Medicine for the Fabulous Invalid

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Fabulous Invalid

I've received some comments on my tagline, "Medicine for the Fabulous Invalid" -- mostly, "what in God's name does that mean?"


Well, Broadway has always been known as the "Fabulous Invalid"...it's one of those industries that is perpetually in crisis, at least for the last hundred years.

The phrase is put to good use in a fantastic DVD called Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There, which, by the way, was ROBBED at the Oscars...

If you care about Broadway, at all, you have to get this DVD. It is simply fantastic. The filmmaker interviews a grab bag of classic Broadway stars, including many that are now deceased (Ann Miller, for example). It's a priceless capture of a time that is gone, gone, gone, but not forgotten.

Anyways, back to the Fabulous Invalid. Broadway is often referred to the "Fabulous Invalid" because, every year, it is constantly painted as being in crisis. Let's face it, in the 1970s, Broadway was generally in crisis. NO ONE was going to Times Square (after all, it was just Sondheim musicals and hookers). Then, in the 1980s, Broadway was in crisis because all the musicals were overblown British imports. In the 1990s, the crisis seemed to wane and flow with each year. In the 21st century, we're now saying goodbye to the off-Broadway play (at least from a financial standpoint). But at the same time, there is always a bright light. The Producers. Hairspray. Chicago. Wonderful Town. Urinetown. Big. Oops, scratch the last.

And so why is Blogway Baby "Medicine" for the Fabulous Invalid? Well, with all humility, I think that if enough of us care enough to keep the spirit of Broadway alive, care enough to train our children to love Broadway, care enough to write it, to see it, to buy it, to visit it, to live it, to love it...then goddamit, Broadway ain't going anywhere...

Medicine for the Fabulous Invalid. Take a whole spoonful: It's good for you.
By Suzy Conn on March 4, 2005 10:55 AM | | Comments (0)


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