Which College prepares you best for Broadway?

Blackkey · May 8, 2012, 7:06pm

Hello there future MT majors or current MT majors!
I have created this thread to really get some information on what the general public and college students think which college’s MT program really offers its students with the ‘best’ education. I understand that opinions are realtive and ect, HOWEVER I value everyone’s opinion and would like to know what your thoughts are. I would like to know what you think as well as what students at universities think! If you could provide any information at all that would help immensenly.

srw · May 8, 2012, 7:34pm

You might try looking at the top of this page, you will find a thread called MT Colleges, the Big List. When you find a school that peaks your interest go to the school’s website and do a little research there. There are many ways to go, BFA, BA, BM, all offer many things. You need to decide what type of program is best for you. Do you want a music school within a large school or small. Do you want to study other subject or only focus on MT. What part of the country do you want to be in? Is money an issue?

When you’ve done some research and have some schools you want more info on then you can ask questions of those here regarding those schools. There are many hundreds of programs, it would be impossible for us to help you with out knowing more about what you want in a program.

Good Luck

EmsDad · May 8, 2012, 8:18pm

@Blackkey: this topic has come up many times on this forum, here are some of the threads:

Blackkey · May 9, 2012, 7:47pm

I do understand and thank you for you input. I guess the main thing I am looking for is, is this college going to prepare me for the Broadway stage. If that makes any sense I know it’s subjective to opinion yadad yadda, however I still value people’s opinion.

halflokum · May 9, 2012, 8:07pm

That question is unanswerable. Good college programs will help you become the best MT professional you can be no matter what stage you find yourself on. There are no special classes that are just for the Broadway bound. The people who make it to Broadway come from a wide variety of backgrounds and training. Your best bet is to check out some of the links provided above. Good luck.

onstage · May 9, 2012, 8:36pm

For what it’s worth, here’s another link: [The</a> Hollywood Reporter’s List of the 25 Top Drama Schools - The Hollywood Reporter](<a href=“http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/top-25-drama-schools-319963]The”>The Hollywood Reporter’s List of the 25 Top Drama Schools – The Hollywood Reporter)

takeitallin · May 9, 2012, 9:30pm

^^^^^Note that this list is not for MT programs; many of those listed do not have MT programs.

Blackkey · May 10, 2012, 10:54am

Thank you! I am focusing on musical theatre solely. lol. hence why I asked.

Blackkey · May 10, 2012, 10:55am

Thank you! I have taken a look over some of them and now I have a better understanding of some other options!:)

Blackkey · May 10, 2012, 10:58am

I do know that is the truth. I just really want to see what the students in the program have to say about their program. If they like it, If they hate it, or why. It’s just about getting a feel for the other programs out there beside NYU although I really do have NYU as my first choice. I have heard about other MT programs like UM or Emerson. I just wanted to see what the students had to say as well! But I am as always thankful for your opinion!:)

theatrelvr · May 10, 2012, 12:48pm

There is a thread somewhere back a few months ago called The Freshman Experience. Many students have posted what their days are like at particular schools. That may give you a little insight into how programs are different/alike in their day to day training. Best of luck in your adventure!

EmsDad · May 10, 2012, 2:20pm

Here is a link to the “Freshman Experience”:

<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1067706-freshman-experience.html?highlight=freshman+experience[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/1067706-freshman-experience.html?highlight=freshman+experience</a>

Here is one more old thread on this topic (its the all-time winner on Views for this topic):

<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/317121-top-10-whatever-musical-theatre-programs.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/musical-theater-major/317121-top-10-whatever-musical-theatre-programs.html</a>

Blackkey · May 10, 2012, 7:06pm

thank you for your help it is really apprecited and means the world to me!:)

mtandbassmom · June 21, 2012, 1:16am

I’ve been lurking and reading-reading-reading through old threads on this immensely helpful forum… And this thread, though a month or so old, struck me as interesting because instead of asking “what are the top 10 programs” or the like, it framed the question in terms of which colleges provide the best preparation.

So, being a bit OCD I suppose, I decided to see which colleges seem to have best prepared their students by being best represented on Broadway. I know there have been threads listing various alums from different schools, but I just wanted to see the numbers.

So I went through all the Playbills from the season that just ended and listed every time someone mentioned their school. Now of course it’s not complete, since not all performers list their training. And of course schools with larger programs are likely to have larger numbers of alumni on Broadway (someone else can crunch the numbers on the ratio of working performers to size of the school’s program!). And I’m also very aware that not everyone who goes to an MT program has their eyes set on Broadway specifically, so plenty of schools have alumni that are working elsewhere.

But it’s at least a snapshot of who was working on Broadway this season, and it does seem that newer performers are more likely to list their training, so perhaps it gives a little window on what schools are impressing casting directors…

I found it interesting at least, and it will probably help shape my daughter’s ever-changing list of schools a bit (she has some time still before she applies). I’m not trying to root for any school over any other, or to point fingers at any schools as being “better” or “not as good.” I just thought this was data that someone else might find interesting as well… Hope no one minds my posting it!

NYU/Tisch 62 performers on Broadway this season

CCM 16

U Michigan 14

Carnegie Mellon 13

Boston Conservatory 12
Ithaca 12

Florida State 9

Baldwin-Wallace 7
Syracuse 7

Northwestern 5
OCU 5
Webster 5

Penn State 4

UCLA 3
Indiana U 3
U Northern Colorado 3
Point Park 3

SCHOOLS FROM THE BIG LIST WITH TWO PERFORMERS ON BROADWAY THIS SEASON
Catholic U
U Central Florida
Elon
Emerson
Illinois Wesleyan
NYU/Steinhardt
USC
Temple
U of the Arts

SCHOOLS FROM THE BIG LIST WITH ONE PERFORMER ON BROADWAY THIS SEASON
UC Irvine
Hartt
Marymount Manhattan
U Miami
U Oklahoma
Otterbein
Pace
Shenandoah
SUNY Buffalo
Texas State
Wagner

SCHOOLS FROM THE BIG LIST WITH NO PERFORMERS ON BROADWAY THIS SEASON
American U
U Arizona
Ball State
Cal State Fullerton
Coastal Carolina U
James Madison U
Millikin U
Montclair State
Muhlenberg
Roosevelt
Sam Houston State U
College of Santa Fe
SUNY Fredonia
Texas Christian U
Viterbo
Western Michigan U
Westminister College of the Arts/Rider
Wright State

SCHOOLS NOT ON THE BIG LIST WITH SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS ON BROADWAY
Julliard 34
Yale 30
North Carolina School of the Arts 11
U California San Diego 7

…Hope this is helpful to someone!

mtdog71 · June 21, 2012, 3:37am

Hi - have not posted in a while because so many folks do such a good job sharing good info/opinions. I did want to caution - and this comes up every year - about a few things. While I appreciate the yeoman research that some folks do trying to report on what schools have performers on Broadway, it should be noted that relatively few Broadway performers list where they got their undergraduate degrees from in their program bios - this certainly skews the stats. Also, this is a very fluid situation - constant flow of replacements and new shows opening and closing. Then, there is the other element of realizing Broadway is not the only measure of success, and so on. As to the orignal question - a lot has been written, and others have provided some links to those threads. Basically it is about finding the place that values and delivers triple threat training in a supportive secure mentored enviroment at a tuition you can afford. Mostly its about where you fit the best, where that one teacher who will become the mentor that inspires you to great heights teaches. Wish you well in this adventure.

theatrelvr · June 21, 2012, 7:42am

I believe Adam Roberts from Coastal Carolina is still in Spiderman…

austinmtmom · June 21, 2012, 10:47am

Adam is indeed still in Spiderman:
[SPIDER-MAN</a> on Broadway - Team - Official Site](<a href=“http://spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com/team]SPIDER-MAN”>http://spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com/team)

theatrelvr · June 21, 2012, 10:54am

I knew you would have my back, austinmtmom…

Nccpdad · June 21, 2012, 4:27pm

Emsdad had a similar post which appears consistent with post 14 here. Fully agree with the caveats articulated by mtdog71

Emsdad’s post:

You can find the data on Broadway MT performers here (post #146):

Which Colleges Did Current Broadway Performers Attend?

Some data analysis for the 466 bios with academic info:

<ol>
<li>50% come from the top 15</li>
<li>40% come from 100 different schools - if you graph it, you will notice the exponential curve and the long tail.</li>
<li>The inflection point of the graph is around 60% or the top 22</li>
<li>Some of the top schools are dance and/or acting schools (Yale, Julliard, Ailey, etc.)</li>
</ol>

The top 22 schools are:

NYU 40
Michigan 25
Boco 23
CCM 19
CMU 18
Florida State 16
AMDA 13
Northwestern 13
OCU 13
Julliard 11
Penn State 10
Syracuse 10
U Arts 9
Ailey 8
Elon 8
UC Irvine 8
Yale 8
Point Park 7
Hartt 6
Northern Colorado 6
Oklahoma 6
USC 6

MomCares · June 21, 2012, 6:24pm

Among the important caveats to these lists is that the majority of the younger Broadway performers who list colleges tend to be in the dance ensemble, and some (many) were dance majors versus MTs. Also, some MT programs focus more on admitting/training dancers than others. D never plans to be in the dance ensemble (she’s a singer/actor), so those schools were not of as much interest to her.

When considering which schools will train YOU best for Broadway, I think it’s important to assess those areas where you truly have the potential to become a world-class performer and focus on schools which will (in addition to helping with areas of weakness) hone excellence in those areas.

For those who made the lists, where did you find Playbills (online?) and did you include straight plays or only musicals?

Which College prepares you best for Broadway?

CONNECT WITH US