato. Although, it is not really a joke. The star players are never the performers, but the production itself. And every performer is replaceable. We go to see Tarzan the show, not the performer playing the title role. This distinguishes the modern megamusical from the older musicals which were highly dependent on star performers. This is logical. The star performer is incompatible with the practice of identical productions. Audiences in Toronto, Sydney, and Seoul expect to pay for roughly the same experience. Let us speak to someone who has worked as a performer on such a megamusical.
