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Music

Bruce Springsteen Is Doing a Bunch of Shows on Broadway

It's not a musical, sadly.

Bruce Springsteen's songs are incredibly theatrical celebrations of 20th century Americana, possibly the only thing that can make the country sound like an exciting and hopeful place. Given this outsized sonic character, it only makes sense that he'd do a Broadway show at some point, which is what he just announced today. However, instead of a jukebox extravaganza like We Will Rock You or Rock of Ages, it's a series of small-scale solo shows simply called Springsteen on Broadway, described by the man himself as "personal and as intimate as possible. I chose Broadway for this project because it has the beautiful old theaters which seemed like the right setting for what I have in mind."

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Even if the Boss isn't taking advantage of that Broadway magic to deliver something bombastic, he's probably at his best when it's just him, his words, and a guitar. Nebraska? Nebraska rips, but more in the way that a knife tears apart fabric. Also, the original acoustic demo of "Born in the USA" exposes the patriotic hit's deeply cynical, paranoid core. Electric Springsteen is driving on a highway at noon, acoustic Springsteen is a dead rural road at night, accompanied by self-reflection and hopelessness. Let's all get sad about the American Dream together. You can find more info about the show here.